Trip to Scotland and England
Jan 5th, 2015, 09:15 AM
#21
Where is your family from in Scotland? Once we know that we can help you out w/ a plan.
No, you don't want a tour . . . However Rabbies.com does offer really good small group tours if you do decide to go that way.
No, you don't want a tour . . . However Rabbies.com does offer really good small group tours if you do decide to go that way.
Jan 5th, 2015, 09:43 AM
#25
Now I will check your other links.
Jan 5th, 2015, 11:19 AM
#27
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Ok so I have a few ideas. Let me know if you think this is crazy. It is cheaper for us to fly into Heathrow from the U.S. SO my thought is, we fly out on a Tuesday and arrive Wednesday. Wednesday and Thursday we spend in London. Friday we take the train to Salisbury and go to Stonehenge and then to Bath. Friday night or Saturday morning we fly from Bristol to Edinburgh and spend Saturday to Saturday in Scotland. We will fly out saturday. Too crazy???
Jan 5th, 2015, 11:34 AM
#29
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If you are not wanting to join a group tour but are having problems with an itinerary, there is always Secret Scotland.
http://www.secret-scotland.com/
They have a selection of itineraries of different length. They will also help you plan your itinerary.
If you are wanting to get away from Edinburgh/Glasgow areas then you really do need a car.
Don't be sad about not seeing London - Scotland is miles better!
Once you have identified possible areas then have a look at the Undiscovered Scotland website.
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/
Start with the maps and click on the links for the text pages with lots of information and pictures of things to do and see. You will find plenty of ruined castles and ancient remains all over Scotland.
If you are interested in prehistory, then do seriously consider Orkney as the main island is stuffed with prehistoric remains. There are stone circles, ancient burial mounds, brochs and the prehistoric village of Skara Brae. Through in Brough of Birsay, the Bishop's and Earl's Palaces as well as St Magnus Cathedral...
Check out the links on Undiscovered Scotland here:
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.u...es/orkney.html
As bilboburgler says, Orkney is completely different to the mainland of Scotland and the Norse influence is still strong.
(By the way Faroe is not part of the UK but of Denmark. It is the tiny group of islands beween Scotland and Iceland. They are pretty amazing too but not for this holiday!)
http://www.secret-scotland.com/
They have a selection of itineraries of different length. They will also help you plan your itinerary.
If you are wanting to get away from Edinburgh/Glasgow areas then you really do need a car.
Don't be sad about not seeing London - Scotland is miles better!
Once you have identified possible areas then have a look at the Undiscovered Scotland website.
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/
Start with the maps and click on the links for the text pages with lots of information and pictures of things to do and see. You will find plenty of ruined castles and ancient remains all over Scotland.
If you are interested in prehistory, then do seriously consider Orkney as the main island is stuffed with prehistoric remains. There are stone circles, ancient burial mounds, brochs and the prehistoric village of Skara Brae. Through in Brough of Birsay, the Bishop's and Earl's Palaces as well as St Magnus Cathedral...
Check out the links on Undiscovered Scotland here:
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.u...es/orkney.html
As bilboburgler says, Orkney is completely different to the mainland of Scotland and the Norse influence is still strong.
(By the way Faroe is not part of the UK but of Denmark. It is the tiny group of islands beween Scotland and Iceland. They are pretty amazing too but not for this holiday!)
Jan 5th, 2015, 11:51 AM
#30
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I've just read your last post.
Wednesday is going to be bit of a non day with jet lag and the time taken to pick up luggage, clear immigration and get to London. That effectively is only going to give you one day to do London.
Friday sounds hectic with train to Salisbury, presumably taxi to Stonehenge and then ??? to Bath. You aren't going to have much time to see Bath, especially as you need to get to Bristol for the flight to Edinburgh either Friday or Saturday.
Wednesday is going to be bit of a non day with jet lag and the time taken to pick up luggage, clear immigration and get to London. That effectively is only going to give you one day to do London.
Friday sounds hectic with train to Salisbury, presumably taxi to Stonehenge and then ??? to Bath. You aren't going to have much time to see Bath, especially as you need to get to Bristol for the flight to Edinburgh either Friday or Saturday.
