Sheila - That one was just plain evil

dbaker: Roundabouts come in as many different permutations as A roada. Some (well a few) are like that monster Sheila posted -- but you won't come across any like that. Some cover a couple of acres and have several lanes and traffic signals w/i them controlling the traffic flow. These are often at busy junctions of several major routes/motorways. Some are probably very much like the ones you are used to - very straight forward - a simple circle w/ one or 2 traffic lanes and 3 or 4 entrances/exits. And some aren't much more than a spot painted on the roadway the are still roundabouts

Scroll up a bit. A few days ago, I posted a link to a thread, also from this week, about maps for driving in Scotland. You'll find great recommendations there. Basically, a book atlas is the way to go.

That should say " . . . permutations as A roads"

And noe is right - a road atlas (they will be MUCH cheaper bought in the UK) is what you want. Computer printouts just don't work as well. Too disjointed. You need the continuity of following a route as you turn pages in the atlas . . . . .

Thank you and that picture is REALLY SCARY! I'm glad you said I won't be seeing anything that bad. The ones I am used to are just a basic circle with 4 entrances/exits and 2 lanes of traffic, both lanes going the same direction.

I will buy an atlas when I get there as well.

Okay, one more question. I read on some other threads questions concerning hotels & b&bs for Edinburgh. I already have one booked, a "famil" room at Dene Guest House (7 Eyre Place) at 119GBP per room per night, but now I am worried about the parking issue. We will have our rental car with us because we are coming in from Glasgow and are planning to stay in Edinburgh 3 nights, but will only actually be doing sightseeing in Edinburgh for one of those days. The other days we will be driving around the immediate area.

So - Our intention is to leave the car parked for the entire day that we want to sightsee in Edinburgh. The only response I got from the guest house is that parking on weekends isn't an issue but they didn't tell me what to expect during the week. And they aren't emailing me back as yet. Their website says "free parking 5 minutes away" but I don't know what that means - a lot, street parking or ?? The ideal situation would be for us to have a B & B outside the hustle & bustle, but it would have to be right on a bus route that goes directly to the Royal Mile area - and the bus needs to run from early AM (7 am) to late at night (11 pm or whenever the Tatoo lets out). I am open to trying to rebook with someone else and would appreciate suggestions. Thanks!

It's on their web site (mind you, you maybe need to know the area. Ask Caroline for more detail; but, basically, the house is in an area with paid for on street parking. The cost is 70p per hour- that, however, is not the problem. It will be timelimited. Offhand, I don't know what the limit will be, but essentially you'll have to move the car a few times a day.

Not very much further out, near the Botanics, you get out of a metered area, so you have free on street car parking.

It will be OK, if you HAVE to have the car, whilst you're in Edinburgh. Any chance of losing it, till you need it again?

Not really. We are coming in late on Saturday from Glasgow airport, will be driving to Stirling area on Sunday, then seeing Edinburgh on Monday. Checking out on Tuesday morning to drive to Perth.

So, you are saying that we could park in the area near the Botanic Garden and not have to feed the meter or move the car a few times per day? About a 5-10 minute walk? It is hard because we don't know the area. I started inquiring into accomodations further outside Edinburgh on bus routes. Maybe that will be better for us (less traffic and confusion too), but it may be late to get something decent for August at this point.

If one has to have a car - then it is almost always better to book a B&B that has parking.

But if you don't want to book a different B&B, think about your options. You could go directly to Edinburgh from Glasgow by public transport. Tour Edinburgh Sunday - Monday morning. Pick up rental car and leave Edinburgh after lunch on Monday. Drive to Stirling and tour the castle. Stay there or move on to Perth.

dbaker,

If you must have your car to go into EDI, and not gun-hold to stay in a B&B, you may want to consider hotels that are in the Leith - the waterfront area. Holiday Inn Express Waterfront, is a good, clean, efficient hotel that is at the waterfront, accross from the Britania. It has FREE PARKING! One can get a day pass for just over 2 BP for the whole day and the bus to downtown EDI supposedly runs every 5 to 10 minutes. This beats to have to worry about your car on your EDI day.

