PRICING AND BOOKING
FROM TUDOR ROSE TO SCOTTISH CROWN:
THE 1503 PROGRESS OF MARGARET TUDOR
TOUR DATES:
15-23 JULY 2027
BOOKING INFORMATION
For a summary outline of our tour itinerary, see below.
If you have any questions or encounter difficulties, don’t hesitate to contact us via the contact form here.
Ticket Price
£7,100 per person based on double occupancy.
When booking a double-occupancy room, the price you then see will be for two people; therefore, the total will be £14,200.
A double room with Single Occupancy incurs a 15.5% uplift, which equates to £8,200 per person.
From Tudor Rose to Scottish Crown
Tour Highlights
- Two resident historians will guide you and bring Margaret Tudor’s story vividly to life throughout the journey.
- Follow the 1503 royal progress north, tracing Margaret’s transformation from Tudor princess to Queen of Scots.
- Journey through the landscapes of England and Scotland, visiting the key locations that framed her passage between two kingdoms and the people and events that shaped her queenship.
- Experience the unfolding story of diplomacy, dynastic ambition and personal courage at the heart of a Tudor marriage that would shape Britain’s future.
- Stay in carefully selected 4- and 5-star hotels.
- Exclusive guided tours of nine major, iconic sites along Margaret’s route, revealing the people, politics and pageantry of her journey and her time in Scotland.
- Moments of immersive storytelling, where the past is reimagined in the very places it unfolded.
- A fully hosted experience designed to foster connection, conversation and shared discovery.
- Luxury coach transport throughout, allowing you to relax into the story as it unfolds mile by mile.
Overview of Your Tour Itinerary…
Note: The ticket price includes all breakfasts, dinners on most evenings (except where there is a free evening), accommodation, and transport costs during the tour. You will need to arrange travel to and from the tour’s start point and, during the day, purchase your lunch and any snacks and drinks as required.
Day One: 15 July – Arrival in York
- Check in at the Milner Hotel in central York after 3 PM. There will be time to settle in before we gather for a welcome and introductory talk by your hosts, setting the scene for Margaret Tudor’s journey north in 1503 and the political significance of her marriage to James IV of Scotland. Prior to dinner, we will hear from our keynote speaker, Margaret’s biographer, Linda Porter.
- Welcome dinner at the hotel’s Peachey’s Bar and Grill.
Day Two: 16 July – Explore Tudor York
- Today is dedicated to exploring York as Margaret Tudor would have experienced it in 1503.
- We begin with visits to key surviving buildings that illuminate everyday urban life in the early sixteenth century, including Merchant Adventurers’ Hall and Barley Hall. These visits will provide insight into the commercial, social and domestic world of the city at the time of Margaret’s departure.
- Throughout the day, guest experts will meet us on-site to help us interpret York’s role as a major northern stronghold of Tudor England and a significant staging point for royal progress.
- In the afternoon, we head to the jewel in York’s Crown: York Minster. Here, we will meet with Professor Kate Giles to learn more about the Archbishop’s Palace (where Margaret was lodged) and the religious ceremonies associated with welcoming Tudor royalty to a major city, such as York.
- We will explore the minster before returning to our hotel for a free evening.
Day Three: 17 July – Durham Castle and Cathedral
- After breakfast, we depart York and begin our journey north.
- Our destination is Durham, one of the most important ecclesiastical centres in England. On arrival, we will enjoy a guided tour of Durham Castle, followed by a visit to Durham Cathedral, where we will explore the significance of the shrine of St Cuthbert (visited by Margaret during her brief stay in Durham) and its role in late-medieval and early-Tudor religious life.
- After time to explore the cathedral precincts, we will check into the nearby four-star Ramside Hall Hotel and Spa.
- Dinner at the hotel’s Fusion restaurant.
Day Four: 18 July – Free Half Day (Optional Spa) plus Transfer to Alnwick
- On day four, we have a leisurely start to the day at our hotel. You may choose to make the most of their extensive gym and spa facilities before we travel on to our next destination, Alnwick.
- In the afternoon, we travel to Alnwick to check in at the Bailiffgate Hotel, located adjacent to Alnwick Castle.
- In the evening, there will be a talk from a guest speaker (TBA), before a short walk to where we will dine together at The Adam and Eve.
Day Five: 19 July – Alnwick Castle
- Today, we remain in Alnwick, exploring the castle, the seat of the mighty Percy family, one of the most powerful noble dynasties in northern England.
- We will enjoy a guided tour of the castle. Subject to availability, we hope to include a specialist talk focusing on the history of the Percy family, its role in border politics and its significance within the broader landscape of Anglo-Scottish relations during Margaret’s journey.
