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Bùrach Tours
(Scottish Gaelic): to search the earth. The turning over of soil. A knot that cannot be untied
Private Tours of Scotland
To search the earth...
A tour unfolds like a fireside story. Spend the days learning of Scotland's history, culture and traditions whilst seeing a few places not many other tourists (or guides) get to go. Let tour guide Ciaran guide you along the overgrown paths to the forgotten places...
We cover all of Scotland: from the northern archipelagoes of Orkney & Shetland to the Northern Highlands, through the Great Glen divide by Loch Ness, over the sea to Skye and the Outer Hebrides, among the neolithic monuments of the west coast rainforest, along the cobbled streets of Edinburgh, and anywhere else worth the stop. For our specialist Orkney tours, please visit our sister site Tour Orkney.
Our guide Ciaran
The turning over of soil...
Ciaran Stormonth grew up in Glen Euchar on Scotland’s west coast. During the summers he worked in the hills as a shepherd for a local farmer.
At the field at the bottom of the road stood the remains of a 17th-century structure known as the Barn of the Bones. The gruesome story behind its name began a lifelong fascination with Scotland’s history, lore and stranger corners.
As farming changed, Ciaran left Scotland and travelled the world as a white-water raft guide. On returning home, a chance encounter led him into tour guiding. Since then he has taken hundreds of groups to the farthest reaches of Scotland, mixing local stories, history, myths and, above all, laughter.
Ciaran has been featured in National Geographic and The Times, and is known for guiding that is personal, flexible, and grounded in the spirit of the place rather than a script.
Bùrach Tours works across Scotland, creating private trips for couples, families and small groups who want the country to feel vivid, human and memorable.
Want help planning your trip of a lifetime? Get in touch.
Trips for a lifetime
A knot that cannot be untied...
There is a Hebridean tradition where a dram of whisky is had before breakfast. This is known as the Sgailc (literal translation ‘blow to the head’). Sgailc can also describe the vividness of being suddenly awake. Of being aware of one's surroundings, ones place, and ones hangover.
There are many ways to see Scotland, be it a large group stay at a private castle, a family on the trail of ancestry, a once in a lifetime trip or a flying visit. Then there are the details...
The Scots love to invent a party: the festival of Samhain that became Halloween, Hogmanay which became New Year's Eve, Tigh nam Bodach - the oldest ritual on British shores. In the same spirit, Bùrach Tours has worked with the country's most interesting people and businesses to create unique experiences.
Experiences that go beyond visiting. Spend an evening in the company of an eòlaiche tasting whiskies straight from the cask, land on an empty beach for a seafood barbecue (you can even catch the lobster and crabs), take a private tour of the grandest castles or evenings that brings the family together.
Travel is about awakening. By the end of a visit the knot will be tied, the friendships begun, and forever more the bùrach will hold.
Services
Creating itineraries for 'once in a lifetime' trips to Scotland
Guiding and tour leading groups of any size
Organising group stays at private castles and country manors
Creating tours with specialist interests like ancestry, crafts, luxury experiences, salmon fishing etc.
Location advice and scouting for TV & film production
Logistical & accommodation organisation for large-scale projects and teams. High-end retreats and team building events