Join WPR’s Stephanie Elkins, popular host of Morning Classics and Simply Folk for a magicalmusical journey to bonnie Scotland. The highlight is the 68th annual

Edinburgh International Festival, arguably the world’s best arts festival,

in one of Europe’s most beautiful capitals. You will hear performances

by the London Symphony Orchestra under Valery Gergiev, the San

Francisco Symphony led by Michael Tilson Thomas, an all-Beethoven

recital by Rudolf Buchbinder, a wildly imaginative Magic Flute, and

much more, climaxed by a grand Fireworks display over Edinburgh

Castle to orchestral accompaniment.

From its famed castles and abbeys

to its stunning landscape of

mountains, glens, lochs and moors,

Scotland has beguiled the romantic

traveler for centuries. Scotland’s

colorful and dramatic history,

particularly its long battle for

independence from England is

rich with colorful figures: William

Wallace, “Braveheart”; Robert the Bruce; Mary, Queen of Scots;

Bonnie Prince Charlie, not to mention its great writers from Robert

Burns to Robert Louis Stevenson. We’ll trace the lives of many of these

while visiting several of the country’s most notable monuments.

Our first four nights are in a lovely 19th century manor in the Scottish

Highlands, the Coul House Hotel, in the village of Contin. There we

will visit evocative castles and quaint villages while passing through

some of the most spectacular scenery in the world, as well as listen

to a private concert of Scottish folk music. All the while we will lodge

in deluxe accommodations and sample Scottish and a cosmopolitan

cuisine in some of Britain’s finest restaurants. Stephanie’s

commentary completes a trip you won’t want to miss!

STEPHANIE ELKINS is the host

and producer of Simply Folk and Morning Classics.

She has been a music host on WPR since 2007,

including co-hosting The Midday with Norman

Gilliland. In addition to her on-air duties,

Stephanie served as WPR’s interim marketing

director in 2009 and 2010. She started in public

radio at WDIY-FM in Allentown/Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and before joining WPR

she hosted Musica Antiqua for 10 years at WORT-FM in Madison. Stephanie

earned a bachelor of arts in political science and French from the University of

Rhode Island. She did two years of graduate work in applied economics at the

University of Central Florida and studied at the Sorbonne in France for a year.

Stephanie is also a vocalist and guitarist.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:

• Prime tickets to six performances at the Edinburgh Festival, including the London Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, an opera, and the grand festival finale of Fireworks to orchestral accompaniment

• Optional performance of the Royal Military Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle

• Private concert of Scottish folk music in the Highlands

• Private guided tours of major sites in Edinburgh and the Highlands, including Culloden Battlefield, Eilean Donan Castle, Cawdor Castle, Dumferline Abbey, Holyrood Palace, National Portrait Gallery and others

• Commentary by WPR’s Stephanie Elkins on all the music you will hear

• Deluxe accommodations in Edinburgh and the Highlands

• Private motorcoach transportation to activities in the itinerary

• Plenty of free time to attend other performances or pursue your own interests

Concerts & Castles!

TOUR COST: $5,565 per person, ground only, based on double occupancy. Tour limited to 25 participants.The WPR Scotland tour is organized by THE GRAND TOUR Travel Company, Peterborough, New Hampshire

Edinburgh seen from Calton Hill

A Magical Journey to Scotland with Stephanie Elkins

August 21-Sept 1, 2015

Friday, August 21 The optional group flight on United departs Chicago O’Hare non-stop, arriving in Edinburgh the next day.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 22 FÀILTE! [WELCOME]! Arrival at Edinburgh Airport and private motorcoach transfer to the Highlands of Scotland. We pass through lovely Perthshire and over the Cairngorms mountains, with lunch en route in Blair Atoll, before we arrive at the manorial Coul House Hotel, near Inverness. Tonight we celebrate our arrival with a welcome dinner at the hotel.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 23 SHADES OF MACBETHBreakfast daily at both hotels. Today we make our first excursion in the late morning first to Culloden Battlefield. The last pitched battle on British soil, on April 16th, 1746, at Culloden was the decisive battle between the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart with several Highland clans and government loyalists, with the resounding loss of the former. After lunch nearby, we proceed to medieval Cawdor Castle, forever linked to Shakespeare’s Macbeth, which we will tour and visit its lovely gardens. Dinner is at the Abstract, a fine restaurant in the Glenmoriston Hotel in Inverness along the River Ness.

