i'll just be honest..yes, i usually do research for months in advance of a trip...but alas, twas not to be this time. So, i'm falling on my sword of ignorance and pleading for your help. I've already scolded myself enough, so please refrain from the 40 lashes. I need advice from the experts pronto. Family of 8 (Wallace...lol) are traveling in 10 days to Paris(3 days), London (3 days) and then a train to Edinburgh. Our hotel is company paid; therefore, it shall be our basecamp. We're crazy Texans...looking for scenery, great food, boat trip(s), not much on museums. Should make time for the Wallace Monument...just cause. We definitely will do St Andrews (heard we can putt putt...we are all golfers but won't play due to time constraint and lack of reservations) but we shall take a looksee there. Yes, distillery or 2. Skye highly recommended as we love outdoors. Youngest is 18, so no babies to deal with. I DID grab a guidebook, but unfortunately, i've never had the success there that i get from Fodors!! So, just cause you love me, please give me a few days of: do this--- then this etc.....

We love THE BESTEST food too!!!! Any recommendations???

One more thing...if anyone knows of a fabulous Private Tour guide that can get 8 folks here and there, I'd dance at your wedding

We stayed on the Isle of Skye and had a great lunch at this place - I notice they also have rooms. It seemed quite isolated but could be good for walking.

http://www.threechimneys.co.uk/

We stayed in a lovely B&B in Portree but it looks like it has been taken over and the owners were the best thing about it!

Also visited the Talisker whisky distillery on Skye as well. Personally I thought it was dreadful but I guess just not to my taste.

Kay

We visited Edinburgh two years ago. Absolutely had an amazing time. Definitely tour Edinburgh Castle which is well worth the admission cost. From there you can walk down the Royal Mile where there are neat little shops intertwined with typical souvenior shops all selling the same stuff. There is a whisky tasting shop if you would like a wee dram of the creature.

St. Giles Cathedral has gorgeous stained glass windows and is worth a visit if you like that sort of thing. If you visit check out the carved wooden angels playing bagpipes!

Prince's Street Gardens is lovely and a great place to relax a bit. It is on Prince's Street where you will find all the usual stores for shopping to your heart's content.

The Wallace monument was outstanding. It is a rather steep climb up a hill but there are lookout points to stop for great views on the way.

Hope this gives you some ideas to start.

I had to look it up, but I found the guide I'd once used for clients. His name is Alister McDermot, and his website is

http://www.seemyscotland.com/

The clients were pleased with him.

Hi visormom,

Some questions that come to mind that could help the more-expert than I with your questions ..

How long are you in Scotland? Is the company hotel only in Edinburgh? Will you want any rental car time or are you doing public transport?

Rabbies (http://www.rabbies.com/) and Timberbush (http://www.timberbush-tours.co.uk/) do small group tours, or would you want it to be just your family? With 8, maybe it'd be worth an e-mail to them to ask about private tour costs.

If any have a sweet tooth, I highly recommend http://www.cuckoosbakery.co.uk/

A site I recently found and enjoy because it has such a variety of listings, including an Outdoors category .. http://www.bbc.co.uk/thingstodo

<i>
terrified to ask.....scotland
Posted by: visormom on Jul 12, 13 at 8:56pm
We're crazy Texans...looking for scenery, great food,</i>

The Witchery by the Castle http://www.thewitchery.com/home.html. BT&DT. Good place, and interesting decor.

Skye is a long way from Edinburgh.

Edinburgh castle is fabulous, as is Stirling castle, Falkirk wheel, Linlithgow palace, Scone palace, Blair castle, Doune castle, Inverary castle, Blackness castle and Brodie castle - partial to the last as am part of the Brodie clan but further away.

Skye is nice but often rainy. Nearby Eilean Donan castle is excellent.

Depends on how much time you have

There's always haggis. Had it my last trip and liked it. I will have it again in about 6 weeks.

<i>Depends on how much time you have...</i>

Bingo. How many days?

You gave us a lot of 'cute' info - but none of the detail we actually need to help you.

Which hotel? Is it in Edinburgh? Are How many days are you at the hotel and how many additional days do you have, if any?

This is a busy time of year in Scotland and especially in Edinburgh - fining accommodations for eight anywhere at this late date is a very tall task.

You say you are using some unknown company paid hotel as a base and then mention Skye. So you really so need to fill in the blanks before we can make useful suggestions.

As for St Andrews - go on a Sunday if you can. There is no play on the Old Course so you can walk all over it - plus play the Himalayas putting course which is a blast.

If you are taking public transport - train to Leuchars and local bus to St Andrews.

The Wallace Monument is near Stirling and one should not miss Stirling Castle. Train to Stirling and local buses to the Monument.

Investigate getting a tee time for St. Andrews at this late date. About half of the tee times for the Old Course are open for booking in September for the following year, as in more than 10 months ago. The other half are by ballot drawn 48 hours in advance. The rest of the courses are easier to book, but there are lots of tournaments in the summer.

