In the footsteps of James Hutton: Glen Tilt
Saturday 28 to Monday 30 March 2026 (2 nights)
or Monday 30 March to Thursday 2 April 2026 (3 nights)

Glen Tilt in Perthshire is world famous, due to the discoveries that James Hutton made here in 1785. In the boulders and rocky banks of the River Tilt, he explored beautiful contacts between older metamorphic rocks, and the younger, intrusive granite. This was the first place where Hutton deliberately set out to find evidence to support his grand Theory of the Earth; and it represents the first confirmation of the ‘plutonist’ theory, a major pillar of his understanding of how the Earth works, but which would remain controversial for decades after Hutton’s death.

” the sight of objects which verified at once so many important conclusions in his system, filled him with delight; and as his feelings, on such occasions, were always strongly expressed, the guides who accompanied him were convinced that it must be nothing less than the discovery of a vein of silver or gold that could call forth such strong marks of joy and exultation.”

John Playfair, describing Hutton’s visit

The site at Glen Tilt is remote, 8 miles up the glen from Blair Atholl. This is a very special, one-off opportunity to follow Hutton’s footsteps, in the year that marks the Tercentenary of his birth in 1726. We will stay in Forest Lodge, as James Hutton did, and explore the rocks that Hutton found close by in the glen.

This is also an opportunity to study the main rocks of the Scottish Highlands, with beautiful outcrops of Dalradian metamorphic rocks and Caledonian granite. We will explore the modern understanding of these rocks, the landscapes they create, and gain an appreciation of how Hutton’s ideas on the formation of rocks and Earth processes have laid the foundations of geology and Scotland’s geological story.

We will have exclusive use of Forest Lodge in the Atholl Estate: a large, luxurious estate house (which has been extensively modernised since Hutton stayed here in 1785!). There are 11 bedrooms and large spaces for gathering and eating. All meals are provided, with sumptuous catering by Geowalks’ favourite cook, Katrin Bach from the Isle of Eigg.

Kilmartin Glen and the Geology of Argyll
Monday 18 to Friday 22 May 2026 (4 nights)

Kilmartin Glen in Argyll is well known for evidence of 12,000 years of human activity, with an important concentration of Neolithic and Bronze Age remains. This holiday will explore this human story through a geological lens, considering the use of stone by people and how the landscape, shaped by geological forces, in turn shapes how people have lived here in the past and present.

We’ll be based in the village of Kilmartin, and visit the famous Kilmartin Museum, recently redeveloped. On our doorstep there is a range of standing stones, decorated rock surfaces, cists and burial cairns. We’ll visit key archaeology sites including Baluachraig and Dunadd Fort to explore their geological and landscape setting.

Nearby on the coast there are superb, clean outcrops of the Dalradian metamorphic rocks and associated igneous intrusions. In many places these have a low degree of metamorphism, allowing insight into the original conditions of sedimentation and a unique view of seafloor conditions of a long-lost ocean.

In the footsteps of James Hutton: Arran
Thursday 11 to Monday 15 June 2026 (4 nights)

Welcome to the best geology in Scotland! In this tour of Arran’s geology, we will walk in the footsteps of James Hutton and discover crucial evidence that he used to support two aspects of his Theory of the Earth. Arran is the only location visited by Hutton in the 1780s where he was able to describe both an angular unconformity, and the intrusive nature of granite. This makes Arran a very special place to appreciate how field visits helped support and develop Hutton’s ideas on how the Earth works. The island also has many other geological treasures, giving an opportunity to explore the basics of geology and the wider story of Scotland’s geological past.

We’ll be based at the Lochranza Centre and will have access to the excellent Arran Geopark interpretation centre.

Selkie’s Hebrides Geosail – *revised dates* Saturday 25 to Friday 31 July 2026

Delighted to team up with skipper Celia Bull and the good yacht Selkie for another geosail. For those in the know, these voyages take us to the places that normal geology trips don’t reach!

Sailing with the wind, we experience the Hebrides from an entirely different vantage—intimate, slow, and shaped by sea. We follow no set trail, instead drifting close to otherwise unreachable stretches of coast where billion-year-old rocks meet dancing seabirds and sea-scoured cliffs.

These voyages are about lingering—not rushing—soaking in the atmosphere and letting the land’s deep time speak. Along the way, there’s always awe: basking seals, swooping gannets, and the quiet hum of geological wonder just beneath our keel.

We can’t chart the exact itinerary in advance—that’s part of the magic. Conditions and wind will guide us north or south in the Sea of the Hebrides or The Minch, east or west toward headlands shaped across millennia.

Expect a vivid geological arc: from Lewisian gneiss nearly 3 billion years old to younger volcanic and sedimentary formations only 55 million years young. Each day unveils a new moment in Earth’s memory.

Aboard Selkie, food is part of the experience. We serve nourishing, delicious meals made with locally sourced produce—often from Celia’s croft or nearby Isle of Eigg growers and businesses. It’s thoughtful sustenance for body and spirit.

Further details and booking – selkie-explorers.com/selkie-geosails/

Scotland – the birth of geology (for GeoWorld Travel) 14-22 September 2026

This trip is aptly named the ‘Birth of Geology’ for it is in Scotland that many of the world’s most important historic geosites occur, such as Siccar Point where the enormity of geological time was first realised and Knockan Crag where the world’s first identified thrust fault can be seen. The trip is also a journey through geological time with rocks ranging in age from some of the oldest in Europe, e.g. the 3 billion year old Lewisian gneiss, to lavas that formed in the splitting of the Atlantic just 50 million years ago e.g. Fingals Cave. With 6 former volcanoes, some of the world’s best preserved mid Jurassic dinosaur footprints, and breath taking glacially eroded scenery, this tour takes in a large swath of Scotland.

Further details and booking – www.geoworldtravel.com/Scotland.php 

Moray Firth Geo-retreat
Saturday 21 – Tuesday 24 November 2026

The Moray Firth is a great place to contemplate large-scale Earth processes of erosion and deposition, with an interesting range of sedimentary rocks that record a long period of sediment accumulation in changing conditions.

Sandwiched between the Caledonian mountains and the North Sea, this coastline tells a story of the battle between land and sea stretching back over 400 million years. And the sea hasn’t given up yet!
We’ll be based in the old fishing village of Cromarty on the Black Isle, a peaceful and picturesque spot that is famous for its connection with the great Scots geologist Hugh Miller (1802-1856). We’ll have plenty of time to explore the village and the local area, and Miller’s Birthplace, now a museum with a collection of his fossils, tools and manuscripts.

We’ll make the most of the weather, the light and the tide to enjoy some relaxed geological explorations along the coast.