Hot answers tagged scotland
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Right, despite missing out on the first day of my tour there while my train broke down, the rest of the gang went and unfortunately for me, I missed out on an opportunity to see Nessie. One day though, one day...
Firstly, you need to be aware of the geography. Loch Ness is in a natural cleft between Fort William and Inverness in the Scottish Highlands, ...
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I wore my kilt (heavyweight one) round Germany and I can heartily recommend it - I made many friends, had lots of drinks bought for me and got invited to a lot of events and parties as people could spot the Scotsman a mile off. I'm assuming you are Scottish - if not, you may get some hassle, potentially, for pretending to be one :-)
In the summer it can be ...
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If you're into your hiking into a big way, then Crianlarich is a good base for a few days. It's in the Highlands about 2 hours by train from Glasgow, so just shy of 3 from Edinburgh (so only slightly out of your ideal range...)
There's a Youth Hostel (SYHA) there, which provides a great and cheap base for exploring the area. It's round the corner from the ...
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Scotland is a big place and there is allot to see in every location. Additionally, the roads on the west coast, such as in Skye, are not fast roads. They twist and turn around mountains and lochs. 20 miles as the crow flies could work out as 100 miles of actual driving. To cover all those locations you'd spend about 4 days constantly driving and you'd really ...
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The most obvious is the oldest long distance walk in Scotland: The West Highland Way. It starts in the north of Glasgow City and walks cross country, mostly off road but on good paths, north to Fort William. It is about 96 miles long and can be completed in 4-8 days depending on your level of fitness, determination and of course weather. This route takes you ...
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There is plently walking to be found within easy reach of Edinburgh. Just south are the hills of the borders. To the north is Fife. A little further north and west and you get into the Highlands area where the country side becomes significantly more mountainous but still has something for every level from walker to climber.
Midlothian Council publish a ...
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There probably will be a one-way rental fee between Ireland and the UK. For example, Hertz describe theirs in general terms here (update: it looks to be around ~1000 EUR+ for Ireland to the UK). I know from past experience that Hertz, for example, will show you the applicable one-way rental fee as part of the costing if you plan a reservation on their ...
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The excessive cost from Hertz is to pay for somebody to bring back an Irish registered car to Ireland and then fly back to London. Two days work probably, plus ferry and flight.
Only multinationals like Hertz and Avis will accept your card insurance, so be careful to check with whomever you rent, that you are fully covered!
I reckon the Dublin to Dublin ...
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We have this question over on the Outdoors Stack Exchange: http://outdoors.stackexchange.com/questions/132/what-can-i-do-about-those-obnoxious-biting-flies/143
Avon Skin So Soft is still the product I take with me any time I am up the west coast.
I also tend to wear a midge net on my hat. Better more prevention than less:)
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Rail wins out for ease-of-use, comfort, and scenery. Every city you mention is accessible by rail. You would have to transfer to bus only to get over the bridge from Kyle of Lochalsh to Skye. Rail is generally faster and more comfortable than bus - much faster and more comfortable on main lines, slightly more on secondary lines; and the scenery is usually ...
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Judging from this list of sightings, your best bet is in the month of August, but no later than October. May also seems pretty common as well. Most of the time the sun was not out when the reports were filed (a fairly easy thing to imagine, honestly).
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For another option, I'd suggest you first nip into the nearest library, and borrow their copy of the Lonely Planet "Walking In Scotland", which is an excellent source of inspiration and basic information.
Armed with that, if you want hills rather than mountains, then the Scottish Borders are your best bet. Walking In Scotland has a whole chapter on this ...
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If you have already 'done' Edinburgh, a useful route could be Glasgow (is just like any other city- good museums and art) up past Loch Lomond, west at Crianlarich to head via Glencoe up to Fort William. From there you could head north west to Skye or up to he Great Glen to Inverness. If you are a whisky fan visit one or more Speyside distilleries, then ...
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I would suggest Dufftown, Aberlour or Rothes for your stay. You can start your tour from the north - Glen Moray in Elgin or Strathisla in Keith and follow the river south. Most of the distilleries are around these three towns.
In case if you are planning your tour in May - keep an eye on the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival 3rd to 7th May 2012
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With a week's time it will be difficult to visit all these places. Either increase your trip duration or drop few places from your list.
While planning your journey, add few extra hours as you will be driving on the left hand side of the road. And most of the roads in Highlands are narrow/two lane roads.
Drop Aberdeen from your list as there is nothing ...
