Hi there! Well mku4440, my husband is a huge pork fan and is already loving your suggestion : )

I will take a look at that flat. We're finding that many flats require a 3-night stay and we're only staying for 2.

Question for frequent UK travelers, we're in the midst of booking our flights. For our flight from Toronto to Edinburgh, the most appealing flight has a 1 hour and 40 minute stopover at London Heathrow. At that point, we'll be switching from Air Canada to British Airways. Is 1h40m enough time to transfer? (barring unusual unforeseen circumstances). Or will it likely be a mad scramble?

Thanks!
Jenn

>>Or will it likely be a mad scramble?<<

Could be -- but as long as it is on one booking go for it. There are frequent flights from LHR to EDI so if you miss your connection they will put you on the next available flight. Don't do it if it will be two separate bookings . . . .

I'd probably want to put your mind at rest with regard to the issue of nuts.

The UK Food standards Agency issued new food guidelines four years ago in relation labelling, they are detailed and onerous. I should know I operate a good business.

All food outlets are required to make customers aware of the ingredients used and nuts are clearly becoming rapidly developing as an allergen. Products and menu items will be clearly labelled and the outlet should make you aware if you ask whether their product was made in a nut environment.

One outlet in our area didn't take the guidelines seriously, a young customer tragically died due to an exposure to large amounts of unlabelled peanuts. The operators have been charged with manslaughter.

Don't forget to check Icelandair. From the North American cities they serve, they offer the shortest and fastest flights to Scotland (except from the New York area from where there are nonstops). They are also often cheapest. And they offer the possibility of an open jaw: into Glasgow return Aberdeen.

Sorry, mistakes in above post. In addition to the NYC area, there are nonstop flights to GLA from Halifax and Philadelphia.

Also, Icelandair tends to price tickets like a train, cheapest 11 months out then gradually rising to the date of departure. Anyway, they are not cheapest now from Toronto 3 months out.

There is a non-stop charter to Glasgow with Air Transat from Toronto which is really cheap and that's what we were originally planning, but then we realized that in and out of Glasgow wasn't ideal. We saw the Icelandair flights, but you're right, they aren't cheapest right now. I think we're aiming towards a stop in Dublin (rather than Heathrow) to avoid that mad scramble. The Dublin stop gives us 2h25m, so that's likely better and at a much calmer airport : )

In the Loch Ness area (near Aviemore) is the highland wildlife park

highlandwildlifepark.org.uk

When I took two of my nephews to Scotland, we spent some time there. We wandered a bit on our own and then took a walking tour with a ranger who was informative and humorous. We loved it!

We took the cruise from Fort Augustus to look for Nessie and also visited Urquart Castle.

We spent a day at the highland games in Fort Augustus and learned a lot. There were also events for children which did not have to be signed up for ahead of hand. Hope your games at Gordon Castle will be as much fun!

Just some thoughts on your wonderful itinerary!

I'm not sure why GLA is not ideal, we used it to access Edinburgh, which is less than an hour drive, all easy motorway, immigration is a snap, and the rental cars are a very short walk.

>>I'm not sure why GLA is not ideal, <<

I would not recommend driving right off an overnight flight - and then what would one do w/ the car for the first two days in Edinburgh??

Though it is not the least bit onerous traveling from GLA to Edinburgh. Either the airbus to central Glasgow and a quick train ride to the center of Edinburgh, or a car service from GLA . . .

irishface, thanks for the suggestions! How old were your nephews at the time and did they enjoy the Nessie cruise? Our boys are 7 and 9 and we're considering whether to do one...

Funny the renewed discussion about flights... we booked our flights literally right before I logged on here : ) We are booked on flights from Toronto to Edinburgh (with a 3h05m layover in London) arriving at 1:00pm.

We depart from Aberdeen at 9:25am (with another 3h layover in London) and so we'll likely stay right by the airport on our last night...

The boys were 11 and 14. They did like the Loch Ness cruise, except for an obnoxious bunch of European teens (will not name the nationality as I don't want to tar all with the same brush!) on the trip. However, we were there in July as I was a teacher and perforce had to travel in busy season.

will not name the nationality>

Germans no doubt?

bookmarking

PQ, wrong--not German but Mediterranean.

Well I was gonna guess those Italians!

Hi all!

We've been doing a lot of trip research and we're now almost completely booked in our lodging! I'm going to write out tomorrow with an updated itinerary in hopes that people will now have more specific suggestions about hikes, things to do/see, etc.