- We will have an early dinner at the hotel restaurant, The Motte and Bailey, before heading out for a thoroughly unique evening, as we journey to Chillingham Castle, reported to be the most haunted castle in Britain. There, we will go on a private ghost hunt experience, because no trip is complete without the possibility of meeting a resident who’s been there for centuries!
Day Six: 20 July – Flodden (Battlefield Site) and Melrose Abbey
- On the sixth day of the tour, on our way to Edinburgh, we pause opportunistically to visit the site of the historic battle of Flodden Field, during which Margaret’s husband, James IV, was killed; an event that would entirely redefine Margaret’s destiny.
- Afterwards, we continue our journey north; we stop to explore the magnificent ruins of Melrose Abbey, one of medieval Scotland’s greatest monasteries. A favourite destination of the Stewart court, Margaret Tudor visited here during her years as Queen of Scots. Melrose Abbey offers a glimpse into the rich religious and cultural world that Margaret encountered as she entered into her adopted kingdom.
- Following our visit, we continue north to Edinburgh and check in at the celebrated five-star Caledonian Hotel in central Edinburgh, where we remain for the remainder of the tour.
- The rest of the day will be free for you to relax in the hotel spa, order room service, or, if you are feeling a little more adventurous, explore a little of Edinburgh as the evening draws in.
Day Seven: 21 July – Dunfermline Abbey
- On day seven, we explore the majestic Dunfermline Abbey, the ancient mausoleum of Scotland’s kings and queens. This remarkable abbey offers the perfect setting to consider what queenship meant in practice: the exercise of patronage, the creation of alliances, the production of heirs and the delicate negotiation of power within an often turbulent court.
- After making our way back to Edinburgh, in the evening, we head out to dine in one of Simply Tudor Tours favourite restaurants: Dishoom!
Day Eight: 22 July – Linlithgow Palace and the Palace of Holyroodhouse
- For our final full day, we travel to Linlithgow Palace, one of the principal residences of the Scottish royal court and later the birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots, Margaret’s granddaughter. Here, we will explore the palace and its setting, its connection to Margaret’s life in Scotland, and what happened to her after she received the fateful news of her husband’s death at the Battle of Flodden while in residence at Linlithgow.
- Afterwards, we return to Edinburgh to enjoy a leisurely late lunch.
- In the evening, we enjoy a private tour of the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where Margaret was initially received as Queen of Scots. We will also visit the adjoining abbey, where James and Margaret were married.
- Following our tour, we will return to our hotel to toast Margaret and her legacy in uniting the kingdoms of Scotland and England through her great-grandson, James VI of Scotland and James I of England.
Day Nine: 23 July – Departure
- Following breakfast at The Caledonian, we will say our final farewells.
MEET YOUR HOSTS
YOUR TOUR CO-HOSTS
Sarah
Morris
Founder of ‘The Tudor Travel Guide’ and ‘The Ultimate Guide to Exploring Tudor England’. Co-author of ‘In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn’ and ‘In the Footsteps of the Six Wives of Henry VIII’.
Adam
Pennington
Founder of ‘The Tudor Chest’ blog and podcast, historian and author of ‘Henry VIII and the Plantagenet Poles – The Rise and Fall of a Dynasty’, published in 2024.
GUEST EXPERTS
Linda
Porter
Dr Linda Porter is an acclaimed historian, biographer and broadcaster specialising in Tudor and Stuart history. She holds a D.Phil. in History from the University of York and is the bestselling author of numerous books, including The Thistle and the Rose: The Extraordinary Life of Margaret Tudor (2024). A regular contributor to BBC History Magazine and television documentaries, Linda is widely recognised as one of Britain’s leading experts on the Tudor dynasty.
Rachel
Delman
Dr Rachel Delman is a historian and heritage consultant specialising in the medieval and early modern history of Britain, with particular interests in women’s history, material culture and the historic built environment. She is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society, the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and Wolfson College at the University of Oxford.
Kate
Giles
Prof. Kate Giles (BA, MA, PhD, York) is a buildings archaeologist with a specialism in the recording, archival research and theoretical interpretation of historic buildings. She is particularly interested in communal buildings of the medieval and modern periods, from guildhalls to parish churches, and how we tell their stories in ways that inspire interest and encourage people to visit and care for them today.
William
Hepburn
Dr William Hepburn is a Lecturer in History at the University of Aberdeen and a leading specialist in the court and household of James IV of Scotland. His research focuses on late medieval and early Renaissance Scotland, with particular expertise in royal government, court culture, and the Scottish monarchy. He is the author of The Household and Court of James IV of Scotland, 1488-1513, the first comprehensive study of James IV’s court and its central role in the governance of Renaissance Scotland.
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