The Marching 'Canes Performance Tour
Updated To Include Our Selected Events and Tours!
April, 2006
The Edinburgh Easter Festival provides the city with a fantastic series of performances, concerts and displays over the course of the Easter holiday. Events will run from Maundy Thursday until Easter Monday.
The principal Festival Day will be Easter Sunday, when Princes Street will become the focus of the day’s entertainment. Events will begin with the Festival Cavalcade – a fabulous procession along Scotland’s most famous street, and continue throughout the afternoon in Princes Street Gardens where two major international stages will provide performances and specialty acts from all over the world, intermingled with a great variety of the very best local performance talent. A fantastic fun-filled family atmosphere will ensure a great afternoon for performers and spectators alike.
The Ross Theatre, in Princes Street Gardens, will also enjoy daily lunchtime concerts and displays throughout the holiday weekend, beginning on Good Friday. With its natural amphitheatre, this arena will provide the perfect setting for musical and dance performances.
A series of evening concerts will also be taking place throughout the Easter Holiday in some of the finest Cathedrals and Churches in the City. Groups will perform in such venues as St Giles Cathedral, St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, St Bennett’s and St Augustine’s.
The Royal Mile, which runs through the oldest part of the city, is the most famous street in Edinburgh. The tour will begin with entrance to Edinburgh Castle, originally built in the 12th Century but much changed over the years. It is home to the Scottish Crown Jewels and the Stone of Scone (pronounced scoon). The walk along the Royal Mile will take you along Lawnmarket, the High Street and Canongate and past many fine buildings including St. Giles Cathedral. At the base of the hill the walk will end at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official Scottish residence of Her Majesty The Queen.
This tour, by luxury motor coach, will take in the ‘new’ part of the City not covered by the walk, which mostly dates from Georgian times. The tour will take in many famous and historic landmarks including Princes Street, George Street and the Scott Monument. You will also visit the delightful port area of Leith, just a mile from the city centre, where the Royal Yacht Britannia is now berthed following its decommissioning after many years of service with the Royal Family. This includes entrance to Britannia. A professional guide will conduct the tour and will ensure that there are pauses for photographs.
The history of Edinburgh is steeped in legends of murder, mystery, torture and ghostly goings-on. Treason, witchcraft and tormented phantoms - they can all be found in the cobbled streets and underground passageways of the Old Town. This wonderful, dramatic tour combines the best story-telling, the creepiest underground vaults and the most gruesome history to be found anywhere in Scotland! We will spend a memorable evening in the company of Edinburgh's grisly past and entertaining hosts!
Loch Lomond – At 24 miles long and 5 miles wide, Loch Lomond is the UK’s largest fresh water Loch (Lake). Frequently written about in song and verse, it is renowned for its beauty and tranquility. Some 200 species of birds have been recorded in the area. The tour will incorporate a cruise and a visit to the National Park Visitor Centre.
The Trossachs – The mountains, crags and lochs make up what is frequently recognized as the most beautiful terrain in Scotland. It was through this area’s association with Rob Roy, that The Trossachs have become one of the most popular destinations for visitors to Scotland. Although variously described as a clan leader, brigand, cattle trader and rustler, Rob Roy (Robert McGregor) was turned into a national hero by Sir Walter Scott in his 19th century novel.
Stirling Castle – One of Scotland’s grandest castles, by virtue of its imposing position and impressive architecture, Stirling Castle is embroiled in historical significance. It overlooks the sites of famous battles (Stirling Bridge and Banockburn) in which the Scots defeated the English and secured their independence. Although frequently destroyed through the ages, it was always rebuilt and restored according to the tastes of the presiding monarch.
Palace of Holyroodhouse. Her Majesty the Queen’s official residence in Scotland. Entrance includes Holyrood Abbey, historic apartments, staterooms, and Mary Queen of Scots chambers.
Mary King’s Close. Below the City Chambers lies the close made famous in 1645 when 400 plague victims were rounded up and the exit sealed shut. This hair-raising tour is now one of Edinburgh’s most popular visits!
"Mamma Mia!" - We will enjoy a fabulous evening of Edinburgh Theatre as we take in this acclaimed musical, billed as “The World’s Number One Show!” From its 1999 world premiere to today, more productions of Mamma Mia! are playing simultaneously around the world than any other musical!
In order to mark our participation in the Edinburgh Easter Festival, our band will be invited to a special Scottish banquet and celebration party. It will include a four course banquet followed by an evening of traditional entertainment including dancing, singing, pipe music and the ‘ceremony of the haggis’ (and yes, you do get to have a taste!). Youth Music of the World parties are always enormously successful and have fostered many fruitful and lasting international friendships.
