I am considering an England/Scotland tour for about 10 days. Can anyone share their Scotland experiences with me? I like to sightsee (castles, etc), hike/outdoors in general, love food!! Any suggestions are really appreciated.

My family spent 2 weeks earlier this summer. We stayed at a 'self-catering' lodge which was a great choice for a family as it was as cheap or cheaper than a B&B and much larger and we could cook meals if we wanted. <BR> <BR>We enjoyed seeing castles. We got the historic scotland pass for a week and then visited whichever ones looked the most interesting. <BR> <BR>Really enjoyed the drive from Callendar (where we stayed) up to loch ness and back. <BR> <BR>Sterling was interesting, Edinburgh just so-so. Liked Castle Campbell and Castle Threave the best

Suggest you try Oban or Skye in Scotland <BR>-routes are spectacular,travel by bus train or hitchhike,much good walking/camping available - Scots estates are much more relaxed about walkers/campers than in England.Food very variable,can be great or disgusting ask a local for advice on where to eat.

Marianna, My husband & I visited Scotland in 1998 and loved every minute of it! The people are friendly and warm, food was great, the beauty of the countryside is breathtaking and the history is fascinating! <BR> <BR>We drove from London (from where I could not get out fast enough...) to Inverness making stops along the way. We also spend some time in Edinburgh. <BR> <BR>I have posted many times regarding castles we visited, hotels, car rentals, and other details of our trip. You may want to do a search because Sheila and Tony have also posted invaluable information on the topic. Just let me know what specific area you are more interested and/or need more info. Definitely a wonderful destination!

Being lazy, Marianna, could you maybe do a bit of a search on the stuff we've already put in, and narrow it down a bit. There's so much that's lovely- especially for walking, that it's hard to know where to start <BR>

I'm moving this up so I can reply to it later. It was getting buried

Marianna <BR> <BR>I somewhat fuller reply than the churlish one you got earlier this week. Sorry for that. However the way you ask the question is hard because Scotland is so varied. <BR>There is a narrow bit between the rivers Forth and Clyde. The stuff below that is a bit of a mystery to me, because, although I’ve been many times, it seems to me to be a pale imitation of the north. I’m sure there are many who would sing its praises but, unless there are things you specifically want to know about the Borders or Dumfries and Galloway, I’ll let them. <BR> <BR>However here are some suggestions based on what you specifically mentioned. If you have an idea of the sort of budget you are on, we can do better. <BR> <BR>Castles <BR> <BR>Start with Edinburgh- sits on a volcanic crag, is very old, is very open to the public is very grand and houses, amongst other things the "honours" of Scotland (our Crown jewels) and a fake of the Stone of Destiny (they think it’s the real one, but…. <BR> <BR>Loch Leven castle at Kinross, where Mary Queen of Scots was locked up on an island in the middle of the Loch. You can take a tour in a wee boat to visit. <BR> <BR>Perth- Take time to climb Kinnoull Hill which proudly overlooks the town and the Tay and is surmounted by a folly castle built by an Earl of Perth, who had done the Grand Tour and thought that the Tay valley was just like the Rhine except it didn't have castles on its hilltops- so he faked a couple. <BR> <BR>If you then take a wee detour west to Aberfeldy and Loch Tay you will pass Breadalbane Castle, former home of the Marquis of Breadalbane, and now a golf course! <BR> <BR>Back on the A9- the main road to Inverness you will come to Blair Atholl, a planned village and a superb castle for a visit. the Duke of Atholl is the only person is the UK licenced by the Queen to have a private army. <BR> <BR>Also, just for giggles, while in the Inverness area visit the Stuart Castle, supposedly haunted. The Stuart family runs a hotel and a tour of the place is $5/pp. Lots of fun with the secret passages and fake library shelves, the tour guide was excellent in relating the history of the castle and its place in Scottish history. Beautiful countryside location, great pictures of the valley from the top tower. Also nearby is the site of the Battle of Culloden; fascinating history. <BR>When you get to Inverness, pass by quickly and go down the Loch side. Stop at Castle Urqhuart, see the piper; hope you see the Monster, then turn right at Invermoriston and follow the road to Dornie . Go down to Skye, where you can visit Dunvegan Castle home of the fiary flag. Another available castle is Kinloch Castle owned and run by Lady Clare MacDonald as a hotel (with excellent food) <BR> <BR>Back in the North east of Scotland Pittodrie is a stunning Country House Hotel on the slopes of Bennachie in west Aberdeenshire. Its core is a 114th century tower house (Castle, but it hasn't got a ghost.) <BR>There are so many castles in the North East we have a Castle trail. It does not include Slains Castle where Mary Shelley wrote Dracula. <BR> <BR>From Pittodrie, you are closest to Leith Hall at Kennethmont, which is owned by the National Trust, and is very nice. the trail leads you in one direction to Kildrummy Castle which is a ruin and owned by Historic Scotland, then go up through Strathdon to Corgarff Castle, which has a fascinating wall skirting it. It was a barracks for the soldiers building the Wade road nearby. Cross over the moor to Deeside and Braemar Castle which is privately owned, but open to the public, then come down Deeside to Balmoral, the Queen's wee place in the Highlands. <BR> <BR>Come back over to Craigievar and visit Craigievar castle, the sugar plum castle Disney is supposed to have used as his model. If you stay on Deeside you can visit Crathes Castle and Drum Castle, both of which are fun. Crathes has the added attraction of terrific gardens. Crossing back to Donside to come home can bring you past Castle Fraser with its resident ghost. <BR> <BR>If you go the other way from Leith Hall, you reach Huntly Castle another ruined ancient monument. <BR>The trail then takes you to Fyvie Castle which is the grandest of them all. Come south to Haddo House, ancestral home of the Earls of Aberdeen, then past Tolquhon Castle at Tarves to Pitmedden House, in its lovely formal gardens. <BR> <BR>To pick 3 or 4 from that lot, I'd do one of the ruins, probably Kildrummy, plus Fyvie for grandeur and Craigievar for cuteness- and which ever of the rest takes your fancy. <BR> <BR>Doune Castle. Is another central belt place worth a visit. <BR> <BR>Other castles to visit are: Glamis, Stirling, Cawdor, and Eilean Donan. great pictures there.(the hills are mesmerising) <BR> <BR>How’s that for castles? <BR> <BR>Another thing we have a lot of is outdoors. Do you prefer low-level hiking or hillwalking? The rule in Scotland is that you can go anywhere so long as you don’t do harm. We have lots of grand mountains and lots of pretty hills and lots of lochs with lochside walks and lots of forests with forest walks. And it really is very difficult to narrow it down. If you sort out an itinerary I can recommend walks just about everywhere. <BR> <BR>Food now, there’s another thing… <BR>Firstly the general standard is much better than it used to be, but as Tony Hughes said somewhere else we do not have the highest rate of heart disease in Western Europe for nothing. We are after all the nation that invented the deep fried Mars bar!. But there are some stunning places. Obviously there are the top notch- but you can find them in the foodie guides for yourself. Places I love, for setting and ambience as much as for food include:- <BR>Isle Oransay on Skye <BR>The Seagull on Skye <BR>the Pierhouse at Port Appin <BR>Let’s eat in perth, <BR>The Tolbooth in Stonehaven, <BR>The Ostler’s Close in Cupar <BR>The Cellar in Anstruther in Fife <BR>The Marque in Edinburgh <BR>Viva Mexico in Edinburgh <BR>The Courtyard in Aberdeen <BR> <BR> <BR>And, by the way, we have scenery near all those restaurants <BR>

