Find Your Ancestors While Traveling Scotland

There are 50 million people who have ancestral ties to Scotland, but not everyone has uncovered their connections yet. Why not visit Scotland and find out to which Clan you belong and maybe meet family you never knew you had.

Scotland’s tourism office offers different trips to find out more about your ancestors while visiting different parts of Scotland.

Homecoming Scotland 2014

Walk in the footsteps of your ancestors during a week long travel through Scotland starting in Edinburgh where you can visit the country’s biggest archive store. Here you can find out about any possible ancestors by browsing the numerous birth, death and marriage records. A visit to the National Library of Scotland will bring you closer to Scotland and the Scots and if you are interested in Scotland’s history a visit to Edinburgh Castle, the National Museum of Scotland and St. Giles Cathedral are a must.

Other destinations on this trip are Perth with the Highland Folk Museum in Newtonmore which is a free mile-long ‘living’ history site, reflecting social and rural life in the Highlands.

In Scotland’s most northern city Inverness you can visit the Highland Archive Center where you can look at historical records dating back to the 14th century. From there you will travel to the Isle of Skye which is home to different castles belonging to clans like Clan Donald and Clan MacLeod and learn about their history.

Travelling through Glen Co, Stirling and Gretna Green you will visit different battle fields and Stirling Castle, home of Mary Queen of Scots. ANd finally in Hawick you can consult the archives of the Heritage Hub, that date back 750 years.

Scottish Ancestry

Start your tour in the research centres of Scotland’s historic capital city,Edinburgh. Here you’ll find Scotland’s People Centre, the largest family history centre in Scotland and home to the National Records of Scotland, one of the most varied collections of archives in Europe. If you would like to dig a little deeper into your family history the Scottish Genealogy Society on Victoria Terrace is the place to go. Here you will find many other researchers and the society offers a wealth of genealogical information and guidance. And finally in Edinburgh’s Old Town, the recently refurbished National Museum of Scotland is a fantastic place to explore Scottish history from early geological times through to the present day.

Clan Itineraries

If you know already to which clan you belong you can take tours to the places your ancestors lived and fought battles. If you belong to Clan Armstrong you can travel southwards to the border between England and Scotland where many wars were fought until the 1600s and where the Armstrongs played the roles of both protector and invader over their long history.

Or follow this Clan Buchanan itinerary from charming cities through to rolling lowlands and beautiful forests and woodlands.

Clan Donald were once rulers of the ‘sea kingdom’ on Scotland’s west coast and found particular success in Skye where they became the self-styled ‘Lords of the Isles’, so the Clan Donald itinerary will take you to Inverness, Skye, Glencoe and the isles of Isla, Jura and Eigg.

There are a total of 42 Clan itineraries available, so whether you are a part of a certain clan or just interested in their history, these travels will certainly be very informative and enlightening.