Meet with your group and tour guide in the lobby of your city centre hotel for a brief introduction to your companions and activities ahead! Enjoy a guided tour of Edinburgh Castle, resplendent over the Royal Mile and with magnificent views of the Old and New Towns of the capital city.
Staying on the Royal Mile, step into the Scottish Textile Experience. Here founder Kitty Bruce-Gardyne will greet you with a glass of something fizzy and introduce you to Scottish textile design and some of the locations you will be visiting along the way. Continue with a chance for some exclusive shopping and select your yarn (purchased for you by us!) for your Karie Westermann workshop. Overnight in Edinburgh, Dinner included.
Day 2: Day 2: Neth Hill Borer Collies and Sanquhar
Enjoy a championship sheepdog demonstration in the lovely Moorfoot hills, provided by the world's first female to win the Supreme International Championship in the discipline. we travel to the small village of Sanquhar which is famous for a traditional geometric-style pattern named after its founding village. After lunch (included) we will visit the A’ The Airts Centre for a presentation on the traditional Sanquhar pattern. You will enjoy a demonstration of hand-knitting of Sanquhar Gloves and see how the pattern is made on their knitting machines.
After your class we travel to New Lanark Mill, a unique 18th century mill and UNESCO heritage site. Overnight in New Lanark, Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner included.
Day 3: Day 3: New Lanark World Heritage Site and the Cosmopolitan Port City of Glasgow
After breakfast explore New Lanark, learning more about its history. The mill was founded in 1786 and taken over in 1800 by Robert Owen, an influential social reformer. In Owen's time over 2,500 people lived and worked at New Lanark, many from the poorhouses of Glasgow and Edinburgh. Owen improved the lives of these workers by introducing previously unheard of social welfare programmes and a school for the children.
Today, visitors can see recreated millworkers’ homes, historic functioning machinery and the adjacent ‘Falls of Clyde’ waterfalls as well as the Annie McLeod Experience. Continue to the lively city of Glasgow where the remainder of your evening will be free for personal sightseeing and to enjoy one the many bistros, restaurants and gastro pubs Glasgow is known for. Overnight in Glasgow, Breakfast included.
Day 4: Day 4: Visit to the Scottish Border Town of Melrose and ERIBÉ Sustainable Knitwear
ERIBÉ Knitwear is an award-winning knitwear design house and manufacturer, established in 1986. Rosemary and her team started out as a cottage industry and have since gone global with innovative creations based on traditional Scottish knitwear. They are champion natural yarns, quality craftsmanship and eco-conscious living while embracing vibrant colour. Your workshop today is on the topic of the Art of Scottish Knitting. It is about working with a range of yarns and colours where you will learn how to develop your own colour story and explore how knitwear can make you feel and look younger. Eribé designers use colour as their focus and can inspire with images of nature, paintings, mood-boards and knitted fabrics in their collections. After lunch (included), enjoy a special tour of the factory and an opportunity to shop or take in the idyllic Melrose surroundings!
Return to Glasgow to continue exploring landmarks, shops and nightlife at your leisure, or simply relax and knit in your hotel! Overnight in Glasgow, Breakfast and Lunch included.
Day 5: Day 5: Waulking with Wool at Auchindrain & Loch Lomond
Today we make our way to Auchindrain along the shores of Loch Lomond, stopping along the way to admire the views and take some photographs of the stunning scenery. Continue to the beautiful village of Inveraray where will be some free time to explore the historic location, with its 18th Century Castle and Inveraray Jail Museum. Enjoy lunch (included) before you reach the Auchindrain Township which gives a taste of what life was once like in the Scottish highlands. Discover the byres, stables and fields to understand how groups of families would have once worked the common lands. At Auchindrain we will also meet the group locally known as ‘Sgioba Luaidh Inbhirchluaidh’ which translates to the ‘Inverclyde Waulking Group.