Jan 5th, 2015, 11:52 AM
#31
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I'm a bit confused. In your original post you indicate you want to spend most of your time in Scotland and now you're bringing in Salisbury, Stonehenge and Bath. Sure you can include them, but it would be helpful for those of us offering advice to have a clear view of what you actually want to do. Personally, I think arriving in London on a Wednesday and trying to include London, Salisbury, Stonehenge and Bath in three days is too much.
Jan 5th, 2015, 01:17 PM
#32
I want to go back a little to a basic question - I have a reason.
Where are you coming from? If by some chance you're coming from someplace convenient to Boston, JFK, Dulles or Chicago airports AND if you want to start off in the south of England, then I'd suggest you look into flying on one the morning departures offered from those airports to Heathrow. With just 10 days and an ambitious itinerary, jetlag is a real enemy, and we find that the morning flights really help to minimize jetlag. You fly east during daylight, arrive in the evening. By the time you've gone through immigration and customs at Heathrow, and ridden the bus to a nearby hotel, it's midnight or so local time, maybe later, but still early evening according to your body clock. Get a snack, hit the sheets, and the next morning you're good to go.
As for your (amended) plans for the south of England, I'd suggest that you rent a car instead of all the trains. Yes, you'll have to get used to driving on the left, but millions of people have managed it just fine, and especially given the time of year, the car will offer much more convenience and weather protection, will enable you to stay in smaller towns or villages, or rural B&Bs, and really get a better feel for the land.
As for spending days in London, I truly believe they should be put at the end of the trip if at all, when your energy levels have been restored. London can be very tiring, not to mention very expensive. Frankly, with 10 days I'd skip London altogether and put it off for a later trip.
Now, as to your days in Scotland... Well, for one thing, April is pretty early, and the weather can be... changeable to say the least. It can be sunny and almost-warm one day, horizontal rain the next, then back and forth over a period of hours. Remember that you're much farther north than you might think, and the weather coming off the Atlantic has had a goodly distance to build up. Accordingly, the east side of the country - near the North Sea - has a slight benefit of being drier than the west.
Unfortunately, much of the Highlands are in the west, so if you're including that part of Scotland in your itinerary, plan accordingly. (This is not to say you'll have a terrible time in the north or west, just that you might see it through a car window more than you'd like.)
I know this is getting complicated, but if I were planning a week or so in Scotland in April, I'd probably look at a driving trip something like this - http://goo.gl/maps/LLG48 - followed by a few days in Edinburgh, with London - just London - at the end, if at all. If you're flying into Heathrow, just fly on up to Edinburgh - faster and cheaper than the train, and far less hassle.
The loop mapped above includes some stunning history and landscapes - Kilmartin Glen in the west is like a prehistoric open-air museum, with standing stones, burial cairns, stone circles, Celtic crosses... it's a truly remarkable place. Then up to Glencoe, with its tragic history and stunning scenery (e.g. http://gardyloo.us/20130613_71Hs.jpg ) then over to Forfar for your Guthrie connections (and, by the way, home of Forfar bridies - delicious.) Head out to the Angus coast - Arbroath (more good food, Arbroath smokies) is a very historic and quite picturesque town on the North Sea, with numerous small castles in the vicinity, not to mention a rather grand ruined abbey in the town itself.
From there, back through Dundee and over the Tay to St. Andrews - run along the beach with Vangelis playing in the background - then back to Edinburgh via the East Neuk of Fife - a string of fairytale fishing villages - Crail, St. Monans, Pittenweem et al - along the north coast of the Firth of Forth.
This abbreviated tour of the Scottish countryside will only serve to whet your appetite for more, but that's the risk you take with any trip to Scotland.
Where are you coming from? If by some chance you're coming from someplace convenient to Boston, JFK, Dulles or Chicago airports AND if you want to start off in the south of England, then I'd suggest you look into flying on one the morning departures offered from those airports to Heathrow. With just 10 days and an ambitious itinerary, jetlag is a real enemy, and we find that the morning flights really help to minimize jetlag. You fly east during daylight, arrive in the evening. By the time you've gone through immigration and customs at Heathrow, and ridden the bus to a nearby hotel, it's midnight or so local time, maybe later, but still early evening according to your body clock. Get a snack, hit the sheets, and the next morning you're good to go.
