2002 trip to scotland...advice?
 

hi everyone,<BR><BR>Had a wonderful time in london and paris in october, but it's over, done with, so it's onward to the next trip, Scotland 2002! (i live for travel planning, it's half the fun!).<BR><BR>I would like to take 3 weeks next year. One of my biggest regrets in 1996 during our great britian trip was not being able to get off the tour and spend more time in scotland, so that will be my destination.<BR>i will be traveling solo this time, no timetable but the one i set for myself.<BR><BR>i want to concentrate on these areas, edinburrough (sp?), inverness and the highlands, with particular interest in "seeing" north scotland. I can't find a full map of scotland to see how far the highlands actually go north in scotland. any information on this would be helpful.<BR><BR>i have several questions so bear with me on this.1st, i notice britrail sells passes for scotland called freedom passes? has anyone used these? someone recommended that i take a sleeper train 1st class from london to edinburrough. that i would really enjoy this. has anyone done this? how was it?<BR><BR>as far as travel in scotland, i know people recommend renting a car and i will probably do that in the inverness area but is it feasible to do so in the north scotland area? would the train be better thru that area since i am mainly interested in the scenary? this suggestion was given when i said i was particularly interested in "seeing" a lot of the northern highlands. that this area did not have alot of tourist centers or areas and i could "ride" the train as far north as possible and take in the scenary of the highlands and get a feel for which places i would like to investigate further. then while returning south thru the northern highlands get on and off the train at those areas. feasible? practical?<BR><BR><BR>with 3 weeks, what could i expect in prices for rental cars? whats a good deal? is a week too long in edinburrough? should i fly into london or into scotland? any route suggestions?<BR><BR>so, as you see i am just starting this planning and need ideas.

Hi Sandy,<BR><BR>I live in Edinburgh, so maybe I can help.... First off, I'd check out the Scottish Tourist Boards's website at http://www.visitscotland.com/, as this is a good overview, and they should be happy to send you out some brochures, etc. <BR><BR>You can certainly spend a week in Edinburgh, exploring the old town, browsing the galleries, museums, etc. - there's a whole lot to see and do here!<BR><BR>The rail thing would work in the central belt of Scotland, but far North, and in the Borders the rail links aren't terribly good. You'd probably be best with a car, and get off the main roads - so many of the interesting places are not near a main town.....<BR><BR>The other options are something like the Haggis Bus, http://www.haggisadventures.com/HTML/defaulta.htm, which is a 'hop on hop off' type tour, so that you can decide where you want to spend time. Friends of mine from Holland went on it, and enjoyed it.<BR><BR>I think I'd maybe work out my 3 weeks something like .... 5/6 days in Edinburgh, spend 4/5 days working your way right up North via the East Coat, maybe a couple of days on Orkney, then spend some time working your way back down the West Coast, and see some of the Western Isles, etc.... <BR><BR>Re: the flights - I'm not sure where you're coming from, but Aer Lingus does some good deals to Scotland via Dublin, but I think they only fly from Washington DC, Boston, New York & Chicago. Let me know, and I might be able to advise.... Otherwise, flights in and out of Scotland are usually quite a bit more expensive than London, so it might be an idea to fly in and out of London, and take a cheap local carrier to Edinburgh or Glasgow - i.e. Easyjet, Go, etc.<BR><BR>If you want to give us some more ideas of what your interests, etc are, then we can maybe suggest some other things.<BR><BR>Enjoy!<BR>Jenny<BR><BR>

Hi Jenny:<BR>You gave such great information that I have one more question for you.<BR>Is the end of October and Novermber good time to visit Scotland? We would like to do some hiking and lots of walking. Are these activities possible in October/November? Thanks

Hi Sam,<BR><BR>I think you should be able to do some walking in Scotland in October/November. Unfortunately, our weather is so unpredicatable ....! I'm not sure what sort of hiking you're looking to do, but if you're not used to snow, etc., I'd stick to some of the lower hills, as the weather can come in very quickly in some areas. Of course, I could be proven completely wrong, and you will have 2 weeks of gorgeous weather! I only warn you of this, as there are a number of fatalities on the Scottish mountains every year, especially of those who are not properly equipped and prepared.... I don't want to patronise or put you off completely however! There are a number of companies who do guided hikes of some of the more difficult walks. <BR><BR>Of course, you may e looking to do some of the more gentle hikes, in which case, you should be fine, unless we get a freak early snowfall! What I would say is, come prepared to get wet though! Bring decent waterproofs, etc, as you never know when we will get a famed Scottish downpour.....<BR><BR>Some websites which you might find useful or interesting are:<BR><BR>http://www.walkaboutscotland.fsnet.co.uk/welcome.htm<BR>Guided walking tours<BR><BR>http://scotlandvacations.com/hiking.htm<BR>A whole pile of other links<BR><BR>Get back to me if you have any more questions, and I'll do my best to answer them....<BR><BR>Jenny<BR><BR>

Sam<BR><BR>Could be great, could be dodgy at higher altitudes at that tme of the year.<BR>more links for you<BR><BR>http://www.b-mercer.demon.co.uk/links.htm

We just returned from Scotland - landed in Glasgow and got the rental car right there - check and see if your credit card covers insurnace -that couldsave you money - we used Avis -it is expensive to rent a car- we were there the first week in Nov and that would be pushing it for weet cooler weather, but we were lucky so maybe you will be too-one B&B I would recommend is Distant Hills guest house in Spean Bridge, and there were people there who were hiking during the day conatct iss [email protected]<BR>we statyed 2 days at the Castle Guest house in Edinburgh, which was 30/night, downtown, but were not as impressed with it -hope this helps