Waulking is a method of finishing newly woven tweed by soaking and thumping it steadily to shrink and soften it. The group sings Waulking Songs as they work! Continue to the coastal resort town of Oban and check into your hotel for the night. Overnight in Oban, Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Included.
Day 6: Day 6: The Highland Folk Museum & Glendronach Distillery
Today we make our way to Elgin from Oban, stopping along the way at the Highland Folk Museum. The Highland Folk Museum gives visitors a sense of how Highland people lived and worked from the 1700s up until the 1960s. Your tour will pay special attention to traditional crafts like spinning, knitting and weaving and you will enjoy a special textile talk from the museum’s curator.
Following your visit and lunch(included) visit Glendronach Distillery for a distillery tour and whisky tasting. The tour offers you a sensory introduction to the entire process of whisky-making in a historic distillery. You will have the opportunity to see how Scottish Whisky was made in the 1900’s and enjoy a whisky tasting before you leave! Continue to Elgin and check into your hotel. Overnight in Elgin, Dinner, Bed & Breakfast Included.
Day 7: Day 7: Lace Knitting Workshop with Karie Westermann & Johnstons of Elgin Mill Tour
Meet with experienced lace designer Karie Westermann where you will learn to de-mystify how lace works and design your own project in just a few hours! Together you will look at lace stitch patterns and how to incorporate a lace stitch pattern into a design of your own. You will learn how to draw lace charts and how to calculate projects. Karie will guide you through your own design process whether you wish to design a scarf or a shawl and give you hands-on advice about designing repeats and motifs that really work. After lunch we will take a Tour of Johnston’s Mill. Johnston’s of Elgin have proudly been making the finest cashmere clothing, accessories and fabric in Scotland since 1797.
They are now the last operating vertical mill in Scotland which means all processes are done on site. Watch for yourself as the cashmere is dyed, teased, carded, spun and hand finished by the latest generation of Elgin craftsmen. For those not interested in the mill tour or the knitting workshop there is lots to see in the town of Elgin including the ruins of Elgin cathedral and Britain’s oldest museum, the Elgin Museum. Overnight in Elgin, Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner included.
Day 8: Day 8: BAA! Wool, V&A Design Gallery and Verdant Works Museum Dundee
Depart Elgin after breakfast and travel to the beautiful coastal town of Stonehaven where we visit Baa! This is the venue of designer and tutor, Janice Anderson, which is a hub of activity for knitting enthusiasts offering a wide range of yarns from all over Scotland, patterns, books and knitting tools. Enjoy some free time for lunch (not included) in one of the local restaurants or pubs.
We continue our travels towards Dundee where we visit Verdant Works – a world-class visitor attraction which tells the story of Dundee’s industrial textile heritage located in a beautifully restored mill building. Our next stop will be at the V&A Design Gallery – Scotland’s first dedicated design museum. This design gallery, situated at Dundee waterfront, features exhibits from various collections across Scotland as well as pieces brought north from the V&A in London. Finally continue to your hotel in Dundee in time for dinner. Overnight Dundee. Breakfast and Dinner included.
Day 9: Day 9: Claddach Farm & Knitting Workshop with Di Gilpin
We start our day with a visit to Claddach Farm! Attendees will get the chance to meet their specialist, pedigree and rare-breed animals, including various commercial sheep breeds; Cheviot, Texel and Bluefaced Leicester whose fleeces will be used to create Di Gilpin's exciting Fife Blend wool. After your visit we continue to Di Gilpins for a knitting workshop.
After your visit we continue to Di Gilpins for a knitting workshop. Di will start the programme with a short presentation on the History of Gansey Knitting in Scotland. This will be supported with samples of both traditional pieces and the more contemporary designs from their studio. Next follows a workshop exploring different gansey patterns in either Blanket Squares or a long sampler. Continue to Edinburgh and check into your hotel and relax before this evening’s final farewell dinner. Overnight in Edinburgh, Dinner, Bed & Breakfast
After your final Scottish breakfast depart the hotel for Edinburgh airport arriving in time to complete check-in formalities and that last minute duty free shopping.
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