Clan Donald Magazine Online Edition
The High Council of Clan Donald
Chiefs Gathering, Forum and Tour of Skye & Uist
7 - 15 June 2006
Bookings are now being accepted for the 2006 High Council of Clan Donald Chiefs' hosted
tour which will focus on the beautiful and historic islands of Skye and
the Uists: Both having strong Clan Donald connections; Uist was a
major part of the Clanranald patrimony and, of course, Skye is home
to the patrimony of the High Chief and of Clan Uisdein, the
Macdonalds of Sleat. Skye is also home to the Clan Donald Centre and
Museum of the Isles at Armadale.
The Chiefs' Hosted Tours and Gatherings offer an
unrivalled opportunity to tour the land of your forefathers and
learn about your history in a relaxed atmosphere. They also afford
an opportunity to meet and have fun with the Chiefs and indigenous
clansfolk and to sample the scenery, history, music, dancing,
culture, cuisine, drinking and convivial hospitality of Scotland.
Potential tourists may like to check Ian Ross
Macdonnell's tongue-in-cheek Skyelark's
Travel Advisory gleaned from the work of Martin Martin in 1695.
Picture: Archie McIntyre, Piper to the High Council
marches the Chiefs and the Clan, banners flying, to the
Glencoe Monument during the 2005 Gathering.
Itinerary
Day 1 - Wednesday 7th June
2006: Meet in Edinburgh |
|
Old and new friends meet at the
Macdonald Holyrood Hotel (pictured left) in
Edinburgh. Bonnie and Peggy will be manning the welcome desk
and there will be a tour of the City in the afternoon for
those who wish it. The Welcoming Dinner will be at the hotel
at 7:30 pm. |
Day 2 - Thursday 8th June
2006: Travel to Skye |
|
An early start, boarding the coach at
8:30 am for the journey to Skye. There will be a shopping
stop at the
House
of Bruar in picturesque Pitlochry and lunch at the
Invergarry Hotel. From there we go up the A9, turning
off at Dalwhinnie to head for Skye. We check in at the
splendid
Cuillin Hills Hotel at Portree (pictured left), the
island's capital. The Cuillin Hills is one of the finest
hotels on Skye and we'll wind down from our journey with a
relaxing dinner that night. |
Day 3 - Friday 9th June
2006: Tour of Skye |
|
A timely start at 9:30 am to tour Skye,
including Duntulm where
Flora Macdonald (heroine of the '45) is buried and
on to the
Museum of Island Life at Kilmuir. Lunch will follow
at the
Aros Centre and the MacLeods will doubtless give
us a warm welcome to
Dunvegan Castle (pictured left) if we show that our
intentions are peaceable! Dinner will be back at the Cuillin
Hills Hotel. |
Day 4 - Saturday 10th June
2006: The Gathering |
|
There can be only one! The formal
gathering of Clan Donald will be at the Clan Donald Centre
and Museum of the Isles at
Armadale
Castle, formerly the seat of the High Chiefs and
successors to the Lords of the Isles. At noon the Clan will
march to the graveside of Donald J Macdonald of Castleton,
to honour the great Clan Donald Seannachie and patriarch of
the Clan's historians and celebrate his contribution to the
Clan. Following lunch we will have the Annual Clan Donald
Forum (our AGM) with input from the Chiefs, High
Commissioners, Finlaggan Councillors and the opportunity for
clansfolk to ask questions and make suggestions. In the
evening there will be our formal Reception, Dinner and
Dance. Dress is formal or the best you have with you. |
Day 5 - Sunday 11th June
2006: Travel to South Uist |
|
On the coach by 8:30 am for the ferry to
Lochmaddy, South Uist (Clanranald Country). Lunch will
be taken on board. We'll meander down the islands, stopping
here and there. We'll be accommodated at the
Borrodale Hotel (pictured left), a few miles inland
from Loch Boisdale and we'll have a ceilidh that night with
talented local artists. |
Day 6 - Monday 12th June
