jgee

My husband, sister, and I are planning a trip to the UK May 29-Jun 6. If you wouldn't mind taking a look at our itinerary and providing ANY comments, we would really be grateful!

Sat 5/29- Arrive into London Gatwick 10 am, travel to Edinburgh

Sun 5/30- Day and night in Edinburgh hoping to cover Edinburgh Castle, Museum of Scotland, Scotch Whiskey Tour, Holyrood Palace, and Royal Mile.

Mon 5/31- Day trip to Glasgow, Stirling, and Falkland OR Newcastle, evening back to base in Edinburgh

Jun 6/1- Day trip to St. Andrews (husband is a big golfer) and York. Travel back to London in the evening.


Addt'l Questions:
1. Does this look do-able (grin)? We are all young and prefer to pack in as much as possible since we may not be able to travel here again within the next 10 yrs or so.
2. I think we want to train from Gatwick to Edinburgh for the scenery, but I can't decipher the difference between GNER and National Rail timetables on their websites. Would the Britrail be best for all our travels? How would we get to the train station in London from Gatwick and how much time should we allot for that transfer?
3. Can we visit Glasgow, Stirling, and Falkland in one day? If not, which should we drop?
4. Can we visit St.Andrews and York in one day and if not, which should we drop?

Thank you guys so much. I've already read through many generously informative threads on Edinburgh to help compile what we should do while we're there as well as B&B suggestions (although this pound to $ conversion is going to kill us)! I wouldn't have imagined it would be so expensive to stay in Scotland, we'll probably try to skip packaged tours and make this a do-it-yourself trip. Can't wait to be there though!

Thanks for your help in advance!

rkkwan

Railways have been privatised in the UK, and are run by several companies. "National Rail" is just a service to search for and purchase tickets for all companies. The trains from London King's Cross to Edinburgh is operated by GNER.

From Gatwick, the best way is to take the Thameslink train to King's Cross, and connect to GNER trains. There are half-hourly to hourly service with this connection, and the whole trip takes about 5.5 hours. (45 minutes on Thameslink, 4.5 hours on GNER, the rest on connection).

Never been to Falkland, but there's a lot to see in Stirling. So, Stirling and Glasgow is enough for one day. And go to Stirling first, as you can explore Glasgow in the evening. There are very frequent trains back to Edinburgh from Glasgow.

Don't know about St. Andrews, but there's enough things to see in York to fill a full day. And you won't even have that much time, as you'll spend 4.5 hours on the train that day from Edinburgh-York and York-London.

Roger

I really suggest that you look at a map. Your trip from Edinburgh to St. Andrews to York makes little sense. From Edinburgh you go north then to get to York you will pass through Edinburgh again to go south to York. Are you doing this by car or train? If by train it doen't stop directly in St. Andrews but in Luchars, a short taxi ride.

janis

OK - I'll try to be gentle here, but I'd suggest you slow down on all your planning. FIRST of all look at a map! Some of your ideas don't make much sense.

Edinburgh to St Andrews to York would be like a day trip from Wash DC to Philly to Raliegh NC.

Falkland, Stirling and Glasgow also make no sense - looking at any map would tell you Falkland is only a short distance from St Andrews.

Glasgow is a huge city - what did you want to see there? Trying to go to Glasgow and see anything will fill a full day. Stirling is a reasonable drive or a short train ride from Edinburgh and you could easily fill a fuul day just with the Castle and the countryside to the west of Stirling.

York is a 2+ hour train ride from Edinburgh - and an even longer drive. It would be a full day trip.

There is no train connection from Gatwick to Edinburgh - you would have to go into London and change trains - plan on a total 6 hours from LGW to Edinburgh if you do it by train. But you can fly directly to Edinburgh from LGW which is only an hour's flight.

OK - enough bashing - now how to plan this. There is no train to St Andrews but one does go about 6 miles away to Leuchars. But a driving trip makes more sense since you could also see Falkland and the Fife fishing villages. If you travel to St Andrews on a sunday you can walk the entire Old Course since there is no play.

The other day trip could be ONR of these -- Glasgow, OR Stirling/the Trossachs, OR York. You'll just have to pick. (But actually I'd spend the day in Edinburgh since there is a lot more to see than just one day's worth)

janis

Oh - I also meant to add that you will be traveling on a Bank Holiday weekend so some things will be pretty crowded - including trains, flights and B&Bs - you should get on finalizing your plans ASAP.

sheila

I wouldn't be quite as critical, but I have made some assumptions.

