Looking for help from Sheila and Janisj
 

Hi,

You have both been so helpful to those of us plannning Scotland travel.
Certainly - on other threads you have helped me conceptualize what I thought was a good plan. However - my husband has decided that he really wants to go to a Highland Game ( I'm being a good sport...) so that throws a bit of a snag - I think.

I would greatly appreciate it if you could offer opinions on the follow options. As mentioned in other threads - we love history, celtic music, great food and drink - castles, etc.

Option One: Edinburgh three nights. Day trip to Stirling. ( know of a good tour company for this ?). Ayr for one night. Burns and Wallace sites. Also family connections in Ayrshire. Drive to Oban for two nights. See Iona, Mull, Glen Coe, and the surrounding area. Question - is Oban a great town ? I have read mixed reviews. We would love a place that has great cafes, historic sites and pubs with celtic music.
Drive throuh the Trossachs - head to Glasgow for our last night. Fly out of Glasglow.

Option two: Edinburgh three nights. No day trip to Stirling. Drive to Crieff for Highland Games. Either stay at Crieff for one night ( not sure what else is of interest in the area ). Drive to Fife for two nights. Not sure how to compare Fife area to the Oban area. ( we are not golfers). Drive to Ayrshire for one night and over to Glasgow for last night.

I guess the thought of departing Edinburgh on Saturday and dashing to Crieff for the HG and over to Oban for two nights intimidates me. Just not sure of distances and feasibility. We don't mind driving - but...

Also - any suggestions on places to stay or great pubs and restaurants would be great. Since this is short trip we don't mind splurging on very nice accommodations.

Thanks for your help !

Carolyn

ckyle: Actually either option works fine. Here are my immediate thoughts - in no particular order:

Lots to see in/near St Andrews. The Old course of course - even for non-golfers it can be interesting. And if it happens to be a Sunday there is no play so you can walk out on the course. Castle. Cathedral. nearby fishing villages. Falkland Palace/gardens.

Near Crieff is Drummond Castle Gardens - must be seen to be believed. Plus good scenery, a whisky distillery etc.

You don't need a tour for Stirling. It is a short train ride from Edinburgh. The castle is a similar experience to Edinburgh's. But many people (me included) find it even more interesting. You could certainly do it - but I'd wait until you are in Edinburgh to decide and just take the train.

Lots of people love Oban. I find it (just me personally) just a town on the water w/ TONS of B&Bs/hotels and the ferry terminal. Normally I recommend staying outside of Oban itself. But in your case it would be a decent option.

The only real problem w/ option 2 is it is a loooong drive from St Andrews to Ayr.

Your best option would be to add 8 days to your Scotland stay :). But since that isn't possible, you just need to bite the bullet and pick. You'll be back again.

All you're getting here is our subjective opinions:) Your own are just as good.

Option One: Edinburgh three nights. Option two: Edinburgh three nights. Check

>Day trip to Stirling. ( know of a >good tour company for this ?). Ayr >for one night.

Does this involve seeing Stirling then going to spend the night in Ayr?

>Drive to Oban for two nights. See >Iona, Mull, Glen Coe, and the >surrounding area.

Oban is OK. basically a busy tourist town. Its greatest feature is its location and if there's anywhere in the world better than the west coast of Scotland I don't know it. Pubs are OK. Caff pretty naff. Celtic music pretty touristy.

Edinburgh to Crieff is pretty easy. Me, I'd sat somewhere out of town in the direction you're heading (I'll come back to that) there's lots to see/do in the area. Fife and Oban are very different. Both very nice, but very different.And there's plenty to see and do in Fife without picking up a golf stick.

But why would you not go to Oban from Crieff. You could comfortably get there after the Games.


Option 1- Drive throuh the Trossachs - head to Glasgow for our last night. Fly out of Glasgow.
option 2-and over to Glasgow for last night
Check

Sheila and Janis,

Thank you ! Ok - I will try to respond to both your comments - which are very much appreciated.

Hmm.. well let's see - based on your thoughts - I suppose Oban does not look as appealing as other options. Which of course - makes me wonder what other town is a better fit. So... what would be a great town to stay in for two nights ? considering music, pubs, history...
Oban looked interesting because of Iona and Mull - but we don't have to stay over in Oban.

In terms of Ayr - we are planning on staying there for one night. I guess Kyle castle is in the area so that's of interest to us.

If the drive from Fife to Ayr is really long - than that's not an option. Perhaps there's another town closer to Crieff ? How about Dunkeld ?
Would the drive from Dunkeld to Ayr be too long ?
Or are we better off staying in another town that is closer to Oban which will allow us to see the west coast and all its glory ?

On a good note - it's good to know we can take the train to Stirling from Edinburgh without taking a bus tour. We love trains and not really fond of bus tours.

Just wondering - where do you get really great celtic music ? If not Oban than where ?

Curious - Sheila - you did not ellaborate on your thoughts on staying out of town in the area we are heading. Crieff ?

Thanks. I am sure I will be back in touch. Sorry for all the questions.

Carolyn

Sorry for delay in responding. I didn't intend to put you off Oban as such. But I think the answer to your question (what other town is a better fit. So... what would be a great town to stay in for two nights ?considering music, pubs, history...) might be Dunkeld.

So, you're meaning to see Stirling the drive down to Ayr in the same day. OK.

The drive from St Andrews to Ayr is only about two and a half hours


If you were to aim for Fife, but stop en route, after Crieff, I'd be inclined to suggest the Bein Inn at Glenfarg- also does live music) too long ? Dunkeld to Ayr's half an hour shorter.

You could, I'm telling you, easily GET to Oban from Crieff after the games. It's less than 2 hours by car.

Celtic music is where the audiences are. Have a look at the BBC's Travelling Folk page on its web site.

This is just an <i>opinion</i>... and the three of you certainly have the right to tell me to bug off...

...but I think that this message header is an impolite abuse of this forum, at least in part because it send the message to other newbies, ckyle, that this is acceptabl behavior.

So... imagine, if EVERY message header did this...

&quot;Message to ira&quot;

&quot;Message to Steve_James&quot;

&quot;Message to ckyle&quot;...

et cetera...

Total chaos and loss of what is good about the ability to find interesting threads on the subjects that appeal to those wh want to read them.

I encourage you... all three of you... to continue this thread - - once it is re-posted - - with a message header that identifies it as a question about &quot;going to a Highland Game in (or &quot;Itinerary options, for our trip to...) Scotland&quot;.

Best wishes,

Rex

Thank You Sheila for your kind response. As always - I am very appreciative of you help.

Take care,
Carolyn

I'm with you on this Rex - my immediate reaction to a title like that is &quot;...so no one else could possibly have anything to contribute that I would want to read?&quot; It would certainly put me off answering!

I happen to think that there may be reasons to use a heading like that, but I agree with Rex that a question like this isn't one of them.

OTOH, I don't see how it stopped him putting in his tuppenceworth. Shame it wasn't to help the OP.

It was my hope to offer the advice politely, and without offending. Almost all posts are read by countless newbies and &quot;lurkers&quot;, and my commentary offers the opinion that this is NOT they way they should post.