MONDAY, AUGUST 24 THE SPECTACULAR WESTYou don’t have to believe in the existence of the Loch Ness monster to enjoy the waters of the beautiful lake. We’ll board the Jacobite Queen this morning for a leisurely ride and disembark at Uruquart Castle. Then, it’s on to lunch near the misty Isle of Skye and the rocky peaks of the Black Cuillens. Famed Eilean Donan Castle is one of Scotland’s most iconic and romantic images, known around the world. It stands at a point where three sea lochs meet and is surrounded by majestic scenery. On the way home, we’ll stop for an optional tour of the whiskey distillery of Glen Ord and see how Scotland’s most famous export is made. Dinner on your own and evening free.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 25 LOCH NESS, FALCONS, AND FOLK MUSIC Fairyland Dunrobin Castle has been the family seat of the Sutherland clan for 700 years. Begun in the 14th century Dunrobin was enlarged in the 19th in the French chateau style by Charles Barry, architect of the Houses of

which features more than 500 performances day and night throughout the city. You have the option tonight of prime seats at the enormously popular Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. With the Edinburgh Castle as backdrop, this is a spectacular evening of music, ceremony, theatre and dance.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 30 ROBERT THE BRUCEAND MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTSOur excursion out of Edinburgh takes us first to the medieval Benedictine Abbey of Dumfermline, one of Scotland’s most important cultural sites. Founded in the 12th century but then sacked in 1560, the Abbey was allowed to fall into disrepair. Today some of the infrastructure of both the Abbey and attached Palace remains, including the tomb of Robert the Bruce, a Scottish king and hero buried here in 1329. Inchmahome Priory is situated on one of three islands in Lake Menteith and served as refuge for the four-year old Mary, Queen of Scots, after the disastrous defeat of the Scots army at Pinkie Cleugh. Lunch is near the dock of our boat out to the island. Back in Edinburgh, Valery Gergiev leads the London Symphony Orchestra, perhaps Britain’s best, in two great orchestral showpieces: Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra and Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring.

MONDAY, AUGUST 31 FIREWORKS FAREWELL!Today is free in Edinburgh to do your final sight-seeing and shopping or just relax. Tonight our farewell dinner takes place at a classic French bistro near the hotel. Then you have a premium seat in Princes Garden for the Festival-closing, spectacular Fireworks over Edinburgh Castle, accompanied by the renowned Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1The tour ends after breakfast before the group flight departs Edinburgh non-stop for Chicago.

Itinerary subject to change. Meals in bold are included in the price of the tour.

TOUR REGISTRATION TOUR COST: $5,565 per person, ground only, double occupancy. Single supplement: $995 Optional group flight on United: $1,580

DEPOSIT: $1000 per person first come, first served (includes a tax-deductible $500 contribution to WPR) Balance deadline is June 5, 2015. After that date, call for availability.

Contact The Grand Tour, 800-727-2955 or info@thegrandtour.com to reserve your place on the tour with a credit card deposit, or send a check for the deposit amount to: WPR Scotland Tour, The Grand Tour, PO Box 274, Peterborough, NH 03458. Registration materials can be downloaded from www.wpr.org

QUESTIONS? Contact Elizabeth Truchon at The Grand Tour at 800-727-2995 or elizabeth@thegrandtour.com

Daily ItineraryParliament and Downton Abbey’s Highclere Castle. There we tour the castle and also take in an amazing falconry display! Lunch on your own in Dornoch, an attractive town known for its championship golf course. Our final evening at Coul House features a private concert of traditional Scottish folk music before dinner.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26 EDINBURGH AND BEETHOVENWe bid soraidh (farewell) to the Highlands and head south to Edinburgh. We check in to The George, a deluxe 4-star hotel in the city’s New Town, which occupies a classical Robert Adam designed building of the 18th century. The hotel is centrally located on George Street, Edinburgh’s most elegant address for boutique shops and fancy clubs. Our arrival is in time to take in our first performance at the Edinburgh International Festival: the last three sonatas of Beethoven, all masterpieces of the piano literature, performed by one of their greatest interpreters, Rudolf Buchbinder. Evening free and dinner on your own.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 27 THE ROYAL MILEOur private guided tour of Edinburgh’s Old Town begins where the city itself began—on Castle Rock. The Edinburgh Castle is a former medieval fortress, Renaissance palace, and Army barracks and is still garrisoned. We will explore the upper part of the Royal Mile, the heart of the city’s fabled past with its romantic “wynds” and “closes” branching off the old thoroughfare. After lunch at a typical Scottish restaurant, your afternoon is free. Tonight, Berlin’s Komische Oper brings Mozart’s great opera, The Magic Flute, to Edinburgh in a spectacular production blending animation and live action, with silent movies, German expressionism, and Weimar cabaret!

FRIDAY, AUGUST 28 THE QUEEN’S PALACE & MTTA morning private tour, exclusive to the group, takes us back to the Royal Mile. Holyrood Palace is a longtime favorite royal residence —the Queen resides here when she visits Edinburgh. Then back to our neighborhood, a visit to the excellent National Portrait Gallery will acquaint you with many of Scotland’s most famous figures. Lunch is atop the chic Harvey Nichols department store in their fine restaurant. Your afternoon is free before an evening Festival performance by the San Francisco Symphony. Michael Tilson Thomas, celebrating his 30th year as Music Director, leads the orchestra in Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony and the Beethoven Piano Concerto no. 4 with the fabulous Yuja Wang as soloist.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 29 SONGS AND THE TATTOOTwo of the world’s most powerful musicians come together for a special morning recital. Baritone Matthias Goerne, considered of the world’s finest lieder singers, joins the Russian phenom Daniil Trifinov at the piano in songs by Berg, Schumann, Wolf, Shostakovich, and Brahms. The rest of your day is free to enjoy other Festival performances or dive into events at the vast Festival Fringe

Coul House