RichinPA

We will be making our first trip abroad next year and our first week will be spent in Scotland. All I know right now is that we are staying in a small town close to Gleneagles. I believe it is Duchally(spelling).

Anyone with any tips, pointers, any help of any kind on things to do, where to go and where to eat(also what to eat).

We would like to play golf one day, so any golf related suggestions also appreciated. Drop a note on here or email me if possible.

janisj

There is TONS to see and do near Gleneagles. However the only Duchally I know of (there may be others because some place names are repeated all over the country) is nowhere near there. It is many miles and MANY hours drive away in the far north of Scotland. Could you <i>possibly</i> mean Dunkeld? It is a stretch but at least Dunkeld is only about 30 miles from Gleneagles.

Before we can give you useful advice what to see/do you need to double check where exactly you are staying.

sandyd

Spend some time in Edinburgh! Wonderful food, architecture, people, pubs, the castles, the lore, the gardents, etc. We spent 5 days there 2 years ago and would love to go back. Really was the best food that we ever had abroad. We did a highlands tour that included Dunkeld...a most beautiful areaa. Our next trip to Scotland will be homebased there! Enjoy!

Craigellachie

Janis is right, the only Duchally on my large scale road atlas is so far north of Gleneagles it's nearly in Iceland. Do you have the postal code of where you'll be staying? Or even the telephone code (the next three digits after +44 1)? This would help us to pinpoint where you'll be.
Golf - not really my scene but in general you will pay way, way over the odds for any of the well known championship courses, assuming you're lucky enough to get a game at all. There are hundreds of perfectly good courses where the green fees are much lower, and on weekday mornings or afternoons you'll only need to book a few days in advance. Another useful tip is that the Old Course at St Andrews is technically open to the Public. I wouldn't recommend walking across the 18th green when Colin Montgomery is lining up his putt to win the Open in front of tens of thousands of hysterical Scots, but on Sundays when no golf is played you can wander over the course to your heart's content.

RichinPA

OK, hopefully I got the correct info from my wife.

We are staying at Duchally Country Estates, in or near the town of AUCHTERARDER, in Perthshire.

Does that help anyone with giving any advice in that area.

janisj

OK - that clears things up. You are staying in a hotel, semi-timeshare called the Duchally Hotel and Country Estate -- NOT in Duchally.

In the immediate area are Comrie, Crieff, Drummond Castle Gardens (a MUST), Tulibardine Chapel, Dunblane, Perth/Scone Palace, Dollar/Castle Campbell and Stirling.

You won't be far from the lovely scenery of the Trossachs, Loch Earn, Edinburgh, Loch Leven, Dunkeld, Blair Atholl and w/i a reasonable days trip to St Andrews.

Craigellachie

Thanks for clearing up on where you'll be staying. This is a great place for access to any number of places, and the scenery around Auchterarder isn't so bad either. Apart from golf, what kinds of things do you want to do? You'll find them all nearby but there's no point in getting loads of information about activities you're not interested in.
All of Janis's suggestions are good.
If you're reasonably fit and know which way round to hold a map, the Ochils (range of hills immediately south of Auchterarder, max height about 2,300 feet) give views that are out of all proportion to their height. It's possible to see the firths (estuaries) of Tay, Clyde and Forth within a few minutes walk of each other.
Will you have a car? You'll be quite close to Gleneagles railway station which has services south to Glasgow and north to Perth and Inverness, but without a car you'll find it difficult to get far from the line of the main railway and A9 road.
Where to eat? You'll be about half an hour's drive from Perth which has some excellent places for a formal restaurant style dinner (Let's Eat and No 63 Tay Street to name just two). Gleneagles Hotel is very highly praised by people who can afford it. I've heard good reports about the Tormaukin Inn which is in Glendevon, a short drive south of Auchterarder on the A823 road. I know there will be others - give me a few days to check the map and I'll get back to you.

RichinPA

Thanks for the help from all.

We will have a car, we are reasonably fit, mid 50's people. We are not into much night life. Aside from golf (which is not mandatory) we enjoy scenery, history, the local culture, dining, etc.

I think wewould enjoy the suggestion of being able to just walk around St Andrews golf course and saok up the History of the place rather than playing it.

Our last 20 years we have vacationed solely on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, so we enjoy the laid back enjoy the people and the land type of vacation. Not into Glitz and Glam.

Thanks again, and I am sure I may have more questions as we get closer.

If anyone is traveling to Kauai or Pennsylvania(home state)..........I can help with that.