The Places That Hold Your English Holiday
Discover the locations that shape your English week
These are the places we return to again and again with our guests — settings we know well, and the experiences they make possible.
The walks, cafés, gardens, wildlife reserves and corners that shape a week at Blue Noun.
We don’t use Scotland as a backdrop. We move through it — slowly — and English is used naturally along the way: over shared meals, on woodland paths, in creative studios, in small everyday exchanges.
The experiences listed here are examples of what may be included during a week. Locations and visit styles vary with the season and the group, but they are always selected to support relaxed conversation, connection, and real-world language use.
This page shows you where your time is actually spent.
Ways of Being Outdoors
Go Mountain Biking
Enjoy an afternoon of thrilling down-hilling with the amazing Comrie Croft – including a meal at their very special Tea Garden café.
Learn Survival Craft
Have an afternoon with Iain at Do it Outdoors – and learn Fly Fishing, Archery, or Wild Survival Bushcraft.
Play Golf
Kayak or Canoe
Enjoy a bespoke River Kayak Tour or join Ruth for a paddle on Loch Tay.
Canoeing is a gentle, unobtrusive way to see nature, and gives you whole lochs and islans to enjoy by yourself.
Walk Perthshire
Perthshire has thousands of miles of footpaths.
Crieff, perched high on its hill, overlooks a gorgeous landscape rich in Nature and History – and there are trails and footpaths for every level of walker to explore.
Ways of being with history
Visit Scone Palace
The historic home of Scotland’s ‘Stone of Destiny’ is a wonderful visit and a rich day trip.
Take the fabulous guided tour to discover remarkable art, or stay outdoors to explore the beautiful and historic gardens (don’t get lost in the maze!).
An Afternoon at Innerpeffray
Including a guide to Scotland’s first lending library and its historic books.
Scotland’s first free public lending library founded in 1680.
Used by people from the local community until 1968, today you can still read the rare books in its diverse collection.
Huntingtower Castle
Explore the castle where Mary Queen of Scots stayed.
Huntingtower Castle has a fascinating layout as its 17 C. owners altered their medieval castle to try to make it look more like a regular country mansion. Discover one of the oldest painted ceilings in Scotland and highly unusual castle architecture.
Tour Camp 22
One of the best-preserved WW2 POW camps in the UK.
Cultybraggan also has a fascinating contemporary social history.
Discover how Community Ownership Trust has transformed it into a melting pot of micro-businesses and eco-businesses – and a co-working space.
Perth’s New Museum
In 2024, the Stone of Destiny returned to Perthshire, to a new permanent display inside a new museum celebrating Perthshire. This museum, combined with the art gallery now housing the Ferguson Collection, makes Perth City a real destination for culture lovers.
Crieff’s Standing Stone
Crieff sits within a landscape scattered with ancient standing stones, quiet markers of Scotland’s deep past.
These solitary stones and small circles rise from fields and hillsides across Perthshire, linking the town to thousands of years of human story.
They’re simple, elemental places — best experienced slowly, with space to stand and look.
The Wallace Monument
A superb immersion experience for discovering Scottish history and enjoying the Scottish landscape. The Wallace Monument has breathtaking views and a great visitor experience.
Visit Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle has always been a popular tourist attraction – but it has been slowly growing the wealth of details it has to share with its visitors.
It is now a superb visitor experience, with lots to see, do and discuss!
Food & Drink experiences
Bake Bread
Practice your English in a fun and tasty way!
From time to time, Campbell’s Bakery invites Blue Noun English language learners to take their breadmaking workshop.
Taught by the award-winning baker, Iain Campbell – an entertaining and excellent teacher.
This option is only available on certain dates!
‘Care no More!’
Visit the Scottish winery, Cairn O’Mohr for a guided tour!
Find out how their award-wining organic wines and ciders are made and sample the range in a very generous (and fun) tasting session. It’s a completely bonkers visit.
The Glenturret
Superb design: when Scottish tradition meets Lalique glassware.
Visit the local Glenturret Distillery for their award-winning tour, taking you through the traditional art of whisky making – and the new contemporary bottle designs by Lalique.
Dine Out
Curry Night
Our favourite night!
While enjoying our local Scottish culture, let’s celebrate that we are also a nation shaped by other cultures – and in the tastiest of ways! Our local Nepalese restaurant The Gurkhas is fantastic!
Whisky Tasting
Taste the Scottish nectar!
You will always be invited to take part in weekly whisky tastings at Blue Noun.
Be guided through a selection (of well-researched favourites) from our local (amazing!) whisky shop J.L. Gill.
It’s a fun evening!
Coffee & Cake
It’s not so much an activity, as how we start the day.
At Blue Noun, we are happy to offer top-quality coffee from a local roaster.
Let’s start the day in style!
Plants & Gardens
Explore Tomnah’a Market Garden
Such a relaxing place to be an English speaker!
Tour this market garden and learn how food production can support indigenous ecology.
There are some opportunities for flower arranging / other workshops too.
Tour Drummond Castle Gardens
“The best example of formal terraced gardens in Scotland.”
Drummond Castle Gardens is a fabulous formal ancestral garden – rated one of the best in Europe.
If it looks familiar it has been filmed many times – most recently for the popular series Outlander.
Scottish Wildlife Experiences
Red Deer Encounter
Take a trip to Argarty to see Red Kites feed
Argarty (in Stirlingshire), is one of two sites in Scotland managing the reintroduction of red kites. See the birds fly down to feed – and learn how a working farm can be a wildlife sanctuary.
Travel Scotland
Day Trip to Oban
Sir Walter Scott Steamship, Loch Katrine
Take a trip back in time, and travel Loch Katrine by steamship.
Experience stunning views of this part of Loch Lomond National Park, while learning about Scottish hero Rob Roy and how Sir Walter Scott brought tourism to Scotland..
Maid of the Forth 3 Bridges Tour
This boat trip is a popular English immersion activity as gives opportunities to speak English about the built environment and the natural world (we regularly see seals and puffins).
Travel the River Forth, passing under the remarkable engineering of the 3 Bridges.
NB: Tickets for this do sell out every summer, so book your holiday with us early!
The Jacobite Steam Train AKA ‘The Harry Potter Train’
We organise something very special for L2 English speakers spending 2 weeks with us.
The Jacobite steam train is a wonderful way to see Scotland and experience it at its very friendliest.
