September 10-20, 2016

We are delighted to be offering this tour once again in September 2016.

Though the history of Scotland and the area known as the Borders is one intricately connected to battles and confrontation, it is also rich in the work of many talented designers and architects; within Arts and Crafts traditions, this can best be examined in the architecture Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Beginning in Glasgow we spend days seeing Mackintosh’s greatest works – the Mackintosh House, the Glasgow School of Art now being rebuilt after the tragic fire in 2014. We will also see the House for an Art Lover with Dai and Jenny Vaughan the artists who recreated Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh’s designs for the dining room. There are receptions at the Mackintosh Society, dinner at the Glasgow Art Club, an exploration of nineteenth century Glasgow, and tea at the Willow Tea Room.

Of course no examination of Mackintosh is complete without a visit to Helensbourgh and The Hill House, surely his domestic masterpiece. Going further afield to the northwest is the windswept Loch Fyne. Here are two glorious private homes by Robert Lorimer – Dunderave and Ardkinglas.

And further south off the coast is the romantic Isle of Bute, reached by ferry and the site of the most fantastic home, Mount Stuart, designed by Robert Rowan Anderson for the Third Marquess of Bute. The exceptional craftsmanship inside the house includes much by William Burges and is equally matched by the sumptuous and extensive gardens.

Driving through the rugged Borders between Scotland and England we arrive in Brampton, a small village with a large body of work, by Philip Webb, including his only church, all built for the Howard family, whose main home is Castle Howard. Naworth Castle comes to them as the Earls of Carlisle and is a special place to spend a night. From here we journey to Lindisfarne designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. Situated on an island reached by a causeway, it is one of the most romantic of buildings, with its breathtaking views out to the brutal and beautiful North Sea.

Returning to Scotland, we plan to stay overnight at Greywalls, Lutyens’ only building in Scotland, designed for the Tennant family with a wonderful garden by Gertrude Jekyll.

Before heading back to Glasgow, we visit Edinburgh and have tours of St Giles, the Dovecot Tapestry, and time to walk the mile road between the castle and Holyrood. Back in Glasgow, the trip concludes with a festive banquet joined by many of our guides and hosts – now your friends.