As for your (amended) plans for the south of England, I'd suggest that you rent a car instead of all the trains. Yes, you'll have to get used to driving on the left, but millions of people have managed it just fine, and especially given the time of year, the car will offer much more convenience and weather protection, will enable you to stay in smaller towns or villages, or rural B&Bs, and really get a better feel for the land.
As for spending days in London, I truly believe they should be put at the end of the trip if at all, when your energy levels have been restored. London can be very tiring, not to mention very expensive. Frankly, with 10 days I'd skip London altogether and put it off for a later trip.
Now, as to your days in Scotland... Well, for one thing, April is pretty early, and the weather can be... changeable to say the least. It can be sunny and almost-warm one day, horizontal rain the next, then back and forth over a period of hours. Remember that you're much farther north than you might think, and the weather coming off the Atlantic has had a goodly distance to build up. Accordingly, the east side of the country - near the North Sea - has a slight benefit of being drier than the west.
Unfortunately, much of the Highlands are in the west, so if you're including that part of Scotland in your itinerary, plan accordingly. (This is not to say you'll have a terrible time in the north or west, just that you might see it through a car window more than you'd like.)
I know this is getting complicated, but if I were planning a week or so in Scotland in April, I'd probably look at a driving trip something like this - http://goo.gl/maps/LLG48 - followed by a few days in Edinburgh, with London - just London - at the end, if at all. If you're flying into Heathrow, just fly on up to Edinburgh - faster and cheaper than the train, and far less hassle.
The loop mapped above includes some stunning history and landscapes - Kilmartin Glen in the west is like a prehistoric open-air museum, with standing stones, burial cairns, stone circles, Celtic crosses... it's a truly remarkable place. Then up to Glencoe, with its tragic history and stunning scenery (e.g. http://gardyloo.us/20130613_71Hs.jpg ) then over to Forfar for your Guthrie connections (and, by the way, home of Forfar bridies - delicious.) Head out to the Angus coast - Arbroath (more good food, Arbroath smokies) is a very historic and quite picturesque town on the North Sea, with numerous small castles in the vicinity, not to mention a rather grand ruined abbey in the town itself.
From there, back through Dundee and over the Tay to St. Andrews - run along the beach with Vangelis playing in the background - then back to Edinburgh via the East Neuk of Fife - a string of fairytale fishing villages - Crail, St. Monans, Pittenweem et al - along the north coast of the Firth of Forth.
This abbreviated tour of the Scottish countryside will only serve to whet your appetite for more, but that's the risk you take with any trip to Scotland.
Jan 5th, 2015, 02:26 PM
#33
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Historytraveler I was researching flights and the ones coming from Philadelphia, New York or Baltimore fly into Heathrow with a layover to Edinburgh of upto 12 hours. I just figured if we flew into Heathrow Instead of wasting a whole day waiting to make our connection to Edingburgh maybe we would just take three days to see London and the outskirts a little and then goto Scotland for the remaining days. It isn't set in stone. I was actually just asking to get feedback from people who are more knowledgeable than I. It definitely seems though that everyone is in agreement that trying to do London is a bit much and I am really fine with that. It was just a thought and not knowing the area or what to expect sometimes you can get a bit ambitious when planning.
Gardyloo, the flights I am finding all seem to leave in the evening hours and get into London in the late morning to late afternoon. I would prefer flying in the morning out of the states. Just doesn't seem like that is a popular option.
Gardyloo, the flights I am finding all seem to leave in the evening hours and get into London in the late morning to late afternoon. I would prefer flying in the morning out of the states. Just doesn't seem like that is a popular option.
Jan 5th, 2015, 02:49 PM
#34
There are morning flights on AA and BA from JFK, and on United out of Dulles, but nothing out of Philly. If you're thinking of heading straight to Scotland, then Newark-Edinburgh on United would be my preference. If you want to leave from Philly and go straight to Scotland, then changing planes at Heathrow is your best bet. If you want to spend a night near Heathrow but not head into central London, then you could do a day trip (or spend the night) in Windsor, which is very close and quite convenient to Heathrow. Hotels near LHR are considerably cheaper than in the city; we usually use Priceline and have never spent more than US$100 for a 4-star hotel such as the Sheraton Skyline, Marriott, or Crowne Plaza.
