Leith (Edinburgh) to Amsterdam

Edinburgh is Scotland’s compact, hilly capital. It has a medieval Old Town and elegant Georgian New Town with gardens and neoclassical buildings. Looming over the city is Edinburgh Castle, home to Scotland’s crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny, used in the coronation of Scottish rulers. Arthur’s Seat is an imposing peak in Holyrood Park with sweeping views, and Calton Hill is topped with monuments and memorials.

Ullapool is a port and a village of around 1,500 inhabitants in Ross and Cromarty, Scottish Highlands, located around 45 miles north-west of Inverness. Despite its small size it is the largest settlement for many miles around, and an important port and tourist destination.

Oban is the principal settlement on Stewart Island / Rakiura, the southernmost inhabited island of the New Zealand archipelago. Oban is located on Halfmoon Bay, on Paterson Inlet. It has aircraft connections with Invercargill and a ferry service to Bluff.

Belfast is Northern Ireland’s capital. It was the birthplace of the RMS Titanic, which famously struck an iceberg and sunk in 1912. This legacy is recalled in the renovated dockyards’ Titanic Quarter, which includes the Titanic Belfast, an aluminium-clad museum reminiscent of a ship’s hull, as well as shipbuilder Harland & Wolff’s Drawing Offices and the Titanic Slipways, which now host open-air concerts.

The Isles of Scilly are an archipelago off the Cornish coast, in southwest England. The islands are covered in heathland, and fringed by sandy beaches such as Great Bay on St. Martin’s. On Tresco, one of the 5 inhabited islands, Tresco Abbey Garden is home to subtropical plants and also the Valhalla Museum, displaying shipwrecked figureheads. The tower of 17th-century Cromwell’s Castle stands at the north of Tresco

Amsterdam is the Netherlands’ capital, known for its artistic heritage, elaborate canal system and narrow houses with gabled facades, legacies of the city’s 17th-century Golden Age. Its Museum District houses the Van Gogh Museum, works by Rembrandt and Vermeer at the Rijksmuseum, and modern art at the Stedelijk. Cycling is key to the city’s character, and there are numerous bike paths.

Amsterdam is the Netherlands’ capital, known for its artistic heritage, elaborate canal system and narrow houses with gabled facades, legacies of the city’s 17th-century Golden Age. Its Museum District houses the Van Gogh Museum, works by Rembrandt and Vermeer at the Rijksmuseum, and modern art at the Stedelijk. Cycling is key to the city’s character, and there are numerous bike paths.