Clan Leslie Society International Gathering 2025
LESLIES ON TOUR
ITINERARY
(While this itinerary is pretty locked down, some scheduling is subject to change)
Thursday July 3rd - Edinburgh
EVENING 6:30-10:00pm
Welcome to Scotland: Meet your cousins!
• Meet and greet buffet reception at the Radisson on the Royal Mile. Meet in the bar area at 5:30pm if you want to start socializing early. Reception at 6:30pm.
Friday July 4th – Edinburgh
MORNING - Breakfast on your own
Note: If you are not staying at the Radisson, you will need to bring your luggage to the Radisson to store while we tour Edinburgh. Buses to Glenrothes will depart from this hotel.
9:15am - Meet on the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle for welcomes and introductions.
Exact spot at the plaque commemorating David Leslie, 1st Lord Newark, who raised an army in 24 hours.
• Short talk about Bartholomew, the first Governor in 1087.
• Tour of Edinburgh Castle.
• Guided tour down the Royal Mile by renowned historian Adrian Laird Craig.
LUNCH 12:30pm
• Informal Lunch at the Radisson
AFTERNOON
2:00pm - Buses to Glenrothes, Fife, via short stop at Parenwell Bridge and an intriguing story about Mary, Queen of Scots, Lord Darnley, Lord Bothwell and the bridge over nothing that goes nowhere.
4:00pm - Arrive at Balgeddie Hotel, Leslie.
EVENING
6:30pm - Meet in the banquet room at for a pre-dinner talk on Noel, Countess of Rothes, heroine of the Titanic (and a couple of extraordinary items that survived). Speaker: Angela Young, Noel’s great-granddaughter.
7:30pm - Dinner
Saturday 5th – Glenrothes/Fife
MORNING - Breakfast on your own
8:45am - Board busses to Leslie
• Visits to: Leslie House, Leslie Kirk, the Leslie Family Crypt, where a short commemoration takes place, unveiling a plaque to the 20th and 21st Earls of Rothes on the outside of the crypt.
• Light lunch at Rothes Hall (11:30am) and an opportunity to visit the Glenrothes Heritage Centre exihibit, which includes Leslie portraits, historical items, Titanic memorabilia and more.
• Buses to Aberdeenshire, via Ballinbreich Castle, Abernethy.
AFTERNOON
2:00pm - Tour of Lindores Abbey Distillery (including a wee dram at the end!)
5:00pm - Arrive at the Holiday Inn, Aberdeen West.
EVENING
7:00pm - Chief's Banquet
Meet in the banquet room at 7:00pm for ‘Appearances’ by some famous people and a short speech about extraordinary Leslies in North America. The banquet will be followed by reels with a caller for instruction.
Sunday July 6th - times to be announced
MORNING - Breakfast on your own
• CLSI Business Meeting
• Church service at Bennachie Parish Church or the Chapel of the Garioch and visit to the Leslie Cross (funded in 2011 by members of the Clan Leslie Society International).
• Visit to Battle of Harlaw site, where 24 Leslies lost their lives defending Aberdeen from the Lord of the Isles (and various others).
LUNCH
• Pig Roast at Leslie Castle, hosted by the Clan Leslie Charitable Trust, with Leslie Pipers, greetings and speeches.
AFTERNOON
Buses back to Edinburgh, if needed.
ACCOMMODATIONS
NOTE: Your gathering registration fees cover the meals, activities and transportation outlined above. It does NOT cover your hotels. Members are responsible for booking their accommodations for each leg of the trip. We have put together a list with various price points to help you plan your stay.
Edinburgh:
Radisson - Royal Mile, Edinburgh, www.radissonhotels.com - rate: £240 with code TLC2025;
Premier Inn, Waverley, Edinburgh - www.premierinn.com - rate: £160-180;
Travelodge, Edinburgh Central - www.travelodge.co.uk - rate £155-190.
Fife:
Balgeddie House Hotel, Glenrothes - www.balgeddiehouse.com - +441592 742511 - rate £130-150 with code Clan Leslie 2025;
Premier Inn, Glenrothes - www.premierinn.com - approx £90;
Travelodge, Glenrothes - www.travelodge.co.uk - approx £90.
Aberdeen:
Holiday Inn, Aberdeen West - room rate is currently £80-85 - mention Clan Leslie, July 2025.
https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/aberdeen/abzwh/hoteldetail
HOUSEKEEPING
Your gathering registration fees cover the meals, activities and transportation outlined above. It does NOT cover your hotels. Members are responsible for booking their own hotels for each leg of the trip. We have put together a list with various price points to help you plan your stay.
Because our gathering takes place in Scotland and is not in conjunction with any games, we cannot break out pricing for individual portions of the gathering. The organizers have worked very hard to put together a special experience for everyone and as such, the pricing for the gathering is a package.
An electronic form is below for your convenience. After submitting the form it will take you to a paypal page to complete the payment. If you prefer to fill out a form manually and pay by check, the registration form is available for download at the bottom of this page.
Manual Form/Payment by Check
If you would like to pay by check, you can download the pdf below and mail it, along with a check for the total amount to CLSI Treasurer Linda Flowers. Her address and contact information are on the form.
Additional Recommendations for Your Trip (from Chief Alex!)
Sadly we cannot visit every place in Scotland that has relevance to the clan and for thosewho want to explore further, below are some suggestions.
Additional Tours:
If you are considering an organised tour, then we recommend Atom Tours, who do an
Ancestral Lands Tour for Leslies (and Amy, the owner, is a Leslie!): https://www.atomtours.co.uk/
A list of places to visit that have interesting Leslie connections:
Perthshire
Seasyde House, an AirBNB
Home to Fiona Leslie, the house is extremely comfortable, overlooks the Tay Estuary in
beautiful surroundings and boasts a unique collection of important Leslie portraits, dating
from the 1600’s.
Fiona is offering ‘family rates’ and please use ‘Leslie Gathering’ when booking: https://seasydehouse.co.uk/
Fife
Balgonie Castle, owned by Stuart Morris. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balgonie_Castle
Aberdeenshire/Moray
The ruin of Rothes Castle, Speyside: https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/rothes/rothescastle/index.html
Fetternear Palace, Aberdeenshire: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fetternear_Palace
The Glenrothes distillery, Rothes: https://www.theglenrothes.com/en-us
Here are some places to visit, some of which have Leslie connections but are worthwhile anyway.
Stirling Castle – the 9 th Earl of Rothes was based there, as Commander of the Navy: https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/stirling-castle/
The Malt Whisky Trail, Speyside: https://maltwhiskytrail.com/
The North Coast 500 – a route around the north of Scotland, for those with cars: https://www.northcoast500.com/
Loch Ness: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loch_Ness and Urquhart Castle: https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/urquhart-castle/
There are many more and the Visit Scotland website (https://www.visitscotland.com) is the best place to find inspiration for places to visit, whether historical tours or beautiful hiking routes. It also has a comprehensive list of places to stay, from local inns to beautiful castlesand out of the way hotels.
