|
scotland in november/december
leave los angeles november 21 for edinburgh
leave edinburgh december 9 for los angeles can you please recommend a tour for this amount of time which would cover the country? it appears there are no guided bus tours at this time of year. taking the train seems like a nuisance hauling luggage off and on. sure would appreciate any advice as the only plans we have at present is to board the big bird and look for some black pudding (yum) upon arrival. thanks ! |
Well you need to be prepared for unpleasant weather and very short days - same latitude as southeast Alaska and all...
In general the eastern half (North Sea side) of the country is a bit dryer at that time of year, and by happy coincidence that's where the two most attractive cities are located, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Plenty to do (indoors) in both cities, but both close to fine outdoor pursuits in case the weather permits - Grampians and Deeside out of Aberdeen, or the whisky trail; or walks in the Pentland Hills or Lammermuirs, or village-hopping on the Fife coast in the case of Edinburgh. The west coast and Highlands will likely be stormy and romantic; you could find a wee hotel someplace and hunker down for a day or two. Outside the cities, a car would be needed, but not needed in the towns, so you could rent one for a day or two here and there if needed. Interests? |
OK - you chose Scotland in Nov/Dec so you must have had some ideas already. What sorts of things do you want to see/do? Do you plan on driving? By the first week of Dec sunrise will be about 8:30 a.m. and sunset approx 3:30 p.m. so you won't have hours and hours to drive around like you'd have in summer.
You don't want a car in Edinburgh or Glasgow - but since there will be few if any guided tours at that time of year, to see the countryside you will have to do some driving. Bear in mind, many sites outside of the cities will be closed for the season. Also, the weather can be quite nasty for long distance driving tours -- OR -- it might be fine. But you won't know which until you get there. |
I'd dispute the contention that Aberdeen is more attractive than Glasgow - IMO Glasgow is much more attractive plus has loads more to see and do.
But the other posters are right, we need more of an idea about what you are interested in. Do you have a list of must-sees ? What percentage of the time do you want to spend in the big cities and how much time driving round the countryside ? There are trains but they don't serve many of the nicer bits of countryside, so I'd agree with Janis that driving is the best option outwith the cities. As an initial idea to bounce off, would you fancy say, 4 nights in Edinburgh, 9 nights driving round the countryside, 3 nights in Glasgow ? (How many nights do you have, exactly ?) |
my gosh! thank you all for your instant input ! we are amazed and unaware of the shortness of daylight but this will only make it more of an adventure for us. and the weather? well, i didn't realize it would be quite so stormy but that just gives me the opportunity to finally wear my fake fur coat i bought in california 3 years ago ! won't i be a sight at LAX ? :)
as for interests, of course EVERTHING; however, in reality, the longer stays in edinburgh and glasgow would probably be beneficial with the remainder going around the countryside. i'll have to do a bit more researching on Aberdeen and the surrounding areas. any of the lochs caught our fancy (of course, lomond and ness were at the top), would want to catch a ferry to the islands, weather permitting, the whisky tour, pub crawl in edinburgh, shopping, THE haggis, the Highlands, weather permitting, and can't wait to meet Scotland's peeps and listen to their Scottish brogue. finally, would it be beneficial to arrange for accommodations prior to departure and, if so, more recommendations please with a standard to median buget in mind. what is the best mode of transportation from edinburgh airport to our accomodation? should we then travel up northeasterly and back around to the west, the islands, glasgow, and back to edinburgh? upon landing in edinburgh, possibly travel to our next destination by train and then rent a car (prepaid in advance from the States)? 17 nights, 18 days. arriving november 22 at approximately 5:40 p.m. edinburgh time so we'll need to book an accommodation for these tired old poops. departing edinburgh on december 9 at 8:45 a.m. requiring another stay in edinburgh. recommendations? most obliged . . . |
Quick note before I have to go back to a meeting.
