Jen

I need the advise of you expert travelers. I am going to Scotland in May. (Flying into Heathrow but need to get to Dunes, Scotland). I checked out flying via British Midlands and Easy Jet and it looks like $100 to Edinburgh but......not all airlines fly out of Heathrow and the cheaper flights are from Gatwick or Stansfield. Should I rent a car and drive up to Scotland? How long would a straight drive be? Or is taking a train a viable option? I need to be in Scotland for a wedding so...don't have more than 24 hours to get there from London. HELPPPPPP

gregory

Train, drive, fly - they are all easily viable within your 24hr timeframe. It's up to you to decide. 8hrs by train, 7hrs drive, 1 hr fly. It's about 400 miles.

Jen

Thanks Gregory! I think I will fly there any drive or train it back since I am not in a hurry on the return trip. Any experience with car companies .... renting in Scotlond and returning in England.

8 hour train?

Jen, if you're travelling to Edinburgh from London the train ride from Kings Cross station to Edinburgh Waverly is less than 5 hours (given no delays due to weather or track issues). If you're going straight from Heathrow to Edinburgh you can the the Tube which runs directly from LHR to Kings X station or if you have a lot of luggage the Airbus also goes to Kings X station. I don't know if the train will be cheaper than flying but I wouldn't drive from London to Edinburgh.

Jen

Thanks to you too! I was a bit concerned about getting off the red eye flight and then getting behind the wheel!

janis

You should NOT consider driving that trip directly after getting off the over-night flight.

If I were trying to get directly to Edinburgh from LHR my choices would be in this order:

1) Fly from LHR
2) Fly from Gatwick if the fare were a lot cheaper. There is a direct coach link from LHR to LGW. You could land at LHR and take the Speed link bus to Gatwick.
3) Train from Kings Cross. Take the tube to Kings Cross. from there it is 4.5 hours to the center of Edinburgh.

Considering the number of rail delays in the UK, flying is probably your best bet for this specific journey.

(ps: The other airport is Stanstead, not Stansfield)

Sheila

I think I'd be inclined to the train option. The views can be spectacular. You can get the tube to King's Cross and the train stright north. Organise a car from the station in Edinburgh, though, if the wedding is in Doune(?) Glasgow might be easier-trains from Euston- and drive up for the wedding. I wouldn't do that trip by cra if the sole purpose was getting there

Nick

First, I think you should look a lot more closely at www.easyjet.com. I just looked as I was surprised at how high your prices are - put in 2 dates (mid May), got 12 quid + taxes (so $30 or so). Going up on a Sunday - 3 flights or so at 6, coming back - late at 6. So advise you to play with your dates a little more. (but maybe you are totally restricted - going up Friday ? -and do not have the options for the really cheap fares).
I assume you are meaning Duns in the Borders- look at the map and you will find Berwick upon Tweed is closer. All the Edinburgh trains go through there (some of the faster ones perhaps not stopping). It should be at least an hour faster to get there from Berwick as it is still another hour before you get to Edinburgh, and Duns is probably half the distance from Berwick as it is from Edinburgh. I would suggest you look at www.firstgroup.co.uk - for First Edinburgh buses which I think go between Berwick and Duns - problem is their website is being updated. I am sure you can hire a car at Berwick - may need to do a little more homework. The border countryside is gorgeous so driving/bus from Berwick or going the longer distance from Edinburgh should be seen as a pleasure. Roads are not busy and it is a really underestimated and relatively unknown part of the world. With cheaper provincial town, you may even check out whether a local taxi company can give you a cheap fare.
As to 8 hr train journeys to Edinburgh, just a little excessive - I think others have addressed that already!!

janis

Jen - you do need to clarify WHERE you are headed - is it Doune or Duns or ?? It does make a difference. Doune is NW of Edinburgh and NE of Glasgow. Duns is SE of Edinburgh and a long way SE from Glasgow. In my answer I was assuming it was Doune because the sound is similar - but Nick is right - Duns is more likely as a simple typo.

The train would be my choice if it is Duns because Berwick is a good connection.

Sheila

I too asumed Doune. If it's Duns definitely train and get off at Berwick

Jen

Thanks all! I am heading to Duns - as my boyfriend continually tells me...the hometown of Jim Clark the famous Scotish racer! I have to be in Duns by 4pm on May 30th. My BA flight gets me int London Heathrow at 9:30am on the 30th. It looks like British Midlands is the only "cheap" airline that flies out of Heathrow to E and the cost was ~ $130. I plan to rent a car after the wedding and drive around Scotland for a week then then back to London.

janis

OK - Duns is a totally different matter -- Take the train. Berwick on Tweed is only 15 miles from Duns. That is your best choice by far.

I've stayed there twice in a magnificent B&B (my fav of all time but sadly they retired last summer and it is now closed). I was the only one in my party who knew who Jim Clark was (one of my idols way back when)

8 hour train?

Jen, just one more tip before this registration thing is mandated (which I refuse). If you do take the GNER train from London Kings Cross to Berwick, sit on the right hand side train going forwards. The view is nicer, especially when approaching New Castle. Also look out for the view of Durham Cathedral and Castle. You should also see glimpses of the North Sea as well. Lastly, in case you didn't know, Berwick is pronouned "Berrick". Happy travels.