My daugher <23> and myself <50> will be spending about 10 days in Scotland & Wales. We are planning on taking the train & would like to see castles, gardens, etc.
We are travelling on a budget.
Any ideas?
Does anyone know of a great (& reasonably prcied) castle that we could stay in overnight?

I sugest you book a tour or you will be spending most of your time waiting for trains & they are exspensive ,www.nationalexpress.com is good & they pick up at airports also www.travelsphere.com . buses are very comfortable, I am from uk so you can e-mail me [email protected]

I'm sure you will get loads of responses...
but as for castles some of my favorites in Scotland include:

Glamis Castle (setting of MacBeth, and most haunted castle in Scotland...really beautiful)
Stirling Castle
and of course Edinburgh Castle

I would suggest a trip from Inverness down Loch Ness on to the Isle of Skye. Along the way you will pass two castles. The Isle of Skye is beautiful.

When is your trip?

Donnottar Castle in Stonehaven is also really nice. (castle ruins).

As for castle hotels, I know I saw one somewhere in Scotland. I hardly doubt it's cheap though. I think it would be better to stay at a B&B or a hotel and travel to castles.

One more thought, that Ardoe House near Aberdeen Scotland looks like a castle, but that is a really really expensive hotel.

Wales - In my opinion most of the best castles in the British Isles are in northern Wales: Harlech, Conwy, Caernarvon, Beamaris. In Scotland, Dunnottar castle is quite scenic and Edinburgh castle is very interesting. You should consider renting a car. 10 days is NOT a lot of time especially factoring in travel times by train.

You could do your trip by train - but in a lot of areas it would be difficult to get out of the cities or major towns. Driving would be a LOT more efficient and let you get anywhere.

Driving will usually be cheaper for two or more - for someone traveling alone the trains would usually be cheaper but you have to factor in the convenience. And driving in Scotland and Wales is not difficult at all. Driving in any UK city can be a pain but out in the countryside - where most of the castles and gardens are - is really a piece of cake. And most of the great gardens and castles are difficult to reach by train

But if you are determined to use trains it is still possible.

Edinburgh is a "must" then you could travel to Stirling. Don't miss Drummond Castle Gardens - no train connections but you could find local buses to Crieff. Crathes Castle up near Abberdeen - again no train but local buses will get you there - has one of the most beautiful gardens anywhere in Europe and is world famous for its June Border.

In N Wales there are many really terrific castles and Bodnant gardens.

This will not be an easy trip by train but it is doable.

To get to all these places in 10 days you will need to move fast -