The only bit that is utterly undoable is St Andrews AND York on teh same day. OTOH, you could probably do better.

How about

Sat 5/29- Arrive into London Gatwick 10 am, travel to York and Newcastle.

Sun 5/30- First train to Edinburgh. Day and night in Edinburgh hoping to cover Edinburgh Castle, Museum of Scotland, Scotch Whisky Tour (no "e&quot, Holyrood Palace, and Royal Mile.

Mon 5/31- Day trip to St Andrews and Falkland. I am assuming you will have a car, whether you are driving yourselves, or with a driver. Add in the East Neuk villages.

Jun 6/1- Stirling and Glasgow. Again. I assume you're doing this by car, for logistical reasons. Stay in Glasgow and get the sleeper to London.

amyb

Do you have a specific reason to go to Glasgow? I went on my second trip to Scotland, and wasn't that impressed. After the beauty and offerings of Edinburgh, it really pales in comparison. We visited St. Mungo's Cathedral (walking from the train station), George Square, and did some shopping, then could hardly wait to get back to Edinburgh. The one thing we skipped that I regret is the Burrell Collection, but I wouldn't go there specifically for that...

I'd research Glasgow and make sure you really have to go there. You could spend more time in Edinburgh or look into other destinations instead.

LaurenSKahn

Actually, I thought the original post was a joke given the helter skelter itinerary and the fact that there was a smiley in the title.

Judi

If you happened to read my post, A wee report..., you saw that I spent a week in Edinburgh and still didn't see all that I wanted to see. Unless you have a special reason to do so I would skip the Scotch Whisky Tour in order to spend more time at the castle or the Museum of Scotland. (I spent four hours in each of those places.)

CafeBatavia

amyb has given you some good advice and also something to think hard about.
Sometimes less is more when you travel.

jgee

Well, I guess coming from Texas, I think everyplace is smaller. Sorry, I probably shouldn?t do that (grin).

Unfortunately, we have decided not to rent a car since it would add a layer of complexity to our planning and navigating once we?re there. Plus, wouldn?t renting a car be cost prohibitive? I think we may try to fly from Gatwick to Edinburgh, but train it back to London. That way we save time upon arrival, but also get to see the scenery on our way out. Does this seem more realistic?

Sat 5/29- Arrive into London Gatwick 10 am, travel to Edinburgh. Late afternoon and night stay in Edinburgh.

Sun 5/30- Day trip to St. Andrews via Luchars train stop (thanks for the Sunday course advice, we?ll definitely want to walk through part of it) and Stirling. I don?t know that there?s a lot that we?ll do in Stirling besides Stirling castle and some of the Wallace historic sites, since my husband is a big Braveheart fan (I hope that comes across as a compliment). Night stay in Edinburgh.

Mon 5/31- Day in Edinburgh hoping to cover Edinburgh Castle, Museum of Scotland, Scotch Whisky Tour?, Holyrood Palace, and Royal Mile. Night stay in Edinburgh.

Jun 6/1- Morning in Edinburgh and then afternoon in York. Then, travel back to London in the evening where friends are expecting us this evening.

It doesn?t sound like there are many fans of spending time in Glasgow on these boards, so I guess we?ll save it for another time. I?ve read that they have good shopping there, but at these exchange rates, I?m not sure we?ll be doing much of that anyway Also, I put in Falkland based on threads on the board from previous posts, but now I think we may save if for another time as well.

It seems as though we?ll have to come back after we retire and spend the month that it will take to see everything Scotland has to offer. Thank you all for your help and especially janis, shelia, Roger, rkkwan, and amyb for challenging us to create a more worthwhile itinerary and more pleasant trip!

rkkwan

Yeah, I'll say that looks better.

One thing though, I don't know how much time you're going to spend at St. Andrews, but there's no direct train from Leuchars to Stirling. And I STRONGLY encourage you to take the connection at Dundee, and not back at Edinburgh, because you'll cross the Firth of Forth bridge (built 1890) to Dundee, one of the most spectular bridges of any type in the world. Also trains aren't that frequent in that part of the UK, so check the schedule carefully.

janis

Actually the non-Edinburgh Scotland portion of your trip is MUCH more complicated if you try it by train, As rkkwan says there is no direct train from Leuchars to Stirling. And the Wallace monument and Bannockburn are both outside of Stirling. The only practical way for you to see St Andrews, Stirling Castle and other Wallace sites in one day would be to rent a car. It would still be a bit of a treck - but at least by car it is possible.

