3 week stay in Scotland

Old Sep 7th, 2015, 10:11 AM
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3 week stay in Scotland

My wife and I are seniors who stopped in Scotland for a couple of days during a very recent cruise to the British Islas. We loved what we saw (the village of Luss on the west bank of Loch Lomond and Inveraray Castle) and felt welcomed by the natives. We're thinking of spending as much as 3 weeks in Scotland starting in very late July or August. (This to get away from the "HOT" Las Vegas August heat). We definitely want to take in some of the festivals in Edinburgh that occur in August. We are not interested in any type of strenuous activity (hiking, parasailing, base jumping; you get the idea). We're getting on in age. We can rent a car where suggested or take public transportation by air, sea and land. I've seen enough Cathedrals and castles and museums in the last 60 days to last a lifetime, but a few more wouldn't kill me (as would the base jumping). We are a few years past our hostel staying days. (The wife has gotten used to the better things in life. And you know what they say...). We don't need to see all that Scotland has to offer. Days of relaxing, strolling down a lovely street with shops and eateries are certainly acceptable. We are very open to ideas and specific suggestions on places to see, things to do, and places to stay.
Thank you
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Old Sep 7th, 2015, 10:43 AM
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Three weeks in Scotland would be lovely. You would need to get your Edinburgh plans settled first. Because of the Festivals and the Tattoo things book up well in advance at far above normal room rates. (to give you one example I just was there for a couple of nights to attend the Tattoo and stayed in a very well located Travelodge (decent/clean but pretty down market chain) that normally one could get for £35 to £50 per night charged £149.

After you decide how many days you want in Edinburgh and get that squared away -- then you can go anywhere. I'd suggest you pick up a guide book or two to help you focus and cut down the areas you'd like to visit.

You could rent a couple of cottages in different regions for 5-7 days each and use them as bases for exploring. That plus a few 1 and 2 night stops in between and there's your 3 weeks.

Some major touring areas Include:

The Borders: south of Edinburgh to very northern England. Border Abbeys, Walter Scott, St Abbs Head.

Fife: just north and east of Edinburgh. St Andrews, lovely Fishing Villages.

Aberdeenshire/Angus: Glamis Castle, Dunnottar Castle (and more castles than one can shake a stick at -- an area called 'The Castle Trail'), Balmoral/Deeside

"Inverness" and the norther Highlands (I don't mean the town itself but the general area): The Black Isle/Dolphins, Culloden, Nessie, and a base for touring much farther north, or south into Speyside (whisky).

Argyle/Highlands and (some of) the Islands: Everything from Oban to Glencoe to Mull to Skye to Islay (MORE Whisky)

The Trossachs and central Scotland: Stirling, Loch Lomond, lochs/waterfalls, Perthshire.

Glasgow: Major city w/ major museums and lots of Charles Rennie Mackintosh sites.

Ayrshire/Dumfries and Galloway: Culzean Castle, Robert Burns sites, Abbeys and castles.

You can't cover all that of course but just to help you refine your 'wish list'.

One cottage outside of Inverness for example could be a base for everything from Loch Ness to Nairn/Elgin to the Black Isle to Speyside and more.

Another say near Callander could cover the Trossachs, Loch Lomond, Stirling, Scone Place, Glencoe, Doune, etc etc.

You will have to budget more for your time in Edinburgh but elsewhere in the country hotel room rates/ vacation rentals are much lower.
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Old Sep 7th, 2015, 11:38 AM
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Your response will help a lot to get the plan started. Thank you
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Old Sep 7th, 2015, 12:03 PM
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Buy a good guide book with a lot of pictures and see what parts of Scotland attract you. DK Eyewitness Scotland is one of the best. It has reasonable maps and excellent pictures. There is enough information to whet the appetitie but not go into overload. It also covers smaller places ignored by the other guides.

Another good resource once you have started to identify possible areas is the Undiscovered Scotland website. Start with the map pages and follow the links for the text pages which give you an idea of teh things to do and see in an area.
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/

With three weeks you would also have time to get into some of the islands off the coast of Scotland - Isla, Mull, Western Isles, Orkney, Shetland....
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Old Sep 9th, 2015, 04:17 AM
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I agree with Janis that you might usefully think about a couple of regions to stay longer periods in, with some touring about.

If you have as much as 5-7 days, one of them ought to be the Hebrides. Were it me, I would choose a base in Islay. If you time it right, you can, from Islay, visit Jura, and Colonsay for day trip (it has to be the summer and Colonsay is only Wednesdays). However, I realise that I'm a bit obsessive about Islay, and another option would be the Outer Isles, where the historic islands culture retains more of a hold than it does in the Inner Hebrides. Because of the causeways, you can do, from a single home base, Eriskay, South Uist, Benbecula, North Uist and Berneray (plus some other wee ones). YOu could get there by driving through Skye and taking the ferry or by going to Ullapool and taking the ferry to Lewis and driving down and getting the ferry from Harris to Berneray. Or the reverse.

That would give you a big contrast with just about anywhere else.

I suspect that Perthshire or the Borders towns might best suit your flaneur aspirations for the rest of the trip
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Old Nov 30th, 2015, 11:05 AM
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The central festival runs through most of August, opening Aug. 5/16 Some details here: http://www.eif.co.uk/news/2015/tease...6#.VlypjHldE5s
It's confusing about when tickets go on sale but it will be far in advance, so be warned. Ditto for accommodation reservations. The Fringe festival runs almost simultaneously but its programs don't come together as early:
https://www.edfringe.com/visit-the-fringe/programme
There's a film festival much earlier in the summer; and other themes and one-offs. Here's one list: http://www.eif.co.uk/visit-edinburgh...s#.VlyrXXldE5s
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Old Nov 30th, 2015, 01:02 PM
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1) midges http://www.scotlandinaweek.com/midges-in-scotland.html might be a wee issue
2) I'd suggest looking at Orkney as a possible stay for a week.

I've been twice and this thread gives you an idea of what can be done in only a few days http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-in-orkney.cfm

Easy to fly up from Edinburgh, very friendly people, lovely craft works, good fish, whale watching etc and some of the oldest sites in europe (so think 5000bc)
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Old Dec 3rd, 2015, 03:55 AM
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I have a few recentish TR's that might help you

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rgh-fringe.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-and-kilts.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-july-2012.cfm
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Old Dec 3rd, 2015, 08:00 AM
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No one has suggested taking a five day bus tour to Northern Scotland. As seniors who might not like driving on the "wrong" side of the road, this might be worth while considering.
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