St Giles' Cathedral (No Charge)
St Giles' Cathedral is the historic City Church of Edinburgh with its famed crown spire on the Royal Mile between Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Also known as the High Kirk of Edinburgh, it is Presbyterianism's Mother Church and contains the Chapel of the Order of the Thistle (Scotland's chivalric company of knights headed by the Queen).
St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral (No Charge)
Built in 1879 to the award-winning design of Sir George Gilbert Scott, this neo-Gothic building reflects the spirit of that age: it is massive, its three spires lend distinction to the Edinburgh skyline and it rejoices in a wealth of ornate and symbolic detail, the evidence of a flourishing craftsmanship.
John Knox House (Adults £3.00)
From Edinburgh's High Street, John Knox House looks much the same today as it did when this portion of the building was constructed in 1560.
The Georgian House (Adults £5.00)
The Georgian House is part of Robert Adam's masterpiece of urban design, Charlotte Square. It dates from 1796, when those who could afford it began to escape from the cramped, squalid conditions of Edinburgh's Old Town to settle in the fashionable New Town.
Calton Hill (No Charge) (Nelson Monument Admission £2.50)
Perched high on Calton Hill in the east end of the city centre, is the monument to Admiral Lord Nelson's victory, and death, at the battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. The upturned telescope was designed by the architect Robert Burn, and was built between 1807 and 1815. Climb this monument for stunning views over the city!
The Royal Museum, Edinburgh (No Charge)
The Royal Museum houses international collections of decorative art, the natural world and science and industry.
The Museum of Scotland (No Charge)
The Museum of Scotland presents the history of Scotland from its geological formation to the 20th Century.
The Writers' Museum (No Charge)
Situated in Lady Stair's House, built in 1622, The Writers' Museum is dedicated to the lives and work of Scotland's great literary figures, in particular Robert Burns (1759 -1796), Sir Walter Scott (1771 - 1832) and Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894).
The National Gallery of Scotland (No Charge)
The National Gallery of Scotland, oldest of the five Galleries, is situated in the heart of Edinburgh on The Mound, between the ancient Old Town and the Georgian New Town. It is home to Scotland's greatest collection of European paintings and sculpture from the Renaissance to Post-Impressionism, and is one of the very finest galleries of its size in the world.
The Scottish National Portrait Gallery (No Charge)
The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is situated in the heart of the New Town at the east end of Queen Street. It provides a unique visual history of Scotland, told through portraits of the figures who shaped it: royals and rebels, poets and philosophers, heroes and villains.
Gladstone's Land (Adults £5.00)
Gladstone’s Land is a typical example of a 17th-century tenement building of the overcrowded Old Town which grew up along the ridge between Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse – the Royal Mile.
Our Dynamic Earth (Adults £8.95)
Our Dynamic Earth is one of Edinburgh's most exciting, "must see" attractions. Take a thrilling journey back in time and learn about our planet Earth.
Harvey Nichols has opened their first Scottish branch in Edinburgh, which includes the Forth Floor Restaurant, which, as luck would have it, offers views of the Firth of Forth as well as being on the fourth floor. Since opening, 'Harvey Nicks' has been joined by a string of designer stores that have transformed the city's east end and George Street, with stores including Hugo Boss, Cruise, Karen Millen and Thomas Pink. Those who keep an eye on the shopping scene have been eagerly awaiting the opening of stylish stores on 'The Walk' - a new dedicated shopping street that has recently opened adjacent to Harvey Nichols. With Louis Vuitton and Armani already open and other big names in the pipeline, the Edinburgh shops are beginning to hold their own alongside other UK cities.
In the city center is Jenners (Edinburgh’s Herrod’s), which specializes in traditional china and glassware, and Scottish clothing (upscale tweeds and tartans). Its justly famous food hall sells shortbreads and Dundee cakes (a light fruit cake with a distinctive pattern of split almonds arranged in circles on the top), honeys, and marmalades, as well as high-quality groceries.
Away from the designer fashion stores there is more boutique-style shopping hidden away in Stockbridge, William Street (at the West End) and Victoria Street, the latter an atmospheric curling old lane that rumbles in a flurry of cobbles from the Royal Mile down towards the lively traditional pubs in the Grassmarket. This is the place to come if you want to pick up those one-off purchases as you peruse in the shadow of one of Europe's most dramatic castles.
The Edinburgh Easter Festival committee has created a superb performance travel program for our students and families. Edinburgh and Scotland are rich in culture, and boast magnificent architecture and sumptuous scenery!
Our Scotland adventure will be a truly rewarding and educational experience that promises memories to last a lifetime!
Updated December, 2005 |