Car pickup: is GLA or EDI "easier?"
May 25th, 2023, 12:58 PM
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Car pickup: is GLA or EDI "easier?"
I last drove in the UK about 20 years ago. I will be solo, so both driver and navigator. I will rent an automatic as my stick skills are very rusty.
I will be flying into EDI and will spend three days there or Glasgow before picking up a car. By then my brain and body should both be in Scotland.
On AutoEurope, I have found excellent deals at both airports; the rate at EDI is slightly higher, but not enough to fret over.
QUESTION: for a rusty, solo driver which airport has "easier" mid-weekday pickup? I will be heading south to spend the night in Haltwhistle, about 130miles away, so an easy drive to start off the two week road trip.
I will be flying into EDI and will spend three days there or Glasgow before picking up a car. By then my brain and body should both be in Scotland.
On AutoEurope, I have found excellent deals at both airports; the rate at EDI is slightly higher, but not enough to fret over.
QUESTION: for a rusty, solo driver which airport has "easier" mid-weekday pickup? I will be heading south to spend the night in Haltwhistle, about 130miles away, so an easy drive to start off the two week road trip.
May 25th, 2023, 02:02 PM
#2
Same-o/same-o. Both are very easy airports to navigate out of. Book whichever one makes most sense for your location at the time and/or destination.
Hint -- even though your car will likely have a SatNav/GPS, do buy a paper road atlas (you can wait till you arrive in country where they will be much cheaper - any book shop or large petrol stations will have them). Even driving solo, having the road atlas opened to the applicable pages on the passenger seat is a big help. Shows you the big picture not limited to the small scale on the GPS screen - and also shows roads/routes that may not display on the GPS
Hint -- even though your car will likely have a SatNav/GPS, do buy a paper road atlas (you can wait till you arrive in country where they will be much cheaper - any book shop or large petrol stations will have them). Even driving solo, having the road atlas opened to the applicable pages on the passenger seat is a big help. Shows you the big picture not limited to the small scale on the GPS screen - and also shows roads/routes that may not display on the GPS
May 25th, 2023, 02:14 PM
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Thank you,@ janisj. Already on my Day 1 shopping list in Edinburgh is a road atlas. I rely heavily on paper maps for exactly the reasons you describe: the "big picture" and being able to force the GPS to take a route that looks interesting by putting in via points.
If I pick up at GLA then I will probably get quickly onto A roads (eg A73-A721-A72) to the general area of Selkirk, and then head south from there. That should be a nice drive on a summer afternoon and evening.
The car will NOT have SatNav/GPS (well, it would if I were willing to pay GBP100/week). It may have Apple Carplay in which case I will try navigating with Google Maps. I am also bringing along a Garmin GPS unit that I purchased in the UK in 2019 in anticipation of a 2020 road trip (obviously that was squashed). I've just put "update Garmin maps" on my to-do list. Then the trick will be figuring out what type of vent-slats a Ford Fiesta has, so I can McGyver a mount.
If I pick up at GLA then I will probably get quickly onto A roads (eg A73-A721-A72) to the general area of Selkirk, and then head south from there. That should be a nice drive on a summer afternoon and evening.
The car will NOT have SatNav/GPS (well, it would if I were willing to pay GBP100/week). It may have Apple Carplay in which case I will try navigating with Google Maps. I am also bringing along a Garmin GPS unit that I purchased in the UK in 2019 in anticipation of a 2020 road trip (obviously that was squashed). I've just put "update Garmin maps" on my to-do list. Then the trick will be figuring out what type of vent-slats a Ford Fiesta has, so I can McGyver a mount.
