Darrell

We'll be in Edinburgh in mid March, staying for 3 nights. The Balmoral hotel is running winter specials, so the room rate is 99/night including breakfast. (No view for that price.) <BR> <BR>We have 1 unused day on our Britrail flexipass. I'm looking for ideas on where to go for one day that's not too long. We can take as many train rides as we want on that day. <BR> <BR>Our preference to go somewhere in the highlands. Perhaps somewhere we could go on a tour of a single malt whiskey facility? Any ideas? <BR> <BR>

Dave

How about Blair Castle (www.great-houses-scotland.co.uk/blair)? Approximately 2hrs from Edinburgh by rail (www.britcities.com)

Tony Hughes

Personally I'd leave the Highlands for another time or else you'll spend a large hunk of the day on a train. You dont mention where else you'll be staying in Scotland (if anywhere), Darrell. What about somewhere in the central belt? Glasgow? Stirlingshire? Fife? The Lothians (but forget taking a train for them unless its west lothian and i dont know why anyone would want to go there). <BR> <BR>Plenty of distilleries all over the country, nearer to edinburgh than highlands. Perth, east lothian (glenkinchie etc) for example. If you are desperate to use the rail ticket go to Glasgow, or Dundee (just to see it, like) or my old stomping ground of Fife.(train to leuchars, bus or taxi to St Andrews - easy!!). <BR> <BR>

Sheila

Darrell, I did something on this in a Word programme at the weekend. Let me know if you'd like me to send it to you direct

Paul

If you have not been to Durham, England, then that would be my suggestion. It's only a little over 2 hours each way from Waverly and made for a great day trip. <BR>Of course, see the cathedral (climb the tower), castle (university - guided tour only), stroll the river and hit some pubs. See countydurham.com for more info. Tony's suggestions are very good -- run over to Glasgow if you can or up to Stirling. Another option would be to rent a car for a day and chart a circuitous route through the Borders area.

John

Darrell, I'll second Paul's Durham suggestion. It's not Scotland to be sure, but Durham Cathedral gets my vote for best jaw-dropping building in Britain, even more intimidating if you're there on a blustery March day. <BR> <BR>Tony's Stirling and St. Andrews ideas are good, and if the weather's crummy, you might also consider the Burrell Collection (art museum) in Glasgow. The East Lothian coastal towns of Dunbar and North Berwick are also okay, a short train ride from Edinburgh. It's not whisky, but if you could arrange for a tour of the Belhaven Brewery in Dunbar, well, that would be a treat. (Boswell said it was the best beer he'd ever had, in 17-something or other.) <BR>If you're dead set on the Highlands, I think it's possible to get to Oban and back in one (long) day, maybe also Maillaig or even Tain (the Glenmorangie distillery, now there's a destination) but like Tony says, it would take most of the time you have available.

Sheila

Perth is a former major route junction for the trains, and you will find lines from there to Edinburgh, Glasgow, via Stirling, Dundee and then Aberdeen, Inverness and all points between. <BR> <BR>1(a) I would suggest a day in Stirling would be a good use of your time. The only problem is, it's a bit spread out, so you might need to use cabs a lot. Great castle; Wallace Monument, Bannockburn; good shopping. <BR> <BR>1(b) Another thought would be Pitlochry then back to Dunkeld (Actually on checking my giude I see that some (not all, so be careful) trains stop at Blair Atholl. On second thoughts miss out Pitlochry which is an overrated tourist trap, and go on to Blair Atholl) Blair Atholl is a planned village and is very pretty in a slightly twee Victorian style, and it houses Blair Castle, home of the Dukes of Atholl and the Atholl Highlanders. V Impressive in the grand style. I have no idea how you get from the station to the castle but it's only a mile. <BR> <BR>On the way back south plan to stop at Dunkeld- station is Birnam, again about a mile from Dunkeld proper. <BR> <BR>The Cathedral is special, but so is the square with its National Trust houses. Good book shop and some very good antique shops (never pay what they are asking) <BR> <BR>Birnam is, of course, famous as being the place from which the wood came to Dunsinane in Macbeth. Dunsinane is just north of Perth on the Aberdeen Road. <BR> <BR>