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April is actually the driest month in Edinburgh, as you've found. However, while Edinburgh is considered the 'sunny' side of Scotland, it still gets 186 days of rain a year on average. It's WET. So bear that in mind, even if you are going in the driest month.
Interestingly, May is like the 'early' summer - more sunny days than any other month, and hours, ...
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I have always been recommended to look for a repellent that contains Deet as this is the most effective agent in repelling midges. However, in practice I find these repellents only work for a short time and you are back to getting eaten again quite quickly.
Some old wives' tales claim that bog myrtle leaves, crushed and rubbed on the skin to give off their ...
5
I've not stopped much on the west, although can recommend Cumbria - or anywhere in the Lake District really. So Carlisle - very nice town. Part of the start of Hadrian's Wall, which is pretty great to see and walk a segment of.
Up the East Coast is another option - you could stop in York, and Edinburgh, before crossing over to Glasgow. Edinburgh speaks ...
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I have no credit card, only V PAY card which I can't use in the UK.
This is not true. You can use V PAY in UK.
You can use it in shops having their payments handled by some of popular banks:
[...] banks listed below are already able to offer V PAY to their
merchants:
United Kingdon: Barclays, HSBC, HBoS, AIB
source: ...
4
I frequently go to Edinburgh for a few weeks till the end of July because I take groups of students there for language courses. What I have learnt from these stays is that no summer is exactly the same as the previous one.
Last year we had good weather, with few rainy spells (we even went to sunbathe at Portobello Beach, where I got sunburnt!). This year is ...
4
I was in Edinburgh in the first week of August a couple of years ago, and I got a quite wide array of weather conditions, often on the same day: cloudy, then sunny, then cloudy again with rain, and so on.
Regarding clothes, I usually went around the city with jeans, sneakers, a t-shirt, a light sweater and a light waterproof jacket for the rain. The ...
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Looks like you have timetabled the driving but forgot that each of these places takes time to see. For example Hadrian's wall cannot be seen from the car. Give yourself two hours to go round the museum and perhaps another hour or two to hike along the wall itself. Same goes for the other locations you plan to see such as Skye: "Trotternish Peninsula, ...
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As you asked for a "a human description" I have kept my answer anecdotal without reference to stats that you probably have already read anyway. I lived in Glasgow for 28 years so know the weather personally. Though bear in mind that the west coast gets significantly wetter weather than the east. The West Highlands get significantly more rain than the West ...
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You're going to have difficulties covering all the places you've mentioned in a week. Just seeing the main attractions at the places you've mentioned will take you that long and you won't have a lot of time at each place.
Depending on how many people you are, the budget might be too low as well. I would estimate at least half of that for lodging and when ...
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1) The hire car.
On the car rental side, you probably want to book ahead online by a couple of days as you usually save about £50 with a company like Hertz (who happen to have an office attached to the ferry terminal where you land) and you can avoid missing out. With hire cars in small towns make sure you are picking up Monday to Friday in business hours ...
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Having just spent a wee bit of time there this weekend on my way back from a highland wedding I can recommend Grantown on Spey as a central location to visit distilleries as well as being close to Tomintoul, Glenshee and the Lecht if you want scenic views. Boat of Garten is close as well - a huge RSPB osprey reserve.
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Airport
If your goal is Scotland than yes, go straight to Edinburgh. London deserves some time to visit, if, with your question, your implying that you could spend some time there.
Period (7 days)
That's allways a bit subjective. You can always spend more time in a place.
I would say that, for the itinerary you want, that is the minimum comfortable time ...
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Though you can get a hire car in Stranraer, it may be more economical to take the direct train to Glasgow Airport (actually Paisley) where large hire car offices are to be found. In addition, if your not interesting in visiting Galloway and Ayrshire anyway, then you'll save yourself 200 miles of the hire car bill.
It is quite easy to drive around the ...
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I think that you should rethink the duration of your trip and a sober driver.
Found the Greater Speyside website which has some excellent suggestions on what to see and some accommodations. I think you should start at the list of distilleries you would like to visit and then look at the road maps to see what would be the best place to stay. As there are a ...
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I did a 5 day tour back in 2008 that may give you some hint - the itinerary is on their website. (well the route and highlights at least).
Driving distance-wise, yes I'd say it's doable. What you'll want to consider is time at the places like Isle of Skye (one of my favourite places in the UK), and Glen Coe - whether you want to do some hikes or ...
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