I thought I would post some stuff on walks. Scotland has a wide array as I said before- there are waymarked, long and middle distance walk, the most famous of which is the West Highland Way, which goes from just outside Glasow up to Fort Wiliam <BR>In addition, there are little ones like the Fife Coastal path and the West Gordon Way in Aberdeenshire. <BR> <BR>Ther are mountainous areas like Torridon on the west coast -one of Scotland's more impressive ranges-hugely to be recommended but not for the fainthearted. Lots of serious mountains and little walks like, hiking up to Alligin Falls. <BR>The following was a designated route a chap asked for walks on. I’m just repeating it here-"The main road west from Aberdeen (A93) along Deeside will be busy at the time of year. That being the case I would suggest you go out the south Deeside road, rather than following the main road..quieter, a little slower, and more scenic. You stay on the south Deeside road as far as Bridge of Feugh- very pretty- then turn south as though you were going to Fettercairn. When you get to Strachan, you do not take the Fettercairn turn but follow the back roads which will bring you out on the south side of the river at Aboyne. Stay on that side of the river. A few miles further on you pass the entrance to Glentanar, where you could take a short detour and go for a walk in the remnant Scots Pine forest. Stay on south Deeside till you get to Ballater when you need to cross over and get on the A93. You are now driving west along the north bank of the river and a few miles along you get to Crathie which is where you fid Balmoral Castle where the Windsor's go to massacre birds in the summer. At this point either decide if you want to go on up to Braemar and the Linn of Dee for the scenery (At the Linn of Dee there is a very pretty walk up the river or up the Lui river, in really quite stunning surroundings- from Glentanar on you are in serious walking (hiking) country but I guess you are too close to where you started to want to stop here) or turn right towards Tomintoul. If you do go up to Braemar you have to come back here. The road crosses moor and pretty rivers and brings you out at Corgarff on Donside, where you coss one of the Country's highest passes- the Lecht. At the Donside end there is an 18th century castle built by general wade as a barracks for the soldiers who were sent here to subjugate the populace, which is unspoilt and is open to the public. Drive over the Lecht to Tomintoul- very good whisky shop- and then follow the road signs north and west to Grantown on Spey then Nethy Bridge. One of my prejudices is that I do not much like Inverness. It's in an important place and is OK, I suppose but it's a real "nothing" town. I would stay overnight somewhere about here, Nethy Bridge has B&Bs, a bunkhouse and hotels. Boat of Garten, which is nearby has a campsite. The forest at Abernethy and at Rothiemurchus and at Glen Morlich are riddled with very walkable trails. Then get Inverness out of the way. A quick zap up the A9- do the tourist stuff (20 minutes max) then go over the Kessock Bridge and on to Dingwall where you turn left to go to Garve, then Achnasheen. Lots of lovely hills to walk on along this road. From Achnasheen, drive on to Shieldaig, which is next to Gairloch, next to Poolewe, next to Mellon Udrigle. There's a campsite at Gairloch and one at Mellon Udrigle. The locations here are superb; but you are also now in the sort of are, where, if you get off the beaten track a bit, and off cultivated land, you can simply stick a tent up. That's what I mean by wild camping. In the shops in this are you can buy a booklet about local walks, but my own suggestions would include walking round Red Point- you can see it on the maps, walking in the Beinn Eighe National Naure Reserve- it has a visitor centre at Kinlochewe, or walking along the tracks n the north side of Loch Maree To get down to Skye go back down to Kinlochewe and then west to Shieldaig (that's the other Shieldaig) and right round the peninsula to Applecross. The road is spectacular and looks over the Inner Sound to Raasay and Skye itself. You then drive back round Loch Kishorn to Lochcarron and south again to Kyle of Lochalsh via Plockton. The bit from Kinlochewe to Shieldaig takes you through Torridon which has stunning mountains; the sea lochs are very pretty and Plockton is picture postcard stuff. Lots of places to stop off and walk. Cross the bridge to Skye and settle down to enjoy our most spectacular Alpine ridge- the Black Cuillin. You can camp at Sligachan, Portree, Glen Brittle, and on Raasay on campsites. But you can pitch a tent just about anywhere you do no harm. Dunvegan Castle is worth a visit. Suggesting places to walk on Skye is like mentioning shops in New York. Choose your own!!!! Come off Skye on the Mallaig ferry and drive round the Ardnamurchan peninsula and Morvern peninsulas to get to Lochaline. The scenery here is very mixed, with huge flat beaches, but mountain ranges beyond. You come through Morar and Arisaig, then south to Ardnamurchan itself.(Don't leave Mallaig without a tank of petrol!!) Try to see the movie "Local Hero" before you come. The beach scenes were filmed here. Try to get out to Ardnamurchan point, for the view over the Small Isles- if you get visibility- then come back up Loch Sunart to Strontian then you cross the head of the loch and come south to Lochaline. There is no camp site here, but you will find a pitch if you want. The Hotel is a dive- don't stay there if you can avoid it. Take the ferry to Fishnish from Lochaline, then go round to Tobermory. After that it really depends how long you want to stay on Mull. You can cross on the little ferry to Ulva, and spend the day there walking on this unspoilt little island or you can go down to Carsaig and walk for a few miles along the bay. When you leave Mull come off on the Oban ferry from Craignure. There's a camp site at Glenshallach, but at better one (I think) at Gallanachmore. You can do the coast route back to Glasgow or the inland route. I think, after all that water, I would recommend you go down to Ballachulish and through Glencoe, the Glen of Weeping, and if you are not blown away by it, you have the constitution of an ox. When you reach Crianlarich, you can either go south past Callendar to Stirling and zip in to Glasgow from there; or you can opt to go down Loch Lomond and stay there before your trip to the airport- try the campsite at Balloch at the bottom end of the Loch, " <BR> <BR>Kinloch Rannoch however a stunning area. You are a short distance from Schiehallion which is a lovely mountain. It's the place where they measured something about how the world goes round the sun, because it's got straight sides. <BR> <BR>Edinburgh is a fine destination, even if you can't go farther afield. In fact, there are some fine walks in hilly country (the Pentland Hills) very close by to Edinburgh (get there by bus if you like), and the coastal areas east from Edinburgh (both on the south and north shores of the Firth of Forth) are beautiful and rugged, with a number of beautiful fishing villages. A foray (by rail - it's easy) into the West Highlands is doable <BR>

