Scotland
Apr 27th, 2002, 09:35 PM
#1
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Scotland
My wife and I are in our 60's and we've been to England many times but never Scotland. Since I'm of Scotch heritage, Highlands, my wife and I plan to spend most of our time there. After Edinburgh, we plan to visit Skye and then Inverness. This leaves us with three nights to work our way back to England, one of which we plan to spend in Glen Coe. Any suggestions on where else we should stay or what we should be sure not to miss?<BR>
Apr 28th, 2002, 03:34 AM
#3
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Dear Bruce,<BR>Good name for a Scotsman! <BR>If I were you I would go to Inverness first, then over to Sky, and hit Glencoe on the way south from there. You have not said much about your budget, what kind of hotels you'll be staaying in, or what sorts of things you want to see. Castles? Scenery? Shopping? What time of year will you be there? Need more information to be of assistance. <BR><BR>
Apr 28th, 2002, 05:08 AM
#4
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If you like castles, I would certainly visit Threave Castle (sw of Glasgow). You drive down country lanes, then up a farm driveway. Park in the front yard and walk 1/2 mile or so between the field fences. You come to a river. THere is a large bell which you ring and then someone comes over in a boat to take you across to the island castle. My favorite small castle anywhere.<BR><BR>Nearby is Caerverlock castle - the only triangle shaped castle in Scotland. Also rather interesting
Apr 28th, 2002, 07:48 AM
#5
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Dear Bruce,<BR>I did a similar trek. I suggest York, 2-3 hours south of Edinburgh. A walkable town several interesting museums, gardens, day trips, Beautiful Minster(Catherdral), a city easily traversed and enjoyed. We left Edin. at about 10:00am, got off the train at Durham(walk up incline to get to castle, need a bit of endurance) enroute to York. Stored our luggage with the train station manager. <BR>Durham Castle<BR>http://www.dur.ac.uk/~dla0www/c_tour/tour.html<BR>Then arrived in York about 4pm - one of my favorite parts of the trip. Do a search for York.<BR>Scotland was a lovely surprise! <BR>Sasha
Apr 29th, 2002, 04:30 PM
#6
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I would agree with Sasha. I spent two weeks in England in March, and York was easily my favorite spot. It is has a lot of character, and some real nice small traditional pubs, that can be few and far between in a place like London. It is also an excellent walking city, as everything is centrally located, and within a very short walk from each other.
Apr 30th, 2002, 03:15 PM
#8
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I admit to a strong bias for Glasgow for its native son Charles Rennie Mackintosh, (c 1880-1924) the designer and architect whose Willow Tea Rooms on Sauchiehall St., Glasgow School of Art, and HillHouse in nearby Helensburgh, and other private & public commissions influenced the Vienna Secession,& Jugendstijl movement in E. Europe from which later followed Art Deco design. All of the above are open to public viewing, in addition to his stuff at the Hunterian Museum. Some years ago, Glasgow was declard as THE premier cultural capital for Europe. Have a great trip!
Apr 30th, 2002, 04:58 PM
#10
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Bruce, why not get to Skye from Edinburgh via Glen Coe (then Mallaig, returning to the mainland via Kyle), loop around the NW highlands (up to the north coast if time permits), ending in Inverness (if you must) in time for the sleeper train back to England? This would give you an extra couple (three?) days in Scotland, which could be spent profitably in all sorts of places, be they Glasgow or the NE or the SW or wherever. IMO the straight drive from Inverness back south, be it the A9 or via the Great Glen, is a drag. Spend more time in the countryside, less following other traffic on the highways. Besides, unless big things have happened recently, there are precious few places to stay in Glen Coe proper, so most people end up in Ft William, which is okay but hardly serene.
