Scottish Clan and Ancestry Private Tours from Inverness

By John Alasdair Macdonald, PhD • Historian & Private Tour Guide

Travelling to the Highlands and Islands to find where your ancestors came from is a great thing to do, and there are many good ways to do it, including individually planned ancestry tours from other guides. After 19 years of private tour guiding, my own approach is to build the experience around established routes that already pass through the ancestral lands of many clans, exploring your family's connections along the way. Below, I have split this into two groups: the clans I go deepest on, and the clans whose ancestral ground my core tours also pass through.

The clans I go deepest on...

I focus my ancestry guiding on the clans where my core tour routes already cover most of the geography — primarily Clan Macdonald, Clan Macleod and Clan Morrison.

Clan Macdonald: The Macdonald lands on the Isle of Skye and across the West Highlands lie on or near the routes of the 3 Day and 5 Day Isle of Skye and Highlands Private Tours, with the fullest coverage on the 5 day tour.

See → "Clan Macdonald History, Heritage and Private Tours"
Clan Macleod: The Macleod trail is centred on the Isle of Skye and the Outer Hebrides, so it fits the 5 Day Isle of Skye and Highlands Tour, the 4 Day Outer Hebrides Tour and the 5 Day Outer Hebrides and Isle of Skye Tour.

See → "Clan Macleod History, Heritage and Private Tours"
Clan Morrison: The Morrison homeland on Lewis and Harris is covered on the 4 Day Outer Hebrides Private Tour. My own grandmother was a Morrison, so this is a history I enjoy bringing into the days.

See → "Clan Morrison History, Heritage and Private Tours"

Other clans whose ancestral ground my tours pass through...

Clan Mackenzie: Eilean Donan Castle and the surrounding lands of Kintail – an ancient seat of the Mackenzies – are core stops on the 3 Day and 5 Day Isle of Skye and Highlands Tours. This is a name in my own distant family tree.
Clan Macrae: Kintail was the Macrae homeland, and the clan long served as hereditary constables of Eilean Donan Castle for the Mackenzies before passing into their hands. The castle is a core stop on the 3 Day and 5 Day Isle of Skye and Highlands Tours, and its 20th century restoration was led by a Macrae.
Clan Cameron: Lochaber and the wider Cameron heartland feature on the 5 Day Isle of Skye and Highlands Tour. This is also a clan I know particularly well academically – my doctoral research focused closely on several Cameron figures of the period.
Clan Campbell: Inveraray Castle, long the seat of the Dukes of Argyll and the chiefs of Clan Campbell, is visited on the fourth day of the 5 Day Isle of Skye and Highlands Tour.
Clan Sinclair: The Sinclairs' history throughout Caithness and as Earls of Orkney can be part of the story on the 4 Day Orkney and Highlands Tour.

If your family name is not listed above but your ancestral lands lie on or near one of my core tour routes, please get in touch using the Tour Enquiry Form and mention your clan or family name in the 'Extra Information' section.

What to expect on the road...

We will certainly visit the famous castles and main historic sites that fit our route. But for most people, the real connection happens at the much quieter, smaller spots along the way — like stopping at an old parish graveyard to track down a name on a weather-worn stone, or simply looking out across an old crofting township your family left behind.

Choosing your tour

These private multi-day tours from Inverness cover the ancestral lands above:

To enquire, complete a Tour Enquiry Form for your preferred tour and mention your family name in the 'Extra Information' section.