Internet Connectivity in Scotland?
 

I'll be in Scotland for two weeks in the beginning of October and I'll have my laptop with me.

I don't expect the hotels to have high-speed access in-room like we do here, but I have been able in the past in other countries using my modem and dial-up. I just needed the phone adaptor plug for the country in question.

Anyone have any experience with this issue in Scotland?

Have you contacted the hotels and asked if they have either high speed or wireless? Many have it available in public areas.

I'm 99% sure you won't need a phone adapter there (like you do in some places in Germany...)

Just about any hotel/B&B that has internet access (and many do) will say so on its website.

Blimey, Scotland isn't that backward you know. If you want a hotel room with broadband,or even wireless, you can find one.

Scotland is suprisngly wired-up. It's a necessity for the more remote places. Plenty of wi-fi spots too.

I would just call or email the hotels you're staying at and ask.

You will need a plug adapter though, as my phone plug in the UK isn't the same as one I used in the US. My UK one looks more like an ethernet plug.

Any decent hotel that deals with businessmen will have internet connectivity - however you may not like the prices

Quite - I'm sure it would be cheaper to use an internet cafe than to dial up from your hotel.

Well, it depends where you are, but most places have ADSL- high speed broadband- and some will have wireless.

in any city you can expect both. Scotland had an ADSL network before many places that might seem much more "connected" because, as David said, it was seen as a necessity, and, in the main its installation was funded by the EU Area 1 and Area 5b Regional funds.

Where are you going to be? The information as to Broadband availability is online.

< I don't expect the hotels to have high-speed access in-room like we do here, >

Humph

I know, how condescending can you get.

I don´t know about Scotland, but last night on TV news there was a bit about far north parts of Lapland (there, right next to the Arctic Sea, at the Russian border). The news was that there STILL are no wireless connections there. It was newsworthy.

Sheila, I imagine that the University of the Highlands and Islands will rely heavily on information technology and it will probably be highly sophisticated.
We stay in small Scottish hotels and nowadays there will be at least one room set aside for wireless access

I'm in a similar situation.

I'll be in Scotland for two weeks in the beginning of October and I'll have my hair dryer with me.

I don't expect the hotels to have electricity in-room like we do here, but I have been able in the past in other countries using the power in the hotel lobby. I just needed the power adaptor plug for the country in question.

Anyone have any experience with this issue in Scotland?

>>I don't expect the hotels to have electricity in-room like we do here<<

You're surely not imagining you'll have to have a candle to light you to bed, are you? I think you can reasonably expect there to be, in the smallest B&B, at least one power socket, if only for the bedside light. It might not necessarily be particularly conveniently placed, but it will be there.

More importantly, it will be delivering power at 240v, so if you're bringing a 110v hairdryer you will need a transformer as well as a plug adapter, otherwise you will have some interesting results, including a dead hairdryer.

Oh Patrick you've had a sense of humour failure today...

I'm practising to be a grumpy old man.

Don't expect a wax candle to light you to bed. A bit of mouldy twig or a stale fish-head will give quite a lot of light unless you can recruit a friendly glow-worm.
I expect that you can dry your hair over the peat fire. Just make sure that you don't block the hole in the roof where the smoke escapes.
Don't forget a few cleft sticks so that the natives can take messages for you.

Remember Catweazle & his "electrickery"?

Do I also need to bring my own drinking water?

No there are children at every roadside selling bags of water. Ice is impossible to find, however.

High speed internet connections AND deep fried pizza.

That's what I call culture.

Bring your own loo paper - in Scotland all loo paper is made from newspapers discarded by rich tourists (locals been poor and illiterate)

Ice is universally available in Scotland.

Simply scrape it off the inside of any window.

You will find a useful source of both heat and light by making sure your hotel room has a view of the local wicker man.

But where do you find a virgin in Edinburgh?

Easter Road?

Hey, Gilthoniel. Bet you're glad you asked....