Join Indie Untangled for a 10-day journey through Scotland and the Shetland Islands! Taking place April 5-14, 2027, this adventure travels from enchanting Edinburgh to the rugged beauty of Shetland, with visits to farms, textile museums, and beloved yarn destinations along the way.
Alongside fellow fiber lovers, and led by Indie Untangled founder Lisa Chamoff in partnership with KnittingTours.com, you’ll learn from local knitters, designers, shepherds and wool experts as you explore Fair Isle knitting, Shetland lace, and the rich textile traditions of the Scottish Isles.
Our itinerary
DAY 1: MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2027 — WELCOME TO SCOTLAND!
• Arrival – Transfer from Edinburgh Airport to your hotel
• Meet your tour guide and fellow knitters for a welcome lunch and brief introduction to your tour activities!
• Visit the Scottish Textile Experience, where founder Kitty Bruce-Gardyne will introduce you to Scottish textile design and some of the locations you will be visiting along the way. Continue with a chance for some exclusive shopping.
• Enjoy exclusive shopping experience at Ginger Twist Studio followed by dyeing demonstration and a glass of bubbly.
• Evening is at your leisure to relax and knit.
Overnight 4 Star Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club, County Edinburgh – Welcome lunch included
DAY 2: TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 2027 — VERDANT WORKS, V&A GALLERY, AND FERRY TO SHETLAND ISLANDS
• After breakfast, check out of the hotel and travel towards Aberdeen to catch your ferry to Shetland Islands.
• Stop in Dundee and visit Verdant Works, a beautiful restored Mill building telling the story of Dundee’s industrial textile heritage, followed by a visit to V&A Design Gallery.
• Lunch and some free time for shopping and sightseeing at leisure.
• Join the overnight ferry to Lerwick. On board, you will find comfortable cabin accommodation as well as a bar, lounge, restaurant, cinema and gift shop.
Overnight NorthLink Ferries – Breakfast and Dinner included
DAY 3: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7, 2027 — SHETLAND MUSEUM & ARCHIVES AND JAMIESON & SMITH
• Breakfast on the ferry before disembarking the ferry at Lerwick.
• After dropping our bags at the nearby hotel, set off to explore the island. Our first stop is at Burra Bears, nestled in a tranquil landscape where each individual Burra Bear is created using a specially designed Fair Isle fabric, knitted locally using 100% Shetland wool and filled with recycled wool scraps. Every bear is given his or her very own unique name!
• Next, take a tour of Shetland Museum and Archives, showing Shetland community heritage and culture. The galleries contain wonderful examples of delicate Shetland lace and your guided tour will focus on knitting related history and its importance to Shetland.
• The last stop, before returning to your hotel in time for dinner, is Jamieson and Smith (Shetland Wool Brokers LTD) wool and yarn shop, where you can shop until you drop!
• Dinner at your hotel.
Overnight 3 Star Shetland Hotel, Shetland Islands – Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
DAY 4: THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2027 — SHETLAND KNITTING BELT WORKSHOP AND SHETLAND TEXTILE MUSEUM
• Breakfast
• Join Shetland Knitting Belt workshop with Janette Budge. Receive your own special needles and leather belt, handmade on Shetland. Janette Budge will teach how to work with a knitting belt – an essential tool for generations of knitters who had the task of hand knitting for their families down through the years.
• Take a tour of Shetland Museum and Archives, showing Shetland community heritage and culture. The galleries contain wonderful examples of delicate Shetland lace and your guided tour will focus on knitting related history and its importance to Shetland.
• Enjoy the remainder of the afternoon at leisure, with time to continue exploring Lerwick before dinner at your hotel.
Overnight 3 Star Shetland Hotel, Shetland Islands – Breakfast and dinner included
DAY 5: FRIDAY, JUNE 9, 2027 — DAY TRIP TO BRESSEY ISLAND AND GARTH’S CROFT FARM
• Breakfast
• After breakfast, board a smaller local coach and take a local ferry to Bressay Island.
• Enjoy a full day island tour with a local guide and the owner of Garth’s Croft, Chris Dyer, who also knits! After welcome refreshments, enjoy a tour from Chris of native Shetland sheep, ewes and lambs bred for colour and fibre, view shearing shed, examples of knitwear made with own yarn, horticulture, drystone, woodland, sheepdog demonstration.
• Leave Garths Croft for tour of 19th-century Bressay Lighthouse complex and dramatic seabird cliffs at the southern point of the island.
• After lunch at a local café, explore Noss Sound and Culliesbrough.
• Return ferry to Lerwick.
• Dinner at your hotel.
Overnight 3 Star Shetland Hotel, Shetland Islands – Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
DAY 6: SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 2027 — SHETLAND LACE WORKSHOP AND JARLSHOF
• Meet Elizabeth Johnston for a class on Shetland Lace. Elizabeth will teach the skills required to plan your own Shetland-inspired lace design.
