europeannovice

I might as well finish up our last day too.

We hired a driver guide for the last day because we wanted to cover a lot of territory and didn't want to take too long with public transportation. Good thing we had the driver guide as this was also an all day rain affair so it was nice to have the convenience of the car.

She drove us to Queensferry to view the Forth Bridge--an engineering marvel. With the fog hovering over it, it looked like a scene from San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge which is often fog covered like that.

We had a slight view of the Wallace Monument and proceded to Stirling Castle. At Stirling they are replicating the medieval unicorn tapestries from the Metropolitan Museum of Art at the Cloisters in NY. Some of the tapestries are finished already and are up on display at Stirling.

The Stirling kitchens were nice. However, we found the kitchens at Hampton Court Palace to be better because the day we were there they did the live kitchen demonstrations including roasting the meat on the spigot, showing us the various spices used etc. It was very wet and soggy so we didn't spend much time on the outside. Too bad--I guess we have to return one day to spend more time on the outside.

We stopped at a very nice pub for lunch which was near a farm. Saw lots of cows, horses, and sheep.

One of the main purposes for going to Edinburgh was that we would make a day trip to Doune for DH Monty Python fix. We arrived to find out that a wedding has taken place at Doune Castle. Luckily the wedding party was breaking up so we were able to go inside and view it. DH and another fellow had fun in the soggy rain clanking coconuts as Monty Python fans do recreating the sound of galloping horses. Doune is a nice castle to explore even sans the Monty Python recognition.

We didn't have time to explore the Trossachs. Next time though! On the way back, we did stop by the Falkirk Wheel. Even made it on the last ride of the day. Although it was still raining, we wanted to go on it. There was a family of swans waiting for the gate to open. They took a ride on the previous trip! Nice engineering tool. Boats don't have to traverse the eleven locks but rather it can take a ferris wheel ride instead to transport it from one body of water to the other.

Lovely day out despite the dreadful weather. We ate dinner at a nearby pub which was also very good.

On our departure day, the rains had stopped and it was supposed to be clear.

DH had caught a cold already so he had that to contend with on the plane ride back. I loaded him up with medicine. Thankfully no three hour delay on the return trip home.

Overall a very nice trip as we saw a lot in a little bit of time. Would love to go back to each and every place and be able to explore a little more.

Saraho

I'm enjoying your trip report. Where did you hire a driver in Edinburg?

We went to a lot of the same places last year. There is so much to see and do that I'm ready to plan another UK trip.

europeannovice

I had made prior arrangements from home with a blue badge driver guide. We didn't want to do just a car hire for the day from Edinburgh or from the airport for the Scottish portion of our trip. We also didn't want to deal with the train and bus to get to Stirling and Doune because from Doune we had no idea how to get to Falkirk by public transport and we did want to cover all three. Our guide was very knowledgeable and she shared many stories and interesting facts about Scottish history throughout the day.

annhig

e/novice, do you want to post the link to the blue badge driver, and how you found him/her, as we quite often get people asking how to hire a driver/guide in the UK, which most of us Brits haven't a clue how to do!

dorfan2

"The final stop of the day was The Real Mary Kings Close. This is very highly recommended. They take you into the closes and tell you the stories behind them. Really well done. We had a great funny guide too and our bunch asked a lot of questions."

Thanks for all the good information. Looked at the Real Mary Kings Close website and it's now on our to-do list for Edinburgh trip (March?).

europeannovice

Annhig-- Here is the link to the Scottish Blue Badge guides website.

http://www.stga.co.uk/Our-Guides/?driverGuide=True

The next question is often cost. It cost us £ 360 for the day and since we didn't pay for three days hotel (we were using points, yeah!), we thought it was well worth it. The information gleaned from the guide is wonderful.

Dorfan2--Yes, definitely keep The Real Mary Kings Close on your "must see" list. I also advise to go at night and to bring a small flashlight with you so you can see where you are going as you move about the close.

As I said before, we would love to go back and explore those same wonderful places again but hopefully be able to spend a little more time to examine more in depth to each area.

annhig

The next question is often cost. It cost us £ 360 for the day and since we didn't pay for three days hotel (we were using points, yeah!), we thought it was well worth it. The information gleaned from the guide is wonderful.>>

gosh, EN, that's quite steep. but as you say, you made savings elsewhere. and of course you found it worthwhile - some people [including me!] might find it difficult to pay out that sort of money without knowing what you were going to get.

bilboburgler

"dreadful weather" that is what we have all the time, what do you think caused the British Empire.

ira

Hi EN,

Thanks for a very nice report.

Good pic of the rainbow, too.

europeannovice

Bilboburgler--Cute! The weather was particulary dreadful the week we were there this year. The first time we went to the UK, it was rather nice. I hear that it has cleared up a bit for the Olympics. Weather aside, we do desire to return to the UK again.

Ira-Glad you enjoyed the trip report and the rainbow picture.

Annhig--Yes, the price is steep but like I said we used points for three nights hotel so that was a savings. We really wanted to cover Stirling, DH definitely wanted to cover Doune, and we thought the Falkirk Wheel would be interesting for DS. Figured the only way to do that realistically on the same day was to have a car and then the decision if we wanted to rent another car during the same trip or just have someone do the driving for us. Plus the guide enhances the visit by providing a great deal of knowledge.

janisj

You could probably booked another driver/guide for considerably less. But generally, Blue Badges are the 'best of the best' and worth the extra ££.

europeannovice

Janisj--We went with the Blue Badge guide because as you say they are supposed to be the best of the best and the guide we had was very knowledgeable about Scottish history in general and about the particular areas we were viewing that day.

Since we knew we were using points for the room, we used those funds to splurge on the guide as part of the overall cost of the trip. It was worth it in our opinion.

I focused on traversing the roads in the Cotswolds and bascially going from Oxford to Birmingham but didn't focus on the roads from Edinburgh to Queensferry (Forth Bridge) to Stirling to Doune to Falkirk and back leaving that up to the driver/guide. Although, that day seemed more straightforward--more highway and less roundabouts.

annhig

en - you were obviously well-served by your blue badge guide.

actually you have given me an idea for a visit of our german friends in a year or so's time - we might think about getting a guide for one of their days with us, as we have a group of 15 or so of them, plus a dozen or so of us, so it would be worth looking at.

thanks!

and thanks for your excellent TR too.

SeeHag

Thanks for the great report! I am researching for a possible trip next month. Ours will be shorter but it is good to see what can be accomplished!