Scotland November 2015

Old Dec 16th, 2014, 10:05 PM
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Scotland November 2015

Tickets to the U2 concert in Glasgow have been purchased. The 4 of us are 50/60 yo and have 10-14 days to spend in Scotland with a rental car if needed. We would like to spend some time in Edinburg but our goal is to see the countryside and visit distilleries, castles and pubs. We have a moderate budget and are looking for unusual lodging with personality.

Can you help us make this a memory filled holiday?
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Old Dec 16th, 2014, 10:51 PM
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>>We have a moderate budget>looking for unusual lodging with personality.
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Old Dec 16th, 2014, 10:58 PM
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unusual lodgings with personality... a couple of places i loved in edinborough...

ROC- royal overseas club - used to be a men's club, now a b&b. breakfast room looks out on castle, as did my little room. old and dingy but very clean rooms. very reasonable. watched the cannons go off from my room in the afternoons. perfect location.

Joppa Turrets - an easy 30ish minute bus ride from central tourist edinburgh. room overlooked the sea... could hear the gentle lapping of the water. a very 50's style old-school promenade along the water. lovely hosts and great breakfasts. really loved hopping in and out of the city to my little beach-side room.
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Old Dec 17th, 2014, 12:52 AM
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November isn't the best time to be touring Scotland. The weather can be quite dodgy and day length is short. On a dull over cast morning it is going to take a long time to get light. Similarly you lose daylight quickly on overcast afternoons. Sunrise and sunst times are here:
http://uk.weather.com/climate/sunRis...:1:UK?month=11

You may also find that stately homes and castles are shut.

For distilleries you need to head to the NE. Details of the Malt whisky tour is here:
http://www.maltwhiskytrail.com/
Again you will need to check opening times for tours as many distilleries don't do tours in November. Carddu Distillery is the only one I have found that does.
http://www.discovering-distilleries.com/cardhu/

For distilleries in Aberdeenshire and times of tours have a look here:
http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/visi...on-May2014.pdf
Lochnagar does tours in November and it sounds as if Glen Dronnach may too. Knockdhu will do tours if arranged in advance.

Dallas Dhu is no longer a working distillery but a restored C19th distillery. This is worth visiting as you can nose round the parts of a distillery not open to the public.
http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/...?PropID=PL_085
My review with pictures is here:
http://www.silvertraveladvisor.com/R...pProductReview

One of the best resources of places to visit and things to do is the Undiscovered Scotland website. We use this for planning all our holidays and rarely use a guide book now.
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/
Once you have decided on an area to visit, use the map pages and follow the links for lots of information and photos. They also have ideas for driving tours which you may find helpful.
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/ustours/
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Old Dec 17th, 2014, 06:14 AM
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Wonderful ideas. I will order undiscoveredscotland today.

I realize that 'moderate' budget is open ended. I would say that 250 is the high end of nightly lodging and would like to pay 100- 150 per night (as a couple) in most places.

November is a lousy time to be traveling, we plan to take our long undies and heavy coats.
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Old Dec 17th, 2014, 06:21 AM
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"I would say that 250 is the high end of nightly lodging and would like to pay 100- 150 per night (as a couple) in most places." Is that £'s or $'s?

As well as the coat and undies you'll need waterproofs all round.
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Old Dec 17th, 2014, 06:35 AM
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"I will order undiscoveredscotland today."

The good news is you don't need to order it. The website is freely available on the internet just by clicking the link I've given you.

Weather in November can be comletely unpredictable. You may have fine sunny days, maybe with a crisp frost, or you could have snow which is going to make travelling difficult. Bring plenty of layers with you!
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Old Dec 17th, 2014, 06:43 AM
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Yes ESW, I just discovered that. Thank you for that wonderful resource.

Dollars, thank you for asking Rubicund.

Living in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest in WA State we are used to cold wintery days, in fact it's snowing out right now. Layers will not be a problem

kawh- both suggestions for edinborough are wonderful. Thank you.
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Old Dec 17th, 2014, 01:08 PM
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Years ago in January after an overnight flight from the States we got stranded in Aberdeen after missing a bus connection and found a B&B by walking around. It was a huge upstairs room - - but it was unheated - - we could see our breath. But there was a radiator that accepted 10p pieces, so we put all we had into the radiator and huddled under the covers till the radiator ran out of money. It was still freezing, so we went downstairs where the owners lived and asked if they could make change for a pound so we could feed the radiator, but they said they had no change. So we went back upstairs, took the curtains off all the windows and piled them onto the bed, and huddled till early morning when we went back to the bus station, and I made it to Elgin just in time for my 9am dental appointment.

