Ireland with Kids - Ballycotton 7 Nights

Meet with your fellow travel companions in the lobby of your hotel for introductions. Your Blue Badge accredited guide will provide a brief overview of the tour before your first activity!  Visit Dovecot Studio, home to contemporary art, craft and design - a true bond with Scottish textile heritage and you will get to see the weavers at work. After lunch (included), Join Kitty MacKenzie at The Scottish Textiles Showcase! Kitty’s passion for Scottish textiles is fuelled by the artisans, the amazing Scottish landscape and the craftsmanship into each piece. She wants to celebrate these skilled individuals who embrace and maintain Scottish textile heritage for new generations to enjoy, and support their communities with their living textile traditions. There will be time for you to refresh and relax before your welcome dinner at your Edinburgh hotel. Overnight Edinburgh, Lunch and Dinner included. 

Today, we leave Edinburgh and travel towards Aberdeen for our ferry to Shetland. Stop in Dundee on the way to visit The V&A Dundee and the RRS Discovery. The V&A Design Gallery is the first design museum in Scotland. The waterfront gallery explores design from the past, present and future through the stunning displays on exhibit. After lunch (included), we visit the RRS Discovery and Discovery Point Museum.

RSS Discovery and Discovery Point explore the epic voyages of Captain Scott and Ernest Shackleton. Continue our journey to Aberdeen, where we join the overnight ferry to Lerwick. Onboard you will find comfortable cabin accommodation as well as a bar, lounge, restaurant, cinema and gift shop. Breakfast will be served the following morning before leaving. Overnight Northlink Ferries, Lunch, Dinner and Bed & Breakfast included.

On arrival, we disembark the ferry at Lerwick and set off to explore the island. Our first stop is at The Silly Sheep fibre company, a small family croft in the village of Walls.  They began producing their own yarn from their growing number of sheep, which lead on to being  given or buying other local fleeces to make up the quantity needed for the mill. Wool is addictive and one batch of yarn lead onto experimenting with natural dyes and mixing breeds to give different yarns - to bring them to where they are today! 

Our next stop will be at Shetland Museum and Archives, showing Shetland community heritage and culture. The galleries contain wonderful examples of delicate Shetland lace and your guided tour will focus on knitting related history and its importance to Shetland.  Enjoy lunch before exploring the ancient settlement of Jarlshof. Return to your hotel for a meet and greet with your knitting host, Janette Budge.  Overnight Shetland, Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner included. 

Travel out to gorgeous Burra and Burra Bears. Wendy Inkster makes amazing, highly sought after teddy bears from recycled Fair Isle sweaters and waste panels! Continue on to meet some of the gorgeous ponies Shetland are famous for! We return to Lerwick for you to have a break and a bit of lunch (not included) before your afternoon workshop. Don't fill up too much, as we have homemade scones and cake this afternoon! 

Meet with Hazel Tindall who is an expert on Fair Isle knitting. Hazel is also the world's fastest knitter! Her half day workshop is on the topic of Fair Isle Yoke Construction and you will learn how to knit Fair Isle Yokes and study some variants of the pattern. Knit your own section of yoke,  experimenting with colour and shaping. Hazel will provide the know how to design your own full Yoked sweater! Return to your hotel for dinner and a knitting circle with Janette who is on hand for all your Shetland knitting questions, tips and guidance! Overnight Shetland, Breakfast and Dinner included.

Your Shetland Knitting Belt workshop this morning is hosted by Janette Budge! Her class teaches you how to work with the belt used by generations of knitters, who had the task of hand knitting for their families. Learn how to add a raepin string at the bottom of your knitting and to see how it changes your tension, speed and ease of knitting. Janette will also demonstrate different techniques for holding your yarns while knitting Fair Isle!

Enjoy lunch at Da Haaf Restaurant before some free time to explore, relax and practice your new knitting skills! Overnight Shetland, Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner included. 

Shetland Textile Museum is a community museum in Shetland – the only one of its kind dedicated to the islands’ textile heritage, especially knitting, both historical and contemporary. The Collection held by the Shetland Textile Museum at The Böd of Gremista in Lerwick comprises over seven hundred items, including Fair-Isle and lace knitting, knitwear, taatit rugs, tools, tweed, and items by contemporary Shetland makers. Continue to Nielanell Studio for 'Shetland Knitwear but not as you know it!' Here it is all about contemporary colour, pattern and texture. 

After lunch at the wonderful Hoswick Visitor Centre, meet with your Lace Designer for a Shetland Lace knitting class, where you will be shown the skills needed to create your own Shetland-inspired lace design. After dinner, enjoy another evening knitting circle with the lovely Janette Budge! Overnight Shetland, Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner included. 

Start the day with a visit to the picturesque Shetland Jewellery, crafting Shetland, Nordic and Celtic inspired jewellery since 1953. Nestled beside Hellister Loch, watch the detailed craftwork take place first hand, perhaps buying a piece or two that come with a lifetime guarantee! Set within Weisdale Old Mill, enjoy lunch at Bonhoga Gallery and view the artwork on show. 

Return to Lerwick for yarn, yarn and yarn! Visits to Jamieson's of Shetland and Jamieson and Smith Wool Brokers will keep you busy, before a relaxed browse through The Shetland Times bookstore, featuring books on knitting and island life! Board your ferry to the mainland and have dinner onboard before setting sail. Overnight, Northlink Ferry, Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Included. 

Enjoy breakfast on your ferry before disembarking at Aberdeen. Our first stop of the day will be at Glamis Castle, home of the Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne. This castle was the inspiration for Shakespeare’s Macbeth and was also the childhood home of H.M. Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. The gardens surrounding Glamis Castle are beautiful all year round where you have the opportunity to see a wide variety of flora and fauna.

We continue to Askival of Strathearn for a Kilt Making Demonstration. Here you can see first hand, the process of the traditional tailored kilt making.  Learn the history of the kilt and the Highland attire, the tartans and how a kilt is made. Learn how to tell a well-made tailored kilt from a bad one and how it should fit! Continue on to Scotland's capital city, Edinburgh. Overnight Edinburgh, Breakfast and Dinner included.

This morning we travel to Kathy’s Knits where we meet with knitwear designer Lucy Hague who specialises in the translation of Celtic knotwork into cable knitting. Enjoy a talk and a chance to shop for all your last minute knitting needs! This evening revel in a tour of the Scotch Whisky Experience and a wee dram! Relax over a Scottish farewell dinner at Amber Restaurant. Overnight Edinburgh, Breakfast and Dinner included.

We will transfer you to  Edinburgh airport in plenty of time to complete check-in formalities and that last minute duty free shopping.