<BR>Going to Scotland next weekend. Do we need to bring an adaptor for our electrical things?( ie: battery charger for video camera, hair dryer,etc) or are these available to borrow at the B& B's/hotels?

It's best to take dual voltage appliances (hair dryer, steamer, etc.). An adapter usually refers to something you attach to the plug of your appliance that will plug into the socket in the foreign destination. If you go to www.magellens.com, you can find exactly what you need for Scotland. They're also available at most stores which sell luggage. These will work with dual voltage appliances. Any appliances which are not dual voltage will require a converter. These are generally expensive and heavy - and, don't work very well, especially with anything that heats or has a motor. Even with your adapter and converter, there's a good chance you'll burn out the hair dryer. Best bet is to buy an inexpensive European model when you arrive (a few dollars more at the airport, but worth the convenience). Neither of these items (adapters and converters) are generally supplied by B&B's or hotels. Many provide hair dryers. The best way to find out is to call or e-mail them individually. Recharging your video camera is a different matter - you may want to do a search for tips in this regard.

I have brought my video charger to Scotland from USA. It works without bulky voltage converter provided that: <BR> <BR>1. Your video battery charger is dual voltage. Most chargers sold these days are dual voltage and dual frequency. Look at the charger itself or the users manual and look for something like this label: "AC IN 100-240V 50/60HZ". <BR> <BR>2. Need UK plug adaptor to allow US flat plug to be pluggable into UK's 3 pin SQUARE plug. This is DIFFERENT from other EUROPEAN plug. Plug adaptor for France, Germany, etc DOES NOT WORK in UK. <BR> <BR>We were able to find the hair dryers either already in the bathroom or by asking the B&B inn keepers. They work SO MUCH better than the US hairdryers set to 220v.

I purchased a converter/adaptor at Service Merchandise for our trip to Scotland. It works for appliances with wattages between 50 and 1600. Not only will it work in Scotland, but it can also be used in other parts of the world. GE is the manufacturer, and it's called "Travel Converter" - tough name to remember... It worked great and I think it cost about $25-$30. It's relatively small at about 4"x2"x1-1/2". Have fun!

Shelley, if your already have a dual voltage hair dryer (mine, a garden variety discount drugstore item, switches from 125 to 250 v), then all you need is a plug adaptor for Great Britain/UK (NOT "Europe") available at most hardware stores for only $3. <BR> <BR>If your battery charger is not dual voltage, you will need both that plug adapter for the 3 prog UK sockets plus a voltage converter. My Magellan's catalogue has 3 types: one for heating appliances (irons, h.dryers, coffee makers for #19-4 oz), a "transformer" for motorized and electronic appliances (CD players, camcorder rechargers, radios for $15-11oz.) and one that covers ALL bases, a "combination converter" for $28-13oz. <BR>For $5 more they will throw in 5 different plug adaptors for travel worldwide.

My experience has been that convertors work well for low voltage/no motor items (as others have mentioned) like electric shavers or radios. We have burned out two US hairdryers and a coffeepot using a convertor (we did this all on one trip). We now own French hairdryers, bought at a Monoprix for about $12, or ask the hotel if they have them (our hostess in London provides a hairdryer in each room - bless her heart - and a couple of hotels we've used also have the hairdryers in the room, or to borrow). For the French hairdryers, we have an ADAPTER with UK prongs that the little round pins go into. If you buy a hairdryer in the UK, then you'll need an adapter with little round pins that the flat pins fit into. <BR>If anyone actually has experience using dual voltage appliances, I'd like to know if they really work. Causing a brownout in a major European city makes you SO unpopular...

Elvira: <BR>I have used dual mode hairdriers with the little adapters lots of times in Europe. You have to twist the little voltage switch as well as add the adapter or the whole thing will blow out the town's electricity!!! Once, while in Shanghai, we couldn't figure out which of the little pronged components go atop the adapter, due to the fact that the city of Shanghai was run at various times by several other foreign powers. If your hotel was on one side of the street (true story) you needed a two-pronged plug atop your adapter, vs the other side of the street's hotels which were built in some other year by another foreign country utilizing a three pronged affair for outlets. What actually ran my Conair blowdrier was a "French" plug atop the adapter plug which was then put into the three-pronged outlet at an angle, sideways.... (are you still with me here?)!!!! At that point in history I still was in the "husband as pack animal" mode and we were the only people on our group tour who posessed the entire set of world adapters as I hadn't yet violated the new package. We were handling out adapters after every meal, hearing what our fellow tour-ees were going through on "their" side of the street!!!! Moral of the story is braids work well in damp climate.

Cherie, Merci...I am of the bun/braid/french twist/ski mask theory of hair styling while traveling, but now that the group has expanded to 11, there are a couple of goils who are into hairdos (one more trip, and they'll be buying babushkas, I guarantee) so knowing the dual voltage thing works, I can tell them the good news. <BR>Seriously, we did blow out the electricity on the floor of our hotel in Normandy. Man, did we tiptoe out of there whoo whoo whistling, looking up at the ceiling hmmmm humming then ran like the hounds of hell were after us once we got out the front door.