Additional areas in Scotland before and after the RS Scotland tour

It would be helpful if you couild give more information about which tour you are planning on doing (is it the 13 day one or the 8 day one?) What places are you visiting on the tour and how many extra days are you thinking of? When deciding on places to stay, what are your priorities - museums, sightseeing, castles, shopping, scenery, days out, food & drink, just dropping out and relaxing...

We are going at the end of July, beginning of August 2025. We fly from SEA to LHR and play tourist in London for 4 nights. We then take the train up to Glasgow to catch the RS tour. After the tour ends in Edinburgh, we stay and extra day to walk around ourselves before flying from Glasgow to LHR then back to SEA.

We did not consider the tour because it doesn't spend enough time in the western islands, IMO.

Wesley’s…THANK YOU,…we are planning on the 13 day RS Tour. Shopping is not on our priority list.
Additional “Island” time/adventures along with some non Tour/group time has worked well for us on prior Tours. Currently I’d say 3-4 days prior to the Tour and 4-5 days post Tour are available to us. Seeing the different aspects of Scotland is appealing to us.
Thank you!

Currently I’d say 3-4 days prior to the Tour and 4-5 days post Tour are available to us.

I'm sure wasleys will offer some advice as well but here is one suggestion. Since you are flying into Glasgow, you might consider spending your first 3-4 days before the tour going to the Isle of Arran. It's very easy to get to from Glasgow. You just take the train from Glasgow to Ardrossan, then take the Calmac ferry to Brodick on Arran. Arran has very good public transportation, and it would be easy for you to get around the island without a car.

Arran is commonly called "Scotland in Miniature" and that is because it has all the attributes of Scotland; mountains, beaches, historic sites, distilleries, ruins, castles, etc. I was there for 3 nights in 2023 and absolutely loved it. You could stay in Brodick, which is the main town and quite charming, then take buses to various locations like Lochranza, to see the ruins, and the gorgeous coastline, and Brodick Castle and much more. Then just hop back on the ferry, take the train back to Glasgow, and start your tour. :-)

I’m assuming you are wanting to visit a different part of Scotland to where you have been on the tour?

Arran would work well. There is also Great Cumbrae or Isle of Bute too. This could also include the Cowal Peninsula- the lump of land to the west of Dunoon. There is also the Kintrye peninsula - the long peninsula to the west of Arran.

Alternatively there is Dumfries and Galloway or else the Borders Regions - both ignored by the tourists and tours and very much under rated by them. Both regions have attractive small towns to explore, ruined castles and abbeys as well as stately homes and gardens... There are too many to list, so have a look at ideas for all of these using the Undiscovered Scotland website It is a wonderful source of ideas and covers so many places that don’t feature in the guide books.

If you are interested in castles, and are in Glasgow, then the city does have the ruins of a mediaeval castle- Crookston Castle (accessible by frequent suburban train from Glasgow Central.

It was the 1st property acquired by the National Trust for Scotland, and somewhat surprisingly, was used by the Army in WW2 as an anti aircraft observation post.

It is now in the care of Historic Scotland.

The other side of Glasgow (on a frequent suburban train route, which also has two trains an hour all the way from Edinburgh) you also have Dumbarton Castle.

While at Dumbarton you could also visit the Denny Ship Model Experiment Tank- an outpost of the Scottish Maritime Museum (whose main premises is at Irvine, in Ayrshire- also easily reachable by train). The museum gives a good insight into the once very important Clyde ship building industry.
The famous Cutty Sark (now at Greenwich, London) was built nearby, partly by the Denny brothers. Much later they also pioneered the development of ship's stabilisers.

You just take the train from Glasgow to Ardrossan, then take the Calmac ferry to Brodick on Arran

As this visit is in 2025 the ferry is very unlikely to be sailing from Ardrossan by then. The expectation is that when the 1st new ferry arrives during the current winter timetable period, all sailings will then be moved to the port of Troon (further down the Ayrshire coast). By the end of next summer a 2nd new ferry may also have arrived and be in service.

Ardrossan is due to be fully redeveloped (although the Scottish Government has not yet approved the business plan), and the new ships are not believed to physically fit Ardrossan as it is currently configured. The port is not owned by CalMac, but by a company called Peel Ports, so the decisions are not in the ferry company hands.
Troon is also not a company port- being owned by Associated British Ports who have spent millions of pounds to prepare for it's promised role as the temporary or possibly new permanent port for Arran.

Confirmation is awaited, but that is the expectation.

As this visit is in 2025 the ferry is very unlikely to be sailing from Ardrossan by then. The expectation is that when the 1st new ferry arrives during the current winter timetable period, all sailings will then be moved to the port of Troon (further down the Ayrshire coast). By the end of next summer a 2nd new ferry may also have arrived and be in service.

Good to know, Stuart. But either way, it sounds like there will be a way to get to Arran by train from Glasgow, and then ferry to Arran.