11.05.2026, 00:00 A.M.
Tour leader: Devised & led by Harriet Landseer
About the tour: Glasgow took over Dublin’s mantle as the second city of the Empire in the 19th century, and has an eclectic collection of buildings reflecting its industrial wealth, including some major museums. Both the Burrell Collection and Pollok House, with its fine collection of Spanish painting in a Georgian country house, have been refurbished and reopened recently, while Kelvingrove has the greatest collection of Scottish Colourists. Meanwhile we will follow a Charles Rennie Mackintosh trail from the Hunterian to Hill House, to include his early work at the Glasgow Art Club and the Willow Tea Rooms. In neighbouring Ayrshire we will see the glorious restoration of Dumfries House, one of the few Adam houses preserved with its original furnishings, which is now complete, with the gardens and grounds at peak in May, as well as nearby Drumlanrig Castle (Duke of Buccleuch). Additionally we will have private visits to two other houses south of Glasgow.
PRICE INFORMATION:
Cost per person sharing: €1890 (single supplement €440)
Cost includes 4 nights bed and breakfast in 4* hotel as per programme; coach transfers, entries to museums houses and gardens; local guides; 2 dinners, 1 tea and 4 lunches and contribution to IGS.
Important Information:
- All participants must be members of the Irish Georgian Society.
- Places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
- The tour will proceed once a minimum number of bookings has been reached.
- Travel insurance must be arranged at the time of booking.
- Balance payments are refundable only if your place can be filled by another IGS member. Otherwise, refunds must be claimed through your travel insurance provider.
Use the following link for booking:
https://travelescapes.ie/irish-georgian-society-glasgow
Photo attribution: Dumfries House by Humphrey Bolton, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/li...;, via Wikimedia Commons
ITINERARY (subject to amendment)
Monday 11 May
10.20 Departure of Aer Lingus flight EI3222 from Dublin
11.30 Arrive Glasgow Airport and transfer by private coach to Glasgow
13.00 Lunch and visit at Mackintosh’s Willow Tea Rooms, followed by a walking tour with Niall Murphy, Director of the Glasgow City Heritage Trust, to include a visit to the interior of the City Chambers (tbc)
p.m. Continue to stay at the George Carlton Hotel for a 4 night stay
18.45 Leave on foot for welcome drinks, a visit and dinner at the Glasgow Art Club, with a restored Mackintosh frieze (his first major public work)
Tuesday 12 May
9.00 Leave (by coach) to visit Drumlanrig Castle, the most important Scottish
Renaissance building, with outstanding French pictures, tapestries,
furnishings and works of art (The Duke of Buccleuch)
12.00 Continue to Dumfries House, one of relatively few Palladian houses with
the original 18th century furniture, including pieces commissioned from
Thomas Chippendale
Lunch, followed by guided tour of the house – by kind arrangement with
The Great Steward of Scotland’s Dumfries House Trust
p.m. Return to Glasgow for dinner independently
Wednesday 13 May
9.00 Leave (by coach) for Helensburgh and visit The Hill House (National Trust
for Scotland, NTS) Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s architectural masterpiece
11.00 Continue for a visit and private lunch at Kelburn Castle (by kind arrangement with David Boyle, Earl of Glasgow)
p.m. Continue to visit Ardgowan, containing many fine paintings, including by Raeburn and Landseer, as well as Gillows furniture (by kind arrangement with Sir Ludovic Shaw-Stewart)
Tea will be served following the visit
Return to Glasgow
Dinner independently
Thursday 14 May
a.m. Leave to visit Pollok House to see the collection of Spanish paintings (reopening date yet to be confirmed)
Continue to visit the Burrell Collection, the remarkable collection of art made by steel magnate William Burrell, which is now beautifully housed in a custom-built museum.
Lunch independently at the café at the Burrell
14.30 Visit to Holmwood House, the masterwork of Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson
Return to the hotel / free time
19.30 Dinner at a restaurant within walking distance
Friday 15 May
9.30 Leave (with luggage)
10.00 Visit to The Hunterian Art Gallery at Glasgow University, to include
the Mackintosh House
12.00 Visit to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum with lunch in the café on site
15.00 Continue to Glasgow airport (30 mins)
17.20 Departure of Aer Lingus flight EI3228
18.40 Arrive at Dublin airport