merlef

Hi,
I will be visiting Scotland in August for nine days.
1) I have my tickets for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Before the show we want to eat close to the castle. Do you have any suggestions for restaurants? Also include restaurants that have special pre theater (Military Tattoo) dinners.
2) Itinerary- train from London to Edinburgh
--3 full days in Edinburgh
--1 day -West Highland Lochs & Castles Day Tour with Rabbies
--1 day -visit Stirling Castle and town
--1 day -train to Inverness
--1 day -Visit by public bus to the Culloden Battlefield and Visitor Centre & other
attractions near Inverness
--1 day -train to Glasgow
--1 day -Glasgow museums then back to Edinburgh
--Fly home from Edinburgh
What do you think about this itinerary?
I wanted to go to Inverness because I read that the Culloden sight was very interesting and that you could spend hours there. Is it worth going that far north to see Culloden? What other places would you recommend for me to visit around Inverness? Would it be very difficult do get around this area if we do not have a car?

janisj

I only have time for a quick comment right now -- Why don't you fly home from GLA? 1 day is not enough for all the museums/Mackintosh sites/etc in Glasgow.

RM67

I don't know that I would bother with Inverness - the better scenery is arguably to the west and you could easily add a day to either your west highlands segment or to Glasgow. I have a TR on Glasgow if that helps (pimping it again

RM67

I don't know why that came out as raucous laugh btw, it was meant to be closed brackets then a normal smilie.

Rubicund

The town of Inverness is not an attractive place and IMO not worth any sort of a visit. The Culloden battlefield whilst interesting, is similarly not worth a two day trip that far north.

I think I'd tack on the time saved to Glasgow and see if I couldn't fly home from Glasgow to save going back to Edinburgh. As far as restaurants go, we've eaten at the Witchery at the top of the Royal Mile and it was very good.

http://www.thewitchery.com/

eastenderusvi

We went as far as Inverness just to see Clava Cairns. We drove by the battlefield to get there. You definitely need a car and a good navigator in Scotland. When you travel, you have to prioritize. What do you really want to see and how much time are you willing to spend seeing those things? From my experience in Scotland, I would pick maybe two places- Edinburgh and somewhere else for the 9 days. You are going to see a lot of roads and sheep and not so much "stuff" with your itinerary.

merlef

I have gotten my airline tickets and they were free frequent flyer tickets. The only tickets I could get to fly home was from Edinburgh.

ESW

Personally I wouldn't spend a day visiting Culloden, which I have always found over rated. The best bit is the story which you can read up about without visiting. Do a google image search. You can get a bus from Inverness to Culloden. Clava Cairns which I love, isn't on a bus route and is about a mile's walk from Culloden.

There are much more interesting sites nearer. How about about St Andrews, which can be done by bus from Edinburgh or else train to Leuchars and then bus. It is a delightful small university town with a ruined castle and cathedral, as well as one of the most famous golf courses in Scotland.
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.u...ews/standrews/
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.u...tle/index.html
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.u...ral/index.html

dfourh

A three day car rental - - pick up Stirling city center, drop in Glasgow - - would give you a ton of freedom (and you only have a car for the countryside, not the big cities). You could hit Culloden, Clava Cairns, the Black Isle, and the lovely Morayshire coast, dotted with little relics like castle ruins and ancient wells, with pretty whitewashed villages. You can also tour distilleries. Staying in Elgin or Nairn will be more charming than Inverness - - you will have considerable freedom to find high-rated and good value accomodation (booking.com does pretty well for that area).

janisj

I also usually advise against Inverness (for the reasons mentioned above) but in your case it does make sense since it seems you want to stick to public transport. If so, then Inverness is a good base because it is the only population center in northern Scotland and will have the best access to trains/buses/tours. Inverness isn't fabulous but it is nice enough. If you would rent a car then there are other places you might want to stop over. Inverness is easy . . . . So if you are on foot -- then yes, Inverness is your best option.

OK -- I understand needing to get back to EDI.

RM67: Your problem is you didn't leave a space between the first and second parentheses.

The difference between and ) is one little space (try it)

merlef

Thanks for the advice. I am rethinking my choices. I may go to places closer to Edinburgh and skip Culloden and Clava Cairns.