Have been to Scotland several times and loved every minute. Some suggestions. Almost too late this year, but the Edinburgh Arts Festival is wonderful. We especially enjoyed the Fringe Festival including the Sunday event in the park behind Hollyrood Palace. We had choice seats for the Tatoo at the Castle (order a year in advance) and it was the highlight of the trip. Couple hours north of Edinburgh is Pitlochry which is more or less the gateway to the Highlands. There's a tiny distillery called The Edradour. It's billed as the worlds smallest distillery. Really a lot of fun. Outside of Inverness is Culloden Battlefield. If you have any Scots blood, walking the battlefield will definitely touch you. Despite the caricature of the "dour" Scot, we found the folks in the B&B's where we stayed to be warm and delightful. Wish we had gone to the Hebrides, next time.

You'll love Scotland. There have been so many great suggestions that I'll make only one - have dinner at The Witchery. It is right below Edinburgh Castle. Very gothic and completely lit by candles - great atmosphere and food.

This has extensive information for any one travelling to Scotland. j

Marianna - <BR>I think you already got a lot of great responses! But I was going to respond that I studied abroad in Edinburgh and recommend it any chance I go. It's a MUST see. If you are intersted, I wrote an opinion on it awhile back on Epinions.com with some more info at:<BR><BR>http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-6F3C-1065FCE6-39916B8F-prod1<BR>I hope that helps!