My husband and I will be traveling to the UK in a few weeks. After a few days in England, we are taking the train to Edinburgh, and then will be renting a car for the remainder of our vacation. We will pick up the car at the end of our time in Edinburgh, and go to Inverness, Glenfinnan, Glencoe, Stirling, and back to Edinburgh.

I did map out some of the trips to get a general idea of time, although I understand from reading other posts on here that we should plan on it taking longer than that.

The one thing that I am curious about, and haven't seen anywhere, is what we can expect as far as stopping along the way to fill up the car, go to the restroom, or eat. Are stops few and far between so we really need to plan ahead?

Thank you!

Modern cars particularly Diesel engines can average 70mpg and so the pressure to plan probably isn't as great as it was in days gone by. Your hire car will probably be less than two years old and will turn at least 50mpg.

Having said that filling stations service a human population and the simple fact is that large areas here have very small populations. If you are venturing into areas such as the highlands or the islands on Sunday it may be worth simply being careful not to run too low.

>>or eat. Are stops few and far between so we really need to plan ahead?<<

In some areas they are very few and very far between. However - in the few days you will probably have the car it is very VERY likely you won't have to fill the car up at all. Especially if you get a diesel which many smaller rental cars are. You'll get hundreds of miles out of a tank.

I just finished my latest visit (alas - not into Scotland this time)) but I had a car for 9 days and drove all around Northunberland, North Yorkshire, the Cotswolds and the Thames Valley - and only bought petrol once.

As for toilets (You'll be looking for toilets - not 'restrooms') many towns/villages especially in tourist areas will have public toilets - often in/near the public car parks. Plus pubs/cafes will have loos as well.

I was posting the same time as Dickie_Gr

Hi Janis!

I was absolutely shocked by the fuel inefficiency of our recent rental cars in The States. We hired a petrol Ford Escape which had 2000 miles on the clock recently, so not an engine that was run in. It seemed to return less than 20mpg which is worse than my silly car at home.

You may find European models a refreshing change.

You will not find the price of fuel, especially in rural Scotland, a refreshing change.

Hi!

Yes, we are prepared for the price of fuel there. We went to England for our honeymoon 15 years ago when we were young an naive. We had heard about the expensive prices, but then when we went to a petrol station we thought "Oh that isn't bad at all." Until we realized the price was per liter.

I must say that Chicago seems to be trying to catch up in fuel prices though. It's over $4/gallon here now.

$9.54 a US gallon!

My rule when driving through scenic, and therefore sparsely populated areas, is, if you see public loos, use them. You have no idea when the next lot will appear and it's a lot easier for men to improvise than for women. Oh, and keep some tissues in a pocket -they may not always have loo paper.

Much of northern and western Scotland is pretty empty. This was said above, but you can't emphasize it enough.

Things like fuel, food, ATM's, and lodging are often quite long distances apart. They close early, and the Sabbbath is pretty strictly observed in some area, especially in the Islands. There are limited choices of places to eat, sometimes only the local hotel.

Cattle perhaps and sheep certainly wander onto roads constantly, as they do in Utah and Arizona, so you have to keep your speed down. Many rural roads are 1 lane with passing places. Inquire locally how these work and who has the right of way.

This isn't as daunting as it sounds, but forewarned is forearmed. It is a lot like driving in the Four Corners, with rain and fog added! And equally beautiful, if you like empty!

The point about ATMs is important.

Many rural businesses only accept cash.

That is good to know about the ATMs. We typically don't carry much cash with us, but we will be sure we are prepared.

I appreciate all the advice.