"Standard to median" - c.£100prpn ? Less ? More ? In the cities, what sort of accommodation would you prefer - big posh hotel ? big chain hotel ? posh B&B ? standard B&B ? From Edinburgh airport into town there is a very frequent bus which is £3 single, or a taxi to most fairly central places will be about £18-20 - but more in the rush hour. If you wanted to depart Edinburgh immediately by train, you'd first need to get the bus or taxi into town in order to get the train. Pre-booking accommo - personal preference really. Nowhere should be full at that time of year, but if it were me I'd prefer to book so I could research the best places to stay. |
assuming the 100prpn = $205 US, that would be about right per night.
it really doesn't matter where we stay as far as a hotel or B&B; we're amenable to all. we're really looking forward to this adventure as we haven't been out of the south pacific in 10 years and this will be our first venture to europe. while in dunedin, new zealand, a haggis was taking place and that's when we first discussed scotland. we loved new zealand, the people, and the scenery and were told by one english lass in fiji that we would love scotland. i do have some problems walking distances and had back surgery one year ago so looking for travel that won't be too much of a hindrance as far as lugging our cases around. hopefully, the bus and train will be accomodating in this respect? i look forward to further "direction" and thank you all . . . rosie |
"<i>a haggis was taking place</i>" And what did that happen to be??
(Haggis is a sort of a sausage and I don't think you saw one "taking place") |
"a haggis was taking place" - It's "Call My Bluff" time!!!
I wonder if it's piping the haggis whereby the newly caught haggis have wooden tubes forced into their various orifices resulting in such a noise you'd think the devil has just lost at Scrabble |
:D
|
ok, ok. so the last laugh is on my ignorance of the terms "haggis" and "taking place." i know i am still looking forward to my first "haggis" experience wherever it happens to "take place." how's that? :):)
anywho, can you PLEASE provide me with your scottish expertise and help out a couple of somewhat senile aging old poops awaiting a memorable experience? your input is greatly appreciated. rosie |
As you will have been traveling for some time and are only arriving in Edinburgh in the early evening then it may be better if you stayed in Edinburgh for a few days before you started touring the country. This would let you look round Edinburgh and get acclimatised.
There was a recent report on this forum headed Felt right at home in Scotland - even liked the haggis!: A trip report This mentions a few accommodations and places which may be of interest to you. You could even consider staying longer in Edinburgh and taking some of the organised day tours to include Stirling, Roslin Chapel and Glenkinchie distillery, St Andrews etc. This would then enable you to travel up through the Highlands to stay for a few days in the likes of Carrbridge, Inverness (Think about the boat trip down Loch Ness to Urquhart Castle) or even go across to Skye before heading for Glasgow. During your stay in Glasgow you could also think about taking one or more of the organised tours to Loch Lomond. Inverary etc |
A Scottish friend told me:
"If you can see the hills it is going to rain. If you can't see the hills it is already raining." In that fake fur coat you will look like a wet dog. :-D Enjoy! |
BTW, my last post was tongue in cheek, so please don't take offense. ;-)
|
See this other post for some recent Edinburgh accommodation recommendatons - http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35038093.
None of these is directly on the airbus route, except the Royal British on Princes Street and the Marriott on Glasgow Road (c.3 miles outside the centre). But Ingram's & Gerald's Place are both just a 10 minute walk downhill from Princes Street. (You can get a bus from there uphill to the Old Town, Royal Mile, etc.) Alternatively the Knight Residence is very close to the route of the 35 bus which also serves the airport but takes longer than the airbus. (Less crowded though.) It may be easier for you to get a taxi from the airport, though. It sounds to me like you'd prefer to stay right in the city centre, on the New Town (Georgian !) side, for ease of access to a good choice of pubs, restaurants & shopping. So out of these suggestions, I'd go for Ingram's or Gerald's Place. If you decide to finish in Glasgow, the Millennium hotel on George Square is right next to Queen Street railway station (for the train back to Edinburgh). You can then get the Edinburgh airbus right outside both central Edinburgh railway stations, Waverley and Haymarket - Haymarket is nearer the airport but I'd hang on until Waverley as the bus can be crowded by the time it gets to Haymarket. |
heimdall, it is so true! talked to three people who were in Scotland recently and it rained all the time.
|
I am wearing winter clothes today :-(
|
I'm wearing summer clothes today - and wasn't it a scorcher yesterday
|
Not in our office, it wasn't, or outside by the time we left. I seem to remember it being warm-ish as we walked from the car to the office :-(
|
I would disagree with Caroline and tend to disregard the suggestion of Ingrams as their two reviews - most recent July 2007 are poor. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev..._Scotland.html
It is also some distance away from the main City centre attractions and would involve having to take buses as it is a long uphill walk even to George Street never mind the Royal Mile. If you want the New town then Geralds Place would be better suited. If you want to be near the main Royal Mile attractions www.edinburgh-royalmile.com then consider somewhere in or near the Old Town. |
| All times are GMT -8. The time now is 05:33 PM. |