Guided Historic Tours in Scotland

July 27th Newsletter 2020

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It’s been an exciting couple of weeks with Tourism officially re-opening (read what that means in practice for us below), and we have managed to visit a couple of favourite locations, Culross and Hopetoun House (grounds only). We also launched our very own Phone app game and it is very addictive. If you haven’t yet met Mary the Coo, you can download the game from the App store or Google Play. If you missed the launch announcement, details are here
www.marysmeanders.co.uk/virtual-tour-and-experience/mary-the-coo/
Our Mary Queen of Scots virtual tour is now up and running and we enjoyed a final ceilidh with Gillebride, the bard.
We are starting to plan “actual “tours again and enquiries are coming in for 2021 and 2022. Thank you to all those who deferred from this year to 2021. Of course, this does mean that we already have a busy diary for the year, but we are aiming to add some extra tours, for new bookings. If you are thinking of coming either in 2021 or 2022, now is the time to start planning and let us know of tentative dates, so we can do our very best to fit everyone in.
 
Virtual Outlander ToursWe continue to deliver our LIVE tours but have reduced the number as people are starting to get out and about again. However, we are happy to schedule a tour if you have a group who would like to join. We have 2 tours on offer, The Classic and our follow up “Outlander and More” tour. Here are the links to book.

Classic Tour
www.marysmeanders.co.uk/virtual-tour-and-experience/virtual-outlander-tour-of-scotland/
Outlander and more tour
www.marysmeanders.co.uk/virtual-tour-and-experience/live-virtual-outlander-tour-in-scotland
Also keep watching our Facebook page for the next tour in Spanish and French
We have now run quite a few tours for groups such as Rotary Clubs, Church groups, Carer’s groups and general social groups. If you have a group whomwould be interested in a Virtual tour, we are very happy to discuss this, with adaptations, if needed. We would apply a small charge for this service. Email emma@marysmeanders.co.uk to discuss.

Virtual Tour Download
If you can’t manage any of our Live tours we now have a recorded version of the tour you can download and watch immediately, and repeat as often as you like. You can purchase this here So, no need to wait. You can get your Outlander locations fix 24/7

Mary, Queen of Scots Virtual Tour
We have now launched this tour and are delighted that it is being very well received. We had this comment from the President of The Marie Stuart Society:
“A fantastic ‘tour’ – amazed you managed to pack so much information in, while managing to make it relaxed and fun. I thoroughly recommend it for both new and long time Marians! Elisabeth Manson President The Marie Stuart ( Mary Queen of Scots) Society”
This tour tells Mary’s story by visiting historic sites around Scotland that played an important part in her life. You can book the Live Virtual Tour here
www.marysmeanders.co.uk/virtual-tour-and-experience/virtual-mary-queen-of-scots-tour/

And we also have a recorded version you can purchase to watch whenever you like.
https://www.marysmeanders.co.uk/virtual-tour-and-experience/replay-virtual-mary-queen-of-scots-tour/Update on the situation in ScotlandWe have now entered Phase 3 of the move out of lockdown and things are starting to open slowly- at a much more cautious pace than England, so please be sure to check Scottish sources for updates. As of today, we can travel more than 5 miles for leisure and a little more interaction between households is allowed. Shops have re-opened with Social distancing, but facemasks now must be worn in shops and on public transport.
The tourism industry re-opened on the 15th July. This does not mean everything has opened. Mainly Self catering cottages, B&B’s and some hotels. Pubs and restaurants are due to re-open then, but for some smaller ones it is just not viable until social distancing is removed. Some major attractions are starting to open. Edinburgh, Stirling and Urquhart castles will opening on the 1st of August with other locations gradually opening through to September. Advance booking is essential in all cases. Best to check each location individually. Hopetoun House have opened their grounds and it was lovely to be back there last week. You can still see a number of Outlander locations outside.
Air Travel: at the moment you can travel to Scotland from a selected number of countries without quarantine. Unfortunately, Canada and the USA is not on this list. You must quarantine for 14 days when you arrive in the UK.
For updates check The Scottish Government website.
www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19Mary’s Meanders Measures for Re-openingWe have been awarded the “Good to Go” accreditation and are ready for you to join us on tour. At this stage, for bookings in a vehicle, we are only accepting new private or family/household bubble bookings till the end of 2020, till we see how things develop.
We have added our new “Good to Go” travel criteria to our website
https://www.marysmeanders.co.uk/we-are-good-to-go/
The most important thing is that we want you to feel safe and secure when you join us and we will do everything to ensure that happens. We will not take risks and open prematurely and we hope you will be understanding of this approach.Linlithgow Walking Tours
These are now available for booking, for family members, up to 6 guests. Please email emma@marysmeanders.co.uk if this is something that interests you. Keep watching our Social Media as we hope to announce further developments with our walking tours shortly.

Ancestry
We do have a couple of Ancestry tours booked in next month, as these can be carried out largely in the fresh air and following all safety measures. Looking forward to being out on the road again. If you would like some help tracing your ancestors, please do get in touch. We have a few Ancestry tours in planning just now. Also, now that we are allowed to go further afield we can get back out checking out graveyards and are happy to take photos for you – if the headstone exists (not always the case). It does take quite some time to plan an ancestry tour, so now is the time to be planning for next year, and beyond. Find out more about our Ancestry service www.marysmeanders.co.uk/scottish-ancestral-tour
What’s Next
As well as getting out and about again (it’s been lovely to see the response to some of our videos on Facebook), we will be featuring in another project launching in a week or so.
We also plan to set up a group for local Outlander fans, as so many have joined us on our Virtual Tours, and as soon as we are allowed, we will be planning an Outlander picnic.
Keep watching our Social Media for details.
www.facebook.com/MarysMeanders
www.instagram.com/marysmeanders
twitter.com/MarysMeanders
 
Thank you
Once again our heartfelt thanks for all the support you have shown us, be that coming on a virtual tour, commenting and sharing on Social media or downloading Mary The Coo. We really do appreciate it when you spread the word. And on that note, Anne was chuffed to get a Thank you from Diana Gabaldon on Twitter, when she helped her identify a location- Drummond Castle Gardens. For those of you who are new to our “family” you might like to read our blog on the day we had Diana on tour
www.marysmeanders.co.uk/marys-meanders-tour-with-diana-gabaldon/
Please continue to tag us @MarysMeanders  #marysmeanders whenever you can. Thank you so much.
Keep safe and well and we will see you soon.
Emma & Anne
www.marysmeanders.co.uk
https://www.paypal.me/marysmeanders