P.S.

The HIX also provides free continental breakfast.

Granted, a B&B normally would provide a better breakfast (not always the case) but if you have a tight schedule and tend to depart early for the day - the B&B breakfast could be a maddening process - starts much later than you would like, and sometimes takes a lot longer, depends on what style it serves (buffet, or sit-down at the table served by the host). On our driving trips, if we have a tight schedule we usually pick efficient hotels than B&Bs. B&Bs are more for people who choose to do it leisurely and enjoy the slow pace, especially in some scenic spots.

Janis - I thought about that, but our Tatoo tickets are for Monday night. I am allowed to cancel my current reservations without penalty up until a week before the trip. So I spent today emailing other B & B s to give us some more options. One in "Morningside" already responded with availability and says they have no parking issues and that the public bus is down the street, takes 10-20 minutes to the Castle, and runs every 10 minutes until midnight. So that sounds pretty good to me.

I just got my Historic Scotland passes in the mail and my son's replacement passport. It is going to be REALLY hard to wait until August.

Oh - the thread has gotten so long I forgot about your Tattoo tix. Yes then, change to another B&B w/ parking. It will make your life much easier.

And do keep in mind that you can visit Stirling enroute to Perth. Not a bad trip at all. So if you decide you want to spend more time in Edinburgh you can still hit Stirling.

I thought that dbaker's plan WAS to see Stirling enroute to Perth, and to see Linlithgow/Roslin and misc. on the Sunday?

Not any more I guess - - -

From her most recent post: &quot;<i>We are coming in late on Saturday from Glasgow airport, will be driving to Stirling area on Sunday, then seeing Edinburgh on Monday. Checking out on Tuesday morning to drive to Perth</i>&quot;

I am very excited because I did find accomodations at 4 Morningside place. They have parking, will do breakfast &quot;whenever people want it, as early as 7 am&quot;, and the woman I have been in contact with (Jill) is extremely helpful on giving me directions and advice. They are on a major bus route, runs every 10 minutes and is only 10 minutes into the Castle area. Now there is absolutely no reason for me to try to drive in the very busy areas of Edinburgh. That is a load off my mind - and no parking issues either. All the advice I got about taking the bus or walking in Edinburgh was great - thanks!

Also, I what I meant was that I was leaving on Tuesday morning to end up in Perth, seeing the Stirling area on the way. I got confused. Sunday is going to be Linlithgow and Craigmiller castles.

But to anyone reading this going in August who does not have bookings yet, hurry up and get them. I sent out 45 emails yesterday to B &amp; Bs in Edinburgh and the outlying areas and had 30 people respond overnight - of which 27 were already booked solid for August. I only had offers of accomodations from Aonach Mor (for a triple) and 4 Morningside Place (triple), with one other offering accomodations for 2 people only.

&lt;&lt; They are on a major bus route, runs every 10 minutes &gt;&gt;

It's more like every 2-3 minutes, there's 4 bus routes (11, 15(A), 16 &amp; 17) to the West end of Princes Street, one (5) that brings you out at the east end of Princes Street &amp; a sixth (23) that crosses the midpoint of The Royal Mile

Oh and I forgot the night buses N11 &amp; N16

Another question - I read in some guidebooks that I should get an &quot;international driver's license&quot; prior to traveling to Scotland. They claim that although my regular license will be sufficient to drive and rent the car, that I should get the international one also to &quot;avoid any problems with local authorities&quot;. How true is this? I want to know if it is worth the cost and time required to take off work to go get one.

AAA charges only $10 to do the Int'l Diving License and many AAA offices now open on Saturday. They even show it on AAA website - those locations with a clock icon are offices open on Saturday.