I would say, that was unusual lodging with personality.
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Old Dec 17th, 2014, 01:19 PM
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Here's a vote for the tour at Aberlour (if it rhymes it must be good). The tasting is interesting because you not only try a full gamut of their expressions, but also a side-to-side of whisky poured straight out of a sherry cask compared to one poured straight from a bourbon cask. And if you know whiskies, well, the tour guide we had (and it was actually November) was highly opinionated and brutally, brutally honest about individual whiskies, distillers, where shortcuts are being made in the industry, and how techniques are changing in response to conditions. He answered any and every question during and after the tasting, and did not flinch nor pull any punches - - this was the straight dope, and top shelf product not just hype and then a dram (though it costs a few quid).

Here are some pictures of the tour (and the album has pix from daytrips along the Moray Firth up to Black Isle): https://www.flickr.com/photos/dougla...6851915/page3/
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Old Dec 18th, 2014, 11:16 AM
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November is a terrible time to visit Scotland. Not only is the weather likely to be bad, but the hours of daylight are much less since Scotland is roughly the same latitude as Hudson Bay. You might want to take torch as well!
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Old Dec 18th, 2014, 01:34 PM
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Always baffled by those who feel they must post about the timing of a travel itinerary. I'm sure everyone, including five09er, knows that November is not the best time to visit Scotland, but there is a reason ( U2 Concert ) for traveling at this time. And, once there, why not add some time to one's itinerary and see a bit of the countryside. Makes perfect sense to me. The OP seems well aware of weather conditions, daylight hours etc. but that certainly doesn't mean one can't enjoy visiting Scotland. For me, anytime spent in Scotland is well worth it and, yes, I have been there during the winter months.

BTW, Scotland may well be the same latitude as Hudson Bay, but it certainly is not the same climate. Not at all a good comparison.
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Old Dec 18th, 2014, 04:20 PM
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>>November isn't the best time to be touring Scotland.>November is a terrible time to visit Scotland.think February) There is nothing 'wrong' w/ November. And the weather is likely to be acceptable. The days don't get really short til into december. If the concert is in early Nov, that is when you will be there . . .

$100-$150 is approx. £60 - £95 per couple per night. You might find something at the top end of that in Edinburgh but certainly not a 'character' property. Out in the countryside prices tend cheaper than in Edinburgh -- but at those sorts of rates you'll mainly be limited to regular, run-of-the-mill B&Bs , not high end or unusual/character places.
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Old Dec 19th, 2014, 06:15 AM
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"OH PSHAW!!! I have been in Scotland in every month of the year (except I think February) There is nothing 'wrong' w/ November. And the weather is likely to be acceptable. The days don't get really short til into December."

I'm going to have to challenge this dogmatic assertion...

If you check the sunrise and sunset times for Glasgow for November, using the link I gave, sunset is 16.28 on the 1st November. By the middle of the month it is just turned 4pm. Sunrise is between 7.30-8am. Max daylight hours are just over 9 hours at the start of the month but only 8.5 by the middle of the month. "Usable hours' are likely to be shorter than this depending on what time they start the day. On a dull day they will seem shorter. True, days are even shorter in December.

Yes, you can get some glorious weather in November and you can get dull, damp and dark days, when you may not see much when touring, especially if there is mist or fog hanging. We have also holidayed in Scotland in November so I am talking from experience as well as you. It is important potential tourists are aware of the issue about daylight. It is also important to remember that these times will get less as the OP travels north.
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Old Dec 19th, 2014, 06:44 AM
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It depends what you are doing - for a city break where you are likely in museums, galleries, theatresm shops and cafes there's no reason not to visit in winter. If you are wanting to get out into the countryside then summer is obviously better both for hours of daylight and not being frozen to death.

I am going to agree with Janis in that the worst of the weather in the UK, whether you are in the North or the South of the country, is usually Dec-Feb, with November generally being more autumnal than wintry.
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Old Dec 19th, 2014, 06:59 AM
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I lived in Scotland for 27 years and my parents used to call November the " bronchitis month". I can vouch for the fact that they were right . "history traveller" might like to reread my note to see that I was not talking about Hudson Bay weather, only the latitude. Having lived in Canada for almost 50 years, I can confirm that temperatures of around -15C are much healthier than the +2C that one experiences in November in Scotland.
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Old Dec 19th, 2014, 06:59 AM
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Their goal is to see the countryside and visit distilleries, castles and pubs.
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Old Dec 19th, 2014, 07:31 AM
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>>Their goal is to see the countryside and visit distilleries, castles and pubs.
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Old Dec 19th, 2014, 07:33 AM
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But WHY the debate??? They must go in November . . . that is when the U2 concert is.

The weather won't likely be so awful to prevent them from seeing/doing anything. Yes, even in the countryside . . .
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Old Dec 19th, 2014, 08:37 AM
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There's no need to be so defensive (or do I mean aggressive?) Janis. I know they have to go in November and I did give plenty of ideas in my first post, which is more than you have done. You were the one who started the debate. I was just challenging your assertion about day length...
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