The Falkirk Wheel and the East Neuk coast:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/sets/72157623437796997/show/with/4409981554

May I ask why you think St Andrews won't take a full day? It'll take you about 90 minutes each way driving (and you'll definitely want to stop to take a look at the Forth Bridge en route). Once in St Andrews there's more than enough to fill a day's worth of sightseeing (cathedral ruins, castle, golf course, museums, university buildings to name but a few).

Weather is impossible to predict more than a few days in advance. It could be anything from 2 degs C to 20 deg C, sunny or not, dry or wet. Probably windy all the time knowing St Andrews. Just ensure you have layered clothing and can adjust to the frequent changes in the weather. Having a car means you can just chuck what you don't need into the boot if the sun comes out.

"I'm thinking St. Andrews, but that won't take the day, so maybe someplace that has St. Andrews on its way. "

What makes you think St Andrews won't take a day? It is a 90+ minute drive by the fast route and nearly 3 hours by the scenic route along the coast.

A day trip to St Andrews, Crail, Anstruther, and maybe Falkland Palace will be a VERY full day. St Andrews alone is worth several hours and the fishing villages and Falkland Palace probably 1.5 to 2-ish hours apiece. There is no play on the Old Course on Sundays and it becomes a vast city park soyou can walk across the Swilken bridge, step into Hell Bunker, or walk the whole course if you want. Plus the castle, Cathedral, the West Sands - just a LOT to see.

If you decide St Andrews/Fife is more than you want to squeeze into the one day - then the Falkirk Wheel and/or Linlithgow would be good instead.

If your business is IN Edinburgh, there is likely no reason you need/want a car except for maybe the day trip. Driving in Edinburgh is awfully difficult and there are many diversions/construction closures.

oh my goodness (!) - I didn't see GordonR's post (great minds )

ps: Gordon_R, I'm Going to try to pick your brain for some Jersey hints. I'll post some questions in a couple of days . . .

No problem Janis - I'll look out for your Jersey questions!

The East Neuk/St. Andrews day is very good; an alternative might be to head east to the East Lothian coast - North Berwick, Tantallon Castle, Dunbar, picturesque St. Abbs and Eyemouth, then cut inland at Berwick-on-Tweed to the little village of Etal (Northumberland) where the Black Bull is, I believe, the northernmost thatched pub in England, and a good one.

Or, alternatively, if your timing is good and the tide is cooperative, keep going past Berwick to the the causeway to the Holy Isle (Lindisfarne) - a very scenic and historic place. You could Google the tide tables to make sure you don't get stuck on the island for hours.

If time allows, you can return over the Lammermuir Hills through the attractive village of Gifford and into Haddington before returning to Edinburgh.

Regardless of the options taken, it's a fine day with a great deal of scenic variety.

Along with St Andrews, the "East Neuk" villages of Anstruther, Pittenween and Crail are great with theie Dutch architecture. Anstruther Fisheries Museum is excellent.
With Braveheart in mind how about the battle site at Bannockburn,near Stirling (it is well signposted) where we "sent them homeward to think again." It was revenge for William Wallace!

Thanks for the suggestions. The reason I thought St. Andrews wasn't a day trip was because of this post on their website:

"From Edinburgh: Take the A90 over the Forth bridge which connects to the M90. Continue north until junction 8 and take the A91 following the signs to St Andrews. --> Journey time is approximately one hour. <--"

So I figured 2 hours driving (round trip), and maybe a couple of hours to tour St. Andrews which would be a half day. But now it seems that whole area would take a day, glad I posted...

Another thing, every other time I came to Edinburgh I just used taxis, the train, etc... but I pretty much stayed in the city. This time I'm venturing out of my comfort zone to travel around a bit since I don't know when I'll get to do international travel again (we used to do it all the time, this is the first time since pre-recession, hence I'm taking advantage of being able to get a company paid rental...) So, for this American that is quite the novice at driving on the left, what are some safety tips? Am I an accident waiting to happen? I figure if you Brits/Scots can do it over in the states I should be able to... (famous last words

Up around the St. Andrews area, will any gift shops be open (I realize the actual golf course is not). I'm also looking for an authentic fish and chips pub, since it's right on the coast I figured they'd do that right.

SkyeHigh, I just read that the Mel Gibson statue was removed from the Wallace Monument in 2008. I was there in 2003 I believe. Oh well, it really didn't belong there I guess.

Even IF it was an hour to St Andrews (which it isn't), Fife and the city would more than fill a day. And if you take the coastal route one way that more than doubles your drive times. You'll have no trouble finding things to buy.

Get your fish and chips in Anstruther - not St Andrews. Here http://www.anstrutherfishbar.co.uk/

No you aren't an accident waiting to happen. However -- a car is totally useless IN Edinburgh. Even the locals avoid driving when possible. Driving in the countryside can be wonderful. Currently, driving in Edinburgh is Hell.

While most pubs that do food will invariably have fish & chips on the menu somewhere, there's no such thing as "an authentic fish and chips pub". You really need to get yourself down to a fish & chip shop (otherwise knows as a "chippie"). Some of these (like to one Janis recommended) provide sit-down facilities as well as the more traditional take-aways.

janisj,

Thanks for the recommendation re: fish and chips. I'll check on google maps where it is.

I contemplated not getting a car, but this time I plan to get out into the countrside as much as possible, and if the class I'm in gets out early on Friday I'll have options available to me. I'll be walking to my training class all week so I'll only be driving when I need to.

Oh -- do get a car for your forays out of town. But driving/parking IN Edinburgh is a total pain. Where are you staying? Do they have parking - and does it cost??

It is generally easier to take public transport out to EDI and rent a car and drive out from there than to deal w/ a car inside Edinburgh. Mostly depends on where you are staying though.

janisj,

I'm staying at the Marriott. It's a ways from the city center. I believe the train stop is not too far from the Marriott if I'm not mistaken so that is how I'll get downtown. But I may plan to do dinner in the environs around the hotel. Depends on what my coworkers are doing.

What was the comment that was removed. I hardly call this thread "controversial"!

The Marriott is out on the western outskirts of the city on Glasgow road, close to the airport. There are frequent bus services along that road straight into the centre (I'd guess 20-30 minutes depending on traffic).

As others have pointed out, using a car to get to/from the city centre is not a good option due to congestion, roadworks and expensive parking charges. So either don't bother getting a car until you do your day trip out of the city (which is easy driving, or just leave it in the free car park at the Marriott for the remainder of your stay (I'm assuming here that you're not paying for it as it's a business trip).

"What was the comment that was removed. I hardly call this thread "controversial"!"

Most likely it was an advertiser . . .

Please refresh my mind about tipping. Am I correct that there is no tipping unless service is excellent? Sorry it's been a while.

Tipping in the UK...? There are countless threads on this subject on Fodors. I hesitate to answer this one since - would you believe it - some of our overseas visitors apparently know more about this than people like me who've lived here all their lives If you are American, the key thing to remember is that the UK does not have the strong tipping culture you know back home. Just as I have to remember to tip generously and frequently when I visit the US, so you should follow local customs in the UK and be less profligate than back home. To do otherwise is seen as rather vulgar behaviour here.

Anyway, do tip 10% in restaurants if it was OK (note: not in pubs or cafes unless you've been served at the table throughout the meal, which is exceptionally the case in foodie-type pubs). Taxi drivers also normally get 10%. There's normally no expectation to tip any of the hotel staff, though I will sometimes leave one or two quid a night for the cleaners if the room was really well presented and clean.