Clan Tours

Let Clan Tours organise your own "clan tour", taking in the key areas and history of your Scottish Clan. You may discover aspects of your clan history you'd never known, wear the tartan of your ancestors and stand in their footsteps. Clan Tours can take your requirements and build a unique itinery for your group.

With so many people worldwide of Scottish descent, the nation is especially well provided with family research facilities, with the records and information availability of a very high standard. This gives Scotland a superb resource for genealogy research. Homecoming 2009 is also for ‘Affinity Scots’ – those whose attachment to Scotland is emotional rather than simply genetic! No matter the relationship, there is a wealth of events taking place in 2009, from clan gatherings to heritage themes and explorations of how Scots abroad have shaped their countries and communities

Estimates say some 40 million, people worldwide are of Scottish descent. Scotland is especially well provided with family research facilities. Four centuries of parish registers, registers of births, deaths and marriages plus census records give Scotland a superb resource for genealogy research. The descendants of Clan Donald alone, at home and abroad, are said to be around 15 million!
There are many places associated with the Highland Clearances, which resulted in the emigration of many Highlanders in the 18th and 19th centuries. One of the most atmospheric is Badbea, near Helmsdale in Caithness, a now abandoned village founded after the local people were cleared from the nearby glens. The Strath of Kildonan is another notorious place, where between 1813 and 1819 the entire glen was cleared, in the name of the Sutherlands of Dunrobin Castle. (Kildonan in Canada was where some of the Highlanders eventually settled.)
The Scots named more than 1000 towns in Canada after their homeland. Twelve of these have been paired and a photographic project initiated. The material created by Scots Canadians will tour Scotland throughout 2009 under the banner ‘This is Who We Are’.
Scotland’s People Centre is Scotland's new national family history resource, which provides access to millions of documents from the 16th century, including birth, death and marriage registers. In 2009 a rolling programme of exhibitions will demonstrate the power of this resource when illustrating the results of genealogical research into the family history of six famous Scots. General Register House and New Register House in Edinburgh have combined facilities to create this purpose-built family history centre.
The North East Clan Fortnight features a range of events, including a clan ball, Highland Games and an agricultural show, all held in this historic part of Scotland. 18 July – 3 August, 2009.
The Gathering 2009. Clan members world-wide will gather to see Scotland's largest ever Highland Games in Edinburgh’s Holyrood Park. As well as the traditional events, there are contemporary Scottish music, top-quality arts and crafts, and the best local food and drink; also clan tents and genealogy displays plus the centrepiece Clan Parade on the famous Royal Mile, culminating in a spectacular Historic Pageant on the Castle's esplanade. 25/26 July, 2009.
Angus and Dundee Roots Festival. A focus for people with ancestral roots in the area, encouraging them to visit and find out more about their ancestral homeland. 26 September – 5 October, 2009.