treestarfae Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 Hi all, We are going be tourists in Scotland in July. Any suggestions? I'm so exited! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritAnnia Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 How exciting for you! Which area(s) are you planning to visit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiCO Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 Hi all, We are going be tourists in Scotland in July. Any suggestions? I'm so exited! I'm jealous! We went to Scotland a few years ago. My kids were 9 & 13. We enjoyed the in Edinburgh we enjoyed Mary King's Close, Edinburgh Castle, walking the Royal Mile, and hanging out in Princes' Park. We also stayed in a really nice B&B west of Stirling, near Loch Katrine. We liked Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness. When I go again, I'm going to spend more time in the north, and hit the islands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 Take gloves. (Yes, I know you're going in July.) :D The kids' sweatshirts at Edinburgh Castle are amazing. I bought one 12 years ago (in a slightly too big size), and other than the cuff that one child chewed :glare: it is still in great shape, after years of hard use by three different boys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impish Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 Jealous here too! I have no suggestions, but Wolf says you HAVE to play golf when you're there! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treestarfae Posted April 12, 2010 Author Share Posted April 12, 2010 We have time after a Paris trip to hang out in the UK and hubby agrees to run around. I'm not sure what would be best for kids but Edinbergh seems to be popular place. Probably take a train from London. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treestarfae Posted April 12, 2010 Author Share Posted April 12, 2010 Ha ha no golfing! Yes warm clothes! I don't want to look like a dorky tourist. I'm sure I will somehow though ha ha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaissezFaire Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Are you doing a tour type thing or driving on your own? My husband and I rented a car and pretty much drove the entire country about 5 years ago. Go to a distillery, it's a lot of fun and the guides are hilarious. Edinburgh night tours are a lot of fun. Get into the highlands if you can and explore when there are not a lot of tour groups around. There are a lot of fabulous hiking trails in the highlands. Urquhart Castle is beautiful. We also saw Glamis, Castle Fraser, Castle Doune (We were the only ones there, not even a steward, that was fun!), Edinburgh, Stirling Castle. I have lists and lists of things to recommend. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Waaaaaahhhhhhh!!!! I want to go back, too!!!! We flew into Glasgow, did the southern, Borders Region, then up through Edinburgh and into the North. We came down the western coast, went out to Skye (too rainy, cloudy to see anything), stayed in Oban and took ferries out to Mull and then Iona. We then came back into Glasgow and flew home from there. I'm happy to fling info, but before I waste your time and mine, perhaps some questions are in order: Where are you going? How long are you going to be there? Children? Staying at B&B's or hotels? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Edinburgh is hugely popular and it's population swells to a million or more with all the tourists. Nearby Sterling is also terrific and generally a little less crowded. Other smaller towns will be even less crowded if you're going to have a car for travel..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 We really enjoyed our tour of Mary King's Close. Also loved-loved-loved the Highland Games--I definitely recommend taking a day to enjoy. There are several stone circles in close proximity on the island of Arran, as well as spectacular views and lots of nifty historical stuff on the island. Spend a night there and plan to rent a car. We found Scotland to be a culinary wasteland. Lots and lots of overpriced deep-fried stuff. They even deep-fry pizza and hamburgers :tongue_smilie:. You'll find it a savings in your pocketbook and on your digestion to shop at the local grocery store and eat more simple breakfasts and bag lunches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiCO Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 We found Scotland to be a culinary wasteland. Lots and lots of overpriced deep-fried stuff. They even deep-fry pizza and hamburgers :tongue_smilie:. You'll find it a savings in your pocketbook and on your digestion to shop at the local grocery store and eat more simple breakfasts and bag lunches. When we were there, the worst food we had was in our B&B in Edinburgh. Blah. We had good luck at many small pubs along the way. They served great little salads with everything- no iceburg lettuce in sight. We had the best garlic bread ever at the south end of loch ness- it was thick whole grain bread with lots of seeds, fresh garlic, and cheddar cheese. Yum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 We had good luck at many small pubs along the way. They served great little salads with everything- no iceburg lettuce in sight. We had the best garlic bread ever at the south end of loch ness- it was thick whole grain bread with lots of seeds, fresh garlic, and cheddar cheese. Yum! You had better luck than I did. On an earlier trip to southern England we had just loved the pubs. Our kids were younger, and we were so grateful for the English pubs--we could always get lovely stew or fried fish or eggs with ham, so the kids were always happy. We expected Scottish pubs to be the same. However, they were NOT. We were in the greater Glasgow area for two weeks, with side trips all over the place (Edinburgh, Lake Lomond, Pitlocherie, Isle of Arran, the coasts, etc.) and kept running into the same dreary menu of fried stuff or cardboard hamburgers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaissezFaire Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 If you want to stay somewhere smaller and less crazy...Braemar is wonderful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embassy Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 I lived there for nearly a year back in college. The walking tours of Edinburgh are nice. I would definitely get train passes. You can see so much of the country that way. I took the train up the east coast and it is a beautiful trip! I went all the way up to Thurso and back down the west coast. Callander and the Rob Roy museum is nice too. I also had a nice trip to Rothesay Island out of Glasgow. There is a nice castle to explore there too. I'm sure there are many little cruises available to western islands. My favorite places were the off the beaten path walks. It is pretty interesting to come across old ruins that aren't part of a tourist spot while you are walking through the countryside. Don't be surprised if you can't understand the accent. When I stepped off the plane I was shell-shocked. They understood me fine, but I could not figure out what the airport attendant was telling me. Finally we resorted to hand gestures, lol. Most people there don't have quite as strong of an accent though. It does rain alot and it is often cool, but that is part of the beauty of the country. IMHO, sun breaking out over misty highlands is incredibly beautiful. Have fun!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 In my (somewhat limited) experience, almost all pubs can make a "jacket" (baked) potato with cheese. It's hot and filling, and hard to ruin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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