If you're going to hire caddies and clubs in addition to paying greens fees, bring a big bag of money.

There are guided walks of the Old Course on certain days of the week, but you'll have to research that for the dates you'll be in the area.

Perhaps bits and pieces of our 3 trips would help:

Callander/Skye/etc.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm

St. Andrews area
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...s-and-more.cfm

Edinburgh
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-with-kids.cfm

We walked the Old Course in St. Andrews (on a Sunday) and putted on the Himalayas course (and more) on our day in St. Andrews.

Skye is wonderful but a long ways away as others have noted.

I would think a visit to the Wallace Monument is in order for your family.

I forgot to add that, to play the Old Course, in addition to being successful getting a ballot position (very unlikely for all 8 of you), you'll need to present official handicap cards or certificates. There are maximum handicaps allowed for play.

Ask and ye shll receive!!! This site is without a doubt THE mostest helpful Thanks to all of you---fabulous input. We will be staying at the Sheraton in Edinburgh for the entire week; however', we are Texans and therefore NOT afraid to make some long drives to and fro if the destination's worth it We love the sport of not really knowing exactly where we are The places we've accidentally discovered on these excursions are truly memory makers That being said, as the bossy leader of the group, I'd at least like to have thr primadona destinatio in mind prior to commencing the trek So as far as scenery is concerned (mountains,lochs ???) is there a Top 3 perhaps? i would definitely appreciate a side note as to: do it by train OR this would be a good get a driver dand go day

just wish i could hug all of you for your efforts to assist!!!!

>>We will be staying at the Sheraton in Edinburgh for the entire week; however', we are Texans and therefore NOT afraid to make some long drives to and fro if the destination's worth it<<

Edinburgh is NOT a base for day trip to places like Skye. Doesn't matter about how your travel in Texas, one can't cover anything like the same distances in the UK/Scotland.

You can do a day trip to Stirling Castle and the Wallace monument, and a day trip to St Andrews. But Skye and such nope. Edinburgh to Portree (on Skye) is about 250 miles and more than 6 hours <u>each way</u>.

Sorry - but if you want to explore around other parts of Scotland you'd have to give up some of those Edinburgh-based days. If you stay the whole time IN Edinburgh then you are limited - Stirling, Fife, Glasgow, Perth, etc - which are all easily visited by train. If you have a car in central Edinburgh - you are going to waste at least 60 mins just getting out of the city and back in -not counting the actual drive to whatever region.

Recommended day trips from Edinburgh -

Stirling castle, Falkirk wheel, Linlithgow palace, Doune castle, Scone palace, Blair castle, Blackness castle, Loch Katrine on a sunny day.

The cold, hard truth...that's why i like this site so much. Okeedokie...Skye for another trip. Hate to push it, but recommendations for a fabulous seafood restaurant in St Andrews? Loved the Sunday info for St Andrews...fabulous tip. And because i know Janisj will fire away at me.....with the castles listed above, i get this trepdation that you've seen 1 castle, you've seen them all??? Could that possibly hold true, and if so, based upon Edinburgh as our base camp, which 1 or 2 is THE must see...IYHO. Same question applies to Lochs? I know our group would love boat trip/canoe? Again...my thanks!

St Andrews isn't really a foodie haven - though there are a few good restaurants. The best seafood restaurant in Fife was in the village of Anstruther but the chef/owner passed away.

Your best bet for seafood would probably be IN Edinburgh

As for castles - there are soooo many different types that no - seeing one is not seeing them all. There are the big/complete fortresses like Edinburgh and Stirling (very similar in setting etc so if push came to shove you could skip one or the other - but most people visit both and are glad they did). Then there are the Scottish tower houses which are castles but also manor houses w/ gardens/grounds (Crathes, Traquair House, Cawdor, Fraser, etc) Then there are the "palace-types' like Culzean, Floors, etc). Then there are massive castle homes like Glamis, And amazing ruins like Dunnottar (ESPECIALLY Dunnottar), Doune, Kilchurn, Urquhart and so on.

So no - no two are alike but there are a few similar types.

<i>we are Texans and therefore NOT afraid to make some long drives to and fro if the destination's worth it</i>

In the UK you can't turn on the cruise control & the radio and your brain off. It's quite demanding with narrow roads, bends, fast (and slow) traffic

You should assume that 2 hours in Texas is the same as 1 hour in the UK - in the case of Skye you would be looking at a minimum of 9 hours round trip just driving, let alone seeing anything.

>>St Andrews isn't really a foodie haven - though there are a few good restaurants.<<

Actually I'd beg to differ. At least compared with most small Scottish towns, there is an impressive array of fine dining and food shopping choices in St Andrews. The (imaginately-named) Seafood Restaurant is pricey, but we thought the seafood here was sublime. We also like the Dolls House (Kate Middleton used to work there, and we also met Sean Connery in there once) - they always do several fish/seafood dishes. Then there's the Playfair restaurant at the Argowan Hotel which does terrific Orkney Scallops and Pittenweem Crab.