A Taste of Scotland
with Tom Kitchin

You board the Royal Scotsman at Edinburgh Waverley in the early afternoon, and the gourmet theme starts straight away with a Champagne Afternoon Tea. The city soon gives way to the rolling hills of Perthshire as the train follows the Highland line north through Dunkeld, Pitlochry and Blair Atholl, where you pass the imposing white walls of Blair Castle. Beyond, the scenery grows wilder as the train climbs towards Aviemore and the Cairngorms National Park, home to some of the oldest mountains in Britain.

By evening the train has settled for the night in the quiet Highland village of Boat of Garten, on the private Strathspey Railway. A champagne and canapé reception gets the evening under way, and then comes the main event: a four-course dinner created by Tom himself. Expect the Scottish larder he champions at The Kitchin, cooked with the skill and precision that earned his Edinburgh restaurant its Michelin star.

After breakfast, a short coach ride takes you to Rothiemurchus Estate in the heart of the Cairngorms National Park, where the morning is yours to shape. You might try clay pigeon shooting, spend a few quiet hours fishing, join a tour of the estate or set off on a guided hike with one of the park rangers.

Afterwards Tom welcomes everyone to The Drumintoul Lodge for a barbecue lunch, served on the lawn in front of the house with the peaks of the Cairngorms all around. The cooking is everything you would hope for from Tom, and the setting makes it something rather more than just lunch.

The train is waiting at Carrbridge, where a champagne reception marks the start of the journey south through Aberdeenshire and Angus towards Dundee, the City of Discovery, on the banks of the Firth of Tay. Tonight is the gala dinner, so it is a good evening to dress up. Afterwards Tom joins guests in the Observation Car for lively traditional music, farewell drinks and toasts, which is often one of the most memorable evenings of any Royal Scotsman journey.

Enjoy a final breakfast as the train leaves Dundee and travels south through the former Kingdom of Fife, a gentler landscape of farmland and small towns after the drama of the Cairngorms. Then comes one of the great moments of Scottish rail travel, the crossing of the Forth Railway Bridge. This Victorian engineering masterpiece looks as extraordinary today as it must have done when it opened in 1890. Edinburgh Waverley follows shortly after, bringing a thoroughly enjoyable two nights to a close.

Itineraries and timings shown may be changed for seasonal or operational reasons.