sylvia

I am travelling in late July with my husband and 16 year old. Arriving in Glasgow, thinking about renting a car, will visit Edinburgh then take train to London. Any suggestions for places to stay, sights to see, best way to organize the sights on five days time, would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

janis

You do not need (or want) a car in Glasgow or Edinburgh. If you are talking about 5 days total - then don't bother w/ a car at all. Just take the train to Edinburgh. Waverly Station is right in the center of town at the bottom of the castle. Edinburgh has so much to offer you should spend a MINIMUM of 3 full days there.<BR><BR>But, if you want to squeeze in something else -- Pick up the car at Glasgow airport and haed NE towards Callander. This area is called the Trossachs and is very convenient to Glasgow and a fairly quick drive into Edinburgh. Spending 2 nights somewhere between Aberfoyle and Stirling will give you the chance to see Stirling castle, Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, the lake of Menteith and Inchmahome Priory, and Doune Castle. <BR><BR>Then turn the car in at Edinburgh airport (you really don't want to drive in the city) and take the shuttle into town for 2 or 3 nights. Then hop on the train and 4.5 hours later you will be in London.

Barbara

Sylvia: What kind of place do you want to stay in? We stayed in the Carlton Hotle over the Christmas holidays. It is very conveniently located across the street from Waverly Station, and right on the Royal Mile. There is so much to see in Edinburgh, especially in the summer when all the historical buildings are open. Is your 16yr old a boy or a girl? If you're going to be in Edinburgh for a few days, you might consider renting a car for a day to do a trip or two outside the city. It's not that big a deal to drive through the city, although you may find, as I did, that the roads seem awfully narrow (and I grew up there!) Towards South Queensferry, you should visit Hopetoun House. Check out Edinburgh's web site at www.edinburgh.org. There are lots of accomodation suggestions and way more things to see and do than you'll have time for. I hope you find what you need, but you'll probably find that what you need most is more time!

noname

Are there self-catering castles that anyone can recommend in Scotland for about ten people?<BR><BR>Is there a season for these kinds of properties? When does it begin? Tried to rent a chateau in Normandy without much luck in the early spring. Is it still wintery in Scotland in April?<BR>

Sheila

Sylvia<BR><BR>If you could give an indication of how you see the shape of your 5 days I'll suggest some things to fill it.<BR><BR>Noname; there are indeed. I have half a dozen web sites bookmarked. If you have any notion as to where and how much I'll try to dend you details. It should not be wintry in April- it could be warm and balmy. BUT THERE ARE NO GUARANTEES!!

scurry

<BR>We went to a fabulous, intimate wedding here ... the wedding party stayed the night -- the rooms are very cool.<BR><BR>http://www.celticcastles.com/castles/borthwic/

Cathy

We just returned from a week in Scotland with our 17 and 14 year old daughter and son. In Edinburgh, they enjoyed climbing up Arthur's Seat (waiting for mom and dad to reach the top), doing the<BR>Castle and Royal Mile, meeting at the Mercat cross at 7:30 pm for the Mercat Ghost Tour, eating at Deacon Brodie's and shopping, of course! If you stay in downtown Edinburgh you won't need a car (although we had one-but driving and parking in the city can be a challenge, especially if it's been a while since your husband's driven a manual and must shift with the left hand!) <BR>Depending where your trip originates, your first day could be lost to jet lag, so you're really looking at limited days of real sight seeing. After spending a week in Scotland and a week in London, I'd suggest 1-2 days in Glasgow, overnight in Edinburgh and at least 2-3 in London. There is so much to do in London, but top spots for a short first time stay would be: Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, take the double decker bus tour to cover Trafalgar Square, Picadilly Circus, etc. and you'll be able to see most of the city highlights that way. See a show, treat your teen to the Hard Rock or Planet Hollywood or Covent Garden (our's loved those places) and take a ride on the Tube (we were seasoned riders after a week). We all enjoyed the British Museum and British Library because the kids got to actually see the things they studied about in their history classes. <BR><BR>