If you want to go straight to Edinburgh (either nonstop from EWR or via London) there's a new tram/light rail that runs from Edinburgh airport into the central part of the city. Or, if you want to head into the Scottish countryside right away, car rental from the airport is very easy and you're right on the motorway (freeway) system heading east or north directly from the airport. On my last trip over I spent the night of arrival at the very nice Dakota Hotel in South Queensferry (itself a very nice little town with terrific history.) Here's a brief trip report I filed last year - http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...n-scotland.cfm
http://www.dakotahotels.co.uk/hotels/edinburgh/
If you want to go straight to Edinburgh (either nonstop from EWR or via London) there's a new tram/light rail that runs from Edinburgh airport into the central part of the city. Or, if you want to head into the Scottish countryside right away, car rental from the airport is very easy and you're right on the motorway (freeway) system heading east or north directly from the airport. On my last trip over I spent the night of arrival at the very nice Dakota Hotel in South Queensferry (itself a very nice little town with terrific history.) Here's a brief trip report I filed last year - http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...n-scotland.cfm
http://www.dakotahotels.co.uk/hotels/edinburgh/
Jan 5th, 2015, 02:49 PM
#35
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Have you looked at British Airways for flights from LHR to Edinburgh? BA has flights leaving LHR about every hour. The flight to Edinburgh takes about 90 minutes. This would be much easier than a 10 hour layover even if not flying BA or one of its partners into LHR.
Regarding Gardyloo's post. If you were planning on spending ten days in the south of England, I woukd definitely suggest you rent a car, but for trips to Salisbury/ Stonehenge and Bath, I think the train makes more sense. Also note that both can easily be done as day trips from London. A day doing Salisbury/Stonehenge and a second day for Bath. The train to/ from Salisbury takes 90 minutes. Stonehenge can be done via bus from Salisbury train station. Bath is about an hour by train from Salisbury and hour and half from London. Remember you will need another night in London before departing to Edinburgh via train. There are a couple of ways to do this if you're intent on including them in your itinerary. Again, look for BA flights from LHR to Edinburgh. www.britishairways.com
Unlike Gardyloo, I always spend a couple of days in London before heading to Scotland. My last day (s) are spent in Oxford. I'm usually more tired at the end of a trip than the beginning and, although, I do sometimes suffer from jetlag, I usually recover pretty quickly.
Regarding Gardyloo's post. If you were planning on spending ten days in the south of England, I woukd definitely suggest you rent a car, but for trips to Salisbury/ Stonehenge and Bath, I think the train makes more sense. Also note that both can easily be done as day trips from London. A day doing Salisbury/Stonehenge and a second day for Bath. The train to/ from Salisbury takes 90 minutes. Stonehenge can be done via bus from Salisbury train station. Bath is about an hour by train from Salisbury and hour and half from London. Remember you will need another night in London before departing to Edinburgh via train. There are a couple of ways to do this if you're intent on including them in your itinerary. Again, look for BA flights from LHR to Edinburgh. www.britishairways.com
Unlike Gardyloo, I always spend a couple of days in London before heading to Scotland. My last day (s) are spent in Oxford. I'm usually more tired at the end of a trip than the beginning and, although, I do sometimes suffer from jetlag, I usually recover pretty quickly.
Jan 5th, 2015, 03:14 PM
#36
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If you haven't been to London before and want to see it, I would try to see at least the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey and do walk-bys of Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, and the Thames before doing any day trips. Then if you want to spend any more time there, you could add maybe one day trip and/or the British or the V&A Museum, the Churchill War Rooms, St. Paul's Cathedral, a West End play--the list is really endless--as is the list in Scotland. It's a real dilemna with our short U.S. vacation times.
I agree with those who suggest that you go by your public library or bookstore and spend a lot of time with the different travel guides. I also like the Rabbies and Timberbush small group tours.
I agree with those who suggest that you go by your public library or bookstore and spend a lot of time with the different travel guides. I also like the Rabbies and Timberbush small group tours.