• Enjoy lunch in a local restaurant before heading to Jarlshof. A fascinating archaeological site in Shetland, where visitors can explore layers of history from the Neolithic era through the Bronze and Iron Ages to the Viking and medieval periods, with well-preserved ruins that tell the story of thousands of years of human settlement.
• Return to your hotel in time for dinner.
Overnight 3 Star Shetland Hotel, Shetland Islands – Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
DAY 7: SUNDAY, APRIL 11, 2027 — FAIR ISLE WORKSHOP AND FERRY TO ABERDEEN
• This morning after breakfast and checkout, join Linda Shearer, a former patron of Shetland Wool Week, for Fair Isle knitting workshop. Explore colour and technique as you go on to knit your own gorgeous Fair Isle headband.
• After the class, enjoy the pop-up shopping and talk experience by Hazel Tindall (subject to availability).
• The remainder of the afternoon will be free for you to enjoy lunch (not included) and relax before boarding our overnight ferry this evening to return to Aberdeen.
• Board your ferry to the mainland and have dinner on-board before setting sail.
Overnight Northlink Ferries – Breakfast and dinner included
DAY 8: MONDAY, APRIL 12, 2027 — LUNAN BAY FARM AND GLAMIS CASTLE
• Enjoy breakfast on your ferry before disembarking at Aberdeen. Journey back to Edinburgh.
• Hands-on tour of Lunan Bay Farm, the UK’s only Cashmere Goat Farm, nestled along the beautiful coast of Lunan Bay. Farmer Jillian and her team are pioneering Scottish regenerative Cashmere production from goat to coat. After interacting with the adorable cashmere goats, join fiber spinning demonstration. Do not forget to visit the Cashmere gift shop!
• Final stop, before continuing to your hotel in Edinburgh, is Glamis Castle, the ancestral seat of the Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne. This castle was the inspiration for Shakespeare’s Macbeth and was also the childhood home of H.M. Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.
• This evening is at leisure to relax and knit.
Overnight 4 Star Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club, Edinburgh – Breakfast included
DAY 9: TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2027 — GANSEY KNITTING WORKSHOP, BALMERINO FARM AND FAREWELL DINNER
• Breakfast
• This morning, enjoy a Gansey Knitting Workshop with Di Gilpin. Di starts her workshop with a brief presentation on the history of Gansey knitting in Scotland, supported by samples of traditional pieces as well as some contemporary designs from the studio. Her workshop explores different gansey patterns in either blanket squares or a long sampler.
• After lunch, visit traditional, family-run Balmerino Farm, tucked away in a picturesque setting with stunning views over the River Tay. The farm offers a unique Farm-to-Yarn experience, where wool from their own flock, balmerino™ sheep, is transformed from fleece to finished yarn. The sheep are a combination of a Merino crossed with other Scottish breeds, a cross that has the hardiness to thrive in the Scottish climate and additionally produces fine, luxurious wool, so soft it can be worn next to the skin! During your visit, you will also enjoy a live sheepdog demonstration!
• Return to your hotel in Edinburgh and enjoy a Farewell dinner with your fellow travelers.
Overnight 4 Star Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club, Edinburgh – Breakfast, lunch and farewell dinner & drink included
DAY 10: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 2027 — FAREWELL SCOTLAND!
After breakfast, transfer to Edinburgh airport in plenty of time to check in.
What's included
- Transfers on arrival and departure (private or tour coach depending on arrival/departure flight times)
- Accredited Scotland Blue Badge Guide throughout
- 24/7 helpline straight to members of the Knitting Tours team
- Luxury, spacious coach with experienced driver
- All hotels listed in the itinerary with en-suite bath/step-in shower or walk-in shower
- Porterage from hotel reception to your room and back
- Daily Scottish breakfast
- Five three-course hotel dinners and five lunches
- Farewell drink
- Return Northlink Ferry to Shetland with ensuite cabin, dinner and breakfast
- All activities, workshops and attractions listed in the itinerary + all workshop materials (you just bring your favorite needles!)
- Gift bag including tote bag, notebook and pen, lanyard, luggage tag and rain poncho
Items not included
• Travel to and from Scotland
• Porterage on return Northlink ferry
• Gratuities/tips
• Room service
• Additional beverages and alcoholic drinks
• Personal items such as phone calls, additional meals, snacks or drinks not included in the itinerary
• Yarn, patterns and materials not included in the itinerary
Price
£4,825 per person sharing in a Twin/Double room
£1,105 additional supplement if a Single room is required
All pricing is in GBP – passengers may choose to be charged in POUND STERLING/GBP or their own local currency.
If you have friends or family that want to join you but do not knit, we offer a special non-knitter discount of £200!
A deposit of 20% of the total tour price is required to hold your booking. The balance of the tour is due 60 days before arrival and can be made in installment payments on request.
Optional pre-tour arrangements
1 x Pre-night bed & breakfast at Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club, Edinburgh (subject to availability)
£89 per person sharing in a Twin/Double room
£153 supplement if single room is required