The Pipers' Trail will be a musical, cultural and physical journey. The Trail will run from the Northern tip of Shetland through Lerwick to Kirkwall on Orkney and thence to Stromness. Once on the mainland, the Trail will follow ‘safe’ roads through Wick, Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee, Perth, Stirling, Glasgow and Ayr to end in Edinburgh (a total of approximately 470 miles).

A piper (and/or drummer) or groups of pipers (and/or drummers) are invited to join in and bid for each mile of the route (from North Shetland to the gates of Edinburgh Castle). Each "owner" will be responsible for leading his/her mile and should coordinate the player/s and participants on that mile. Individuals/bands should be responsible for getting themselves to the start of their mile, sustaining themselves on the route and recovering themselves at the end. The Army in Scotland, with local police will provide "life support", traffic control on the route and provide the essential coordination to deliver continuity. There is nothing to stop "branch lines" from developing into the main Trail provided the organisers understand what is planned. HQ 51 (Scottish) Brigade will coordinate the journey as a whole.

The owners of each mile are free to select the tunes to be played, the dress and the format of their section and to dictate the scale of performance. They will be free to raise money for charities of their choice for the duration of their section. Some of the larger bands might wish to block-book certain key stages.