Sheila

1(c).Most of Perth's interest lies in its history- ancient capital of Scotland- and in its place in Scottish literature. Just north of Perth, 2 miles or so, is Scone Palace, worth a visit itself, which was the site where the kings and queens of Scotland were crowned, seated on the Stone of Destiny, (a good fake of) which you will no doubt have seen when you visited Edinburgh castle. <BR> <BR>The town's 12th century Church, St John's is worth a visit. It contains the remains of an Earl of Perth who is supposed to have told the town's baillies "If you give me six feet, I'll give you twa Inches"- a reference to the two parks on either side of the Old town, the North and South Inches (from the Gaelic Innis meaning meadow). In addition it is where John Knox preached the destruction of the monasteries at the start of the Scottish reformation <BR> <BR>Sir Walter Scott wrote a novel called "the Fair Maid of Perth" and her house and that of Hal o' the Wynd, can both be visited. This will tell you all about Clan Chattan and Clan Kay and the battle they fought (staged?) on the North Inch. Next to Hal o' the Wynd's house is the City Mills which has a restored oatmeal and some nice craft shops. The City Mills Hotel, which I think is now called the Stakis, is another converted Mill, done so the lade can be seen flowing underneath. <BR> <BR>If you walk along the Tay, you can see where the houses in the Watergate had their gardens which led down to the river, where Kate Barlass held off the soldiers come to capture and kill the king. <BR> <BR>The town has really good shopping centered around the High street and Old High Street. On the north edge of the town is the Caithness Glass factory where you can see the glass being made and, of course, buy from the factory shop. <BR> <BR>There are a lot of nice walks.. along the river and through the North Inch, through the Norie Millar gardens on the north side of the river, Branklyn gardens on the North side of the river, Kinnoull hill with its folly, and, near where you are staying, Buckie Braes and Callerfountain. <BR> <BR>Places to eat- Let's Eat is without doubt the best place in town, but Timothy's is quite good too. Let’s eat has a slightly down market bistro in George Street, called, inventively, Let’s Eat Again and 1774 behind the Art Gallery can be good. Service can be awful. Patrick’s is a bistro behind the Sherriff Court which is on Tay Street), which is quite good, and Littlejohns, Paco's and and the Filling station, are all cheap and cheerful. <BR> <BR>The Willows tea room in St John's Square is very good for coffee/ tea and cakes and things. <BR> <BR>11(d) Go up the coast as far as Arbroath, which is a traditional fishing town, famous for its "smokies", and its cathedral which is where the Declaration of Arbroath was signed in 1320. "For so long as a hundred of us remain alive, we will yield in no least way to English dominion" and all that. <BR> <BR>Stop (if you want) at Carnoustie a couple of miles down the coast.. smaller and more of a 1920s tourist place, but famous for its golf, especially this week. <BR> <BR>If you are rash enough to get off the train in Dundee (armpit of the Universe; am I making myself plain?) there's not much of quality to see or do. There is a very good visitor centre (the Discovery Centre) near the station which interprets Captain Scott's voyages to the Antartic, and his ship, the Discovery is moored alongside so you can visit. Nearby is the Unicorn, a Dundee Whaler, which is also open to the public. There are people who actually like Dundee but they are few and far between. <BR> <BR> <BR>As an alternative to going up the coast from Dundee, you could change here and get the train to Leuchars, 6 miles from St Andrews. Buses leave Leuchars for St Andrews every half hour (not Sundays) <BR> <BR>

Darrell

Thanks all for the suggestions. They we all well thought out. I had no idea what was practical, much less desireable. <BR> <BR>This will be our only stop in Scotland. We've never been and want to get a flavor beyond Edinburgh. We plan to leave islands and lochs for future trips in warmer weather. <BR> <BR>

Melaney

My thought is is's a shame you'll only be in Edinburgh for three days! You'll have enough to do and see in this beautiful city in so short a time! If you wish to go over the Highlands, however (lovely!), look into Oban--a beautiful coastal town that is the gateway to several of the Isles and boasts a wonderful distillary.