Castles & Ancient Ruins Tour

17 March 2024
Scone Palace march

On this e-bike tour the focus will be the rich history, along with the many castles and ancient ruins that are spread right across this part of Scotland. This also includes plenty of locations with legendary tales (from Mary Queen of Scots to Macbeth), along with filming locations for popular TV series like Outlander.

We also have the ruins of the most northerly Roman Legion Garrison ever built (Inchtuthil, from AD 82) which is located here in Highland Perthshire overlooking the River Tay, where almost 2,000 years ago the Roman general Julius Agricola (responsible for much of the Roman conquest of Britain) used this as his base in Scotland, and then just outside of Perth there is Scone Palace - the ancient crowning place from 840AD of Scottish kings on the Stone of Destiny (the celtic name was Lia Fail, meaning ‘the speaking stone’) were it remained until 1296.

Perthshire breathes history like nowhere else in Scotland!



Please note that this tour only departs from Perth and must be booked/reserved in advance via email confirmation. Both full day and half day tours available.



All Photos by HBT; Balvaird Castle (main blog page photo), Scone Palace, and below is Burleigh Castle, near Loch Leven.

burleigh castle

What our guests say

We had a great time on a private tour. The bikes were excellent and Terry was able to customize the tour to what we wanted. Highly recommend booking this tour.

Morgan Elk

Had a great tour around Perth. Great cycling and learned a lot about the landscape (and also whiskies). Of course, it is also an added bonus that you can do this tour in Dutch. Terry speaks perfect Dutch as a Scot and can also tell a nice story. Recommended!

Pim Bleeker

Loved our day with Highland Bike Tours! Equipment was in great shape (helmets, vests, and bikes). I learned and saw things I would not have been able to see by car or if I had biked on my own.

Amelia

Fantastic tour!
Bikes were in very good condition, adjusted for us individually. Tour tailored to us and our capabilities as over 60 now! Terry has fantastic local knowledge of hard to find views and points of local interest.
Thoroughly recommend to all.

Steve Harmer

My wife, my daughter who is 11 and I went on the tour and all enjoyed it. We travelled around 20 miles around some beautiful countryside, the e-bikes were very good and great when going uphill. Would recommend for anyone to give a go. Good fun!

Jim Simpson

Highland Bike Tours was a highlight of our trip! Terry was great. Really appreciate all the communication before our travels and even though it was rainy, we all had a great time and we learned a lot about the area.. Would recommend this adventure to anyone who wants a unique, fun way to experience Scotland.

Kyra Lindsay

Made a very nice bike ride (65 kilometers) from Perth. Beautiful vistas and landscapes during the entire tour. Excellent e-bikes with panniers. Even the rain ponchos were provided.

Mirjam Hansen

Erg leuke fietstour met veel kilometers waardoor je heel veel mooie natuur ziet. Zowel een sportief als educatief uitje. Ik kan nu zeggen dat ik Pitlochry en de omgeving echt heb ervaren.

Julia Herni (NL)

What a great time! Terry took us through the most beautiful areas of the Highlands and was great fun to talk to. If we had more time, we would have done the all day tour. Don’t miss this ride!

Cindy Gigliotti

The Highland Bike Tour around Perthshire was excellent.. The e-bikes are top-notch, very comfortable with plenty of battery left at the end of the full day tour! We felt very safe throughout the tour and enjoyed the forest scenery.

Jan Mei Soon

My family (parents and two 15 year old kids) toured with Terry in early July 2024 through the countryside around Perth to Dunkeld. We are from Australia so the landscape was novel and breathtaking to us. We covered around 80 km over the whole day with ease.. Communication with Highland Bike Tours prior to the day trip was excellent.. One of our highlights while in Scotland.

Stuart McDougall

I had the pleasure of joining a e-bike tour in Perth and I must say it was an absolute delight from start to finish.. The route itself was simply breath taking, taking us through a varied landscape of parks, towns, villages, mountains and rivers. It is a must-do activity for anyone visiting Perth, as it provides a fantastic way to explore the region's natural beauty and rich history while in the company of a truly wonderful guide.

JL (Hong Kong)

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Book your Tour

How to book your Tour

There are no cash payments at the premises, so all tours must be booked in advance, or paid by debit or credit card (at the shop/hub) prior to the tour.

Please note that there are only a maximum of 4 places on any given tour.

To reserve your place on one of our tours you can either use the Fareharbor Booking system (via orange BOOK NOW link), send us an email to [email protected], or simply complete the Contact Us section. As there are only 4 slots on any of our tours we operate on a first-come first-served basis with all our bookings. Please also include the height of each person - We will then supply you with the correct frame size.

It is also worth mentioning that if the ‘private tour’ option has been booked in advance then there are no other places or bikes available on that day. For more info about the ‘private tour’ (from 1 up to a maximum of 3 people for the same fee) please see our Tours section, or simply contact us by email or via the website.

Highland Bike Tours (HBT) make use of Hybrid road E-Bikes with a classic Dutch design, so suitable to use while wearing casual clothing. You can view images of these e-bikes on the FAQs page (see above), or on our Instagram link (see below).

Solo travellers wishing to take part in a Bike Tour: Although there is the 'private tour' option (for 1 to 3 people), all of our shared tours require a minimum of two people, so if you would like to take part in one of our tours and are travelling alone, then feel free to contact us with your preferred travel date, and we will do our best to match you up with others in a similar position.

Guided E-Bike Tours also in the Dutch language. NL: Samen met een Nederlandssprekende tourgids ervaar je al het moois dat de Schotse Hooglanden te bieden heeft op een unieke manier.

Edinburgh Road, Perth, PH2 8AN, Scotland

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