What to expect on a Highland Cow tour from Edinburgh
Meeting Highland cows from Edinburgh means either a long Highlands day on the road with a stop to feed or photograph them, or a shorter farm visit, one of them with Craigmillar Castle added; on this page the most frequent length is 6 hours. Our catalogue holds 4 Highland cow tours from the city. Travellers have left more than 3,516 reviews on the Highland cow tours shown here, rated 4.6 out of 5 on average. The trips on this page run from 5 to 13 hours.
Which Highland Cow tour to choose from Edinburgh
Combined days: a Highlands loop or a castle and farm
Combined tours set the cows beside other sights, in two very different lengths. One is a 12.5-hour Highlands day that crosses Cairngorms National Park, looks for the Loch Ness monster, tells the story of William Wallace and includes a stop to meet the Hairy Coos. The other lasts 6 hours, with entry to Craigmillar Castle and to a farm, food for the cows included.
Short guided escapes of 5 to 6.5 hours
Guided escapes keep the outing to 5 or 6.5 hours. The longer one pairs photo stops with Queensferry and its Forth Bridges and offers Blackness Castle as an option, but its highlights list no stop with the cows; we would check the listing if meeting them is the point. The 5-hour farm visit puts the barn at the centre.
Highland Cow tours from Edinburgh side by side
| Type of tour |
★ |
Duration |
Includes |
| Full Highlands day with a cow stop |
4.6 |
~13h |
Driver + guide + transportation |
| Short Highlands escape, live commentary |
4.6 |
~7h |
Driver-guide commentary + photo stops + Highlands drive |
A full Highlands day and a short escape differ above all in length, by about six hours, so we would weigh the length of the day first. Of the trips shown here, the one with the most reviews is "Edinburgh: Loch Ness, Glencoe, Coos & the Highlands Day Tour", with more than 2,744 reviews and a rating of 4.6 out of 5.
Table data is indicative and comes from the GuruWalk catalogue. Each activity's current details, including availability, are the ones shown on its listing when you book.
Good to know before a Highland Cow tour from Edinburgh
Feeding and brushing at the farm
"Entry to the Highland Cow Barn where you can feed, brush and photograph the Highland cows", one farm listing notes; the 6-hour combination adds food for the cows and a private experience with young Highland cows, with the group kept to 16 at most. On these farm days the animals are the main event, and one listing lets you explore the farm at your own pace and visit the gift shop.
A cow stop on the long Highlands day
On a full Highlands day the cows are one stop among many, at a farm or a roadside spot where they can be fed or photographed, inside about 12 hours on the road. If the cows matter more than Cairngorms National Park, we would pick one of the farm visits. Each listing described here allows free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Highland Cow tours from Edinburgh: frequently asked questions
How far from Edinburgh are the Highland cow farms?
Dedicated farm experiences in the Scottish Borders are about 1.5 hours south of Edinburgh, and the 5-hour farm visit we list travels through the Borders by coach. There is also a farm on the edge of the city for anyone short on time.
Do the short Highland cow tours reach the Highlands in 2026?
The 6.5-hour escape does, with a scenic drive through the Scottish Highlands and time by Loch Katrine; the farm visits we describe put the cows, and in one case Craigmillar Castle, at the centre instead.