If you try it by train you would have to go to Leuchars, take a bus or taxi 7 miles to St Andrews, spend a few hours in St Andrews (Old Course, Cathedral and Castle at a minimum) , bus or taxi back to Leuchars, train to Dundee (or Edinburgh), change to a train to Stirling, visit castle (at least 2 hours) bus or hike 2 miles to the monument, bus or hike back, train to Edinburgh. This ia almost humanly impossible.

Rent a car and get an early start and you JUST might be able to squeeze it all in.

janis

oops - that should read "bit of a trek . . "

rkkwan

I've never been to St. Andrews, but from what janis describes, you really cannot do both St. Andrews and Stirling in a day without a car.

The Stirling castle is up on a hill (actually a volcano, if I remember correctly). Quite a hike up there, unless you take a taxi. 2 hours minimum inside, as janis says. The bus to the Wallace Monument is extremely infrequent. We took a taxi there from the castle, but just had to wait and wait and wait for a bus to get back to town. And you have to climb up the monument. That's why Stirling alone is almost a whole day trip, including the trains to/fro.

jgee

Just checked car rental prices for the day of 5/30 in order to achieve St. Andrews and Stirling in one day as suggested, but it's coming back at US$100 just for the day! I think I'm starting to have trouble breathing after adding up how expensive this three day visit to Edinburgh and nearby is going to be (US$750 for 3 nights stay in a B&B!).

Since we won't be renting a car, does this make more sense?

Sat 5/29- Arrive into London Gatwick 10 am, fly to Edinburgh. Late afternoon and night stay in Edinburgh.

Sun 5/30- Day trip to St. Andrews via Leuchars train stop. Late afternoon and night stay in Edinburgh.

Mon 5/31- Day in Edinburgh hoping to cover Edinburgh Castle, Museum of Scotland, Scotch Whisky Tour?, Holyrood Palace, and Royal Mile. Travel to and night stay in Stirling.

Jun 6/1- Morning in Stirling and then afternoon in York. Then, travel by train back to London in the evening where friends are expecting us this evening.

It's a little discouraging, to be honest, but all the pics I've seen make it look amazing. We want to do and see as much as possible (usu until our legs hurt by the end of the day and we wake up sore), but not if it costs an arm and a leg. Can someone vouch that even at these prices, it's worth the trip?

Thanks from Texas!

jgee

If you think Stirling is worth the time and effort, perhaps we could leave out York and make Stirling a full day trip, but then still traveling to London that evening?

sheila

Personally, I'd do York instead of Stirling. But, obviously, it's your choice.

You might want to have a look at a map of the rail network:-

http://www.scotrail.co.uk/rtmap1.htm, And BTW, the rail bridge mentioned over the Forth is between Edinburgh and Fife, and it's very hard to see when you're on it

amyb

Have you looked into the local tour companies that would take you on many of the day trips you want to go on? It would be one way to avoid car rentals, climbing up the hill of Stirling Castle, etc. And may even give you ideas of other places to go.

Try www.rabbies.com (they have St. Andrews and surrounds), www.timberbush.co.uk (I did the Oban & Highlands tour last year and loved it), heartofscotlandtours.co.uk. They can all be booked locally, and all have the usual suspects on their itinerary, Loch Ness, Stirling, etc.

But like others, it took me more than one trip to get my fill of Edinburgh, and I could probably go back again and still be able to see things I hadn't seen before. It's really a wonderful city and I worry that you might not get a good taste of it with just the one day you're planning there before heading out on day trips.

janis

You only have 3.5 days so you simply have to make some choices. It is not possible to see everything in 3 days - or 3 weeks for that matter.

Going north to Stirling and then back south through Edinburgh to York is not practical. The trip to Stirling and back will take AT LEAST 1/2 a day - with touring the Castle and the train rides. Going to York that same day would get you there maybe by 4 or 5 p.m. IF you are lucky and make all connections. This would not leave you any time to see anything in York since most attractions close at 5 or 6 p.m.

As I mentioned earlier - you really need to sit down w/ a map and look where things are - not just what you want to see, but WHERE they are.

St Andrews is northeast of Edinburgh, Stirling is northwest, York is a long ways south -- so you are trying to scatter in every direction in a very short trip.

To be practical - decide which is most important to you, Stirling or St Andrews.

Then plan your 2 days in Edinburgh, one day to either St Andrews OR Stirling, and then leave early in the morning on day four and go to York. Spend the whole day there and then make youe way to London.