In the meantime, our older son (who is turning 10 while we're in Scotland) has requested that we see "tons of" armour. And so... where are Scotland's best displays of medieval armour? My research always leads me to a museum in Glasgow, but given that we're not going to Glasgow, I'm hoping for some suggestions in Edinburgh and/or elsewhere : )

Thanks!
Jenn

There really isn't that much on display in scotland. Nothing like the Tower of London for example. Scottish fighters weren't that into armor. Lots of things like pikes and shields but full suits of armor will mostly be decorative. Individual castles like Glamis will have suits on display

Oh - if I remember, there is probably some on display in the military museum in Edinburgh castle

http://www.nms.ac.uk/national-war-museum

Okay great - thanks janisj! I actually was referring more to shields and weapons than suits of armour in any event... so that's great.

Okay so we are now completely booked for our lodgings during our trip! Although accommodations were already hard to come by when we started, we still feel like we found some amazing places to stay, with a nice variety of hotels and self-catering cottages.

Here's the final itinerary for where we're going to be (while I tried a lot of the suggestions from this thread, lots were sold out or couldn't accommodate four of us):

Day 1: Arrive in Edinburgh at 1:00pm. Rest of the day in Edinburgh (visiting some of the places already suggested on this thread!). Overnight in condo at the bottom end of the Royal Mile.

Day 2: Day in Edinburgh -incl. National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle, hike Arthur's Seat, Royal Mile. Eat pig : ) 2nd overnight in condo at bottom end of Royal Mile.

Day 3: Go back to EDI to pick up rental car. Depart for the Trossachs/Loch Lomond. Visit Stirling, Doune and Campbell castles enroute to Trossachs NP. Hike Conic Hill or Ben A'an. Overnight in a self-catering cottage in Brig O' Turk.

Day 4: Day in the Trossachs. Hike Conic Hill or Ben A'an (whichever we didn't do on day 3). Explore the NP/area. Overnight in Brig O' Turk.

Day 5: Depart for Glencoe. Drive down Glen Etive on the way (hike Glen Etive?). Hike the Cobbler enroute? Which route should we take to Glencoe? Can we see Kilchurn castle enroute? Overnight in chalet at Inchree near Onich.

Day 6: Explore Glen Coe. Idea: Lost Valley hike. Other good hikes with kids? Overnight in Onich.

Day 7: Leave Glencoe for Road to the Isles - from Fort William to Mallaig. Take the ferry to Skye. Overnight in self-catering cottage in Uig.

Day 8: Explore Skye. Possible ideas: Tallisker Distillery, Dunvegan castle ~ Hiking possibilities: Old Man of Storr, Quirang, Fairy Glen, Kylerhea. Overnight in Uig.

Day 9: Explore Skye. Overnight in Uig.

Day 10: Wester Ross/Northwest Coast. Visit Eilean Donan Castle and town of Plocton. Head north along the coast. Sights to see? Overnight at the Gairloch Highland Lodge (north of Torridon).

Day 11: Smoo Cave and Durness. Continue north along the coast to the tip, then head west to the cave. Explore. Overnight in self-catering cottage in Durness.

Day 12: Drive south to Loch Ness/Glen Affic area. Possible ideas for this area: Urquhart Castle, boat cruise to spot “Nessie”, hiking in Glen Affric. Overnight in self-catering cottage near Glen Affric.

Day 13: Loch Ness/Glen Affric area. Good hikes? Overnight in self-catering cottage near Glen Affric.

Day 14: Head to Cairngorns NP and explore the area a little - hike Loch an Eilein? Check in at Hilton Coylumbridge and use the resort's pool and amenities. Overnight at Hilton Coylumbridge.

Day 15: Our son's 10th Birthday. Enjoy breakfast and swimming at the resort. Head to Stonehaven (on east coast). Visit the town and Dunnottar Castle. Drive to Kildrummy. Dinner and overnight at Kildrummy Park Castle Hotel (visit castle ruins too) -- we thought this would be a cool place to stay on our son's birthday : )

Day 16: Head to Gordon Castle/Fochabers. Enjoy the day at the Gordon Castle Highland Games (competition day). Drive back to Aberdeen. Overnight at the Moxy Aberdeen Airport Hotel.

Day 18: Return the rental car and be at the airport by 9:00. Depart Aberdeen at 11:30am.

Now I'm going to start the true planning of the hikes, sights, restaurants, things to do, etc.. Any further suggestions or tips (now that we know exactly where we're going to be and for how long) would be awesome! You guys have already given me so much wonderful advice... I'm going to look further into all of your suggestions now!

Jenn