2006: Touring Uist |
|
This will be a leisurely day visiting
many interesting places including
Eriskay (pictured left), site of the famous Whisky
Galore wreck of the SS Politician: With some coaxing and
perhaps judicious spiritual lubrication, you may be able to
elicit a deliciously funny rendition of the epic Am
Politician from Clanranald himself on site! We'll also
visit Ormiclate,
Howmore, Flora Macdonald's birthplace and the fine
little South Uist Museum. Let's hope Sir Ian will give us
one of his fascinating Nature Walks. Dinner and
entertainment that evening will be back at the Borrodale
Hotel. |
Day 7 - Tuesday 13th June 2006: Through
the Highlands and Islands |
|
This will be a fascinating day's travel
to Lochmaddy for the ferry to Uig, down through Skye to
Armadale for the ferry to Mallaig, through Clanranald and
Cameron country to Glenfinnan (pictured left) and the West Highland Museum
at Fort William, through majestic Glencoe, across Rannoch
Moor, down through bonnie Strathyre and the Trossachs to
Edinburgh with stops. There will be a well-earned dinner
back at the Macdonald Holyrood Hotel to round off a great
day's touring. |
Day 8 - Wednesday 14th
June 2006: Symposium |
|
This will be a milestone in the history
of the Chiefs' Tours: the 8th day of our first 8 day tour,
including the important all-day Clan Donald Historic
Symposium with highly qualified guest speakers such as Dr
Willie Gillies,
Hugh Cheape (Curator of the Modern Scottish
Collection at the Royal Museum of Scotland) and Dr David
Caldwell (Archaeologist at the National Museums of Scotland
and Director of the
Finlaggan Project). Our farewell dinner that evening
will be at the highly regarded
Malmaison (pictured left) in
the ancient harbour of Leith. |
Day 9 - Thursday 15th
June 2006: Farewells |
|
After breakfast, we bid our farewells to
each other as we make our own plans to continue our visit to
Scotland, venture further afield in Europe, or return to our
homelands. |
Availble Packages and Estimated Costs
1. Standard Package. The full extended 8 day
Gathering and Tour (June 7 to 15) costs UKP �950 or USD $1,755 at an
exchange rate of UKP �1.00 : USD $1.85. We regret that there will be
a possible surcharge if the rate deteriorates. Single room
supplements can be obtained, please ask for a separate quote.
2. Luxury Package. A luxury package is
available at UKP �1,025 or USD $1,895 subject to the same conditions
as above. This gives premium rooms at the hotels on Skye.
Booking
To reserve a place on the tour, or for additional
information, please contact Rob McDonald Parker, Chamberlain to the
High Council of Clan Donald Chiefs:
1 East Trinity Road
Edinburgh EH5 3DZ
Scotland
Dates For your Diary
Future Gatherings and Tours to be hosted by the High
Council of Clan Donald Chiefs:
Skye, Kintyre and Islay |
6 - 13 June 2007 |
Antrim & Northern Ireland |
5 - 12 June 2008 |
Glencoe |
June 2009 |
Uist and Skye |
2010 |
The High Council of Clan Donald
Chiefs are:
|
Mac Dh�mhnaill / Macdonald: The Rt. Hon. Godfrey
Macdonald of Macdonald, 8th Lord Macdonald and High Chief of Clan
Donald. |
|
Mac Uisdein /
Sleat: Sir Ian Macdonald of Sleat, Bart. 24th Chief of
Sleat. |
|
Mac Somhairle Buidhe
/ Antrim: The Rt. Hon. Alexander MacDonnell, 9th Earl of
Antrim. |
|
Mac 'ic Ailein /
Clanranald: Ranald Macdonald of Clanranald KM, 24th
Chief and Captain of Clanranald. |
|
Mac 'ic Alasdair
/ Glengarry: Ranald MacDonell of Glengarry, 23rd Chief
of Glengarry. |
|
Feedback.
If you have any comments, additions or corrections to this article,
please post them in the forum as a new thread
here. Please make the title of your post the title of the
article and put a link back to the article in your post. You will
have to register to join the forum. |