Hi,
I have seen previous travellers post their iterineraries, and thought you migh all be kind enough to have suggestions for our scottish holiday. Our proposed intenerary is as follows:
arrive Glasgow Aug 25
travel to Edinburgh for Tattoo eveing of Aug 25, staying until Aug 27 to enjoy the festivals ( or possibly 28th, if we can extend our room, will find out tomorrow)
Aug 28 St Andrews ( this is a must for my golf loving husband)
Aug 29 travel to Uig
Aug 30 ferry from Uig to Lochmaddy, North Uist- family roots from are from South Uist and Benebcula, so I feel that I am "coming home"
Aug 31, Sep 1, 2, 3 explore Hebrides ( will be renting car for this)
Sept 4- ferry from Lochboisdale to Oban, hopfeully getting to Glen Coe
Sept 5 Blaigowrie, for the highland games ( I am a former highland dancer, so this is dream for me)
Sept 6, explore, maybe Dunkeld?
Sept 7 return to Glasgow
Sept 8, sadly, fly home

We are planning to purchase the freedom of Scotland rail pass, as we think we would utilize it, although I am a bit nervous about the confusing train schedules, as here in rural Canada, I see trains every hour, but none are for passengers.
This is our 25th anniversary trip, and I get teary just thinking about how much I am going to LOVE Scotland. Any help to make my planning/trip more enjoyable would be greatly appreciated.

I've been having trouble w/ the site tonight so I'll try one more time to post this . . . . .

You are planning a lovely trip. But I am a little confused - it sounds like you only plan on driving the 4 days you are in the outer Hebrides. And are then planning to use the trains for the rest of your itinerary. Is this correct?

Some of your route is pretty difficult by rail - Glen Coe for example. If it were me, I'd forget about taking trains and use a car(s) for the whole time except in Edinburgh.

And a trip from St Andrews to Uig is daunting whether you go by train or by car.

One suggestion - if you can extend the hotel, do St Andrews as a day trip sometime during your 4 days in Edinburgh. By car it is easy - by train it would be OK but you'd have to take a taxi or bus from Leuchars since there is no rail service to St Andrews.

If you can't extend in Edinburgh you could stay that night in St Andrews - but would then have an all day trip getting to the far side of Skye.

Hello there, we live in the UK, and have just come back from ten days in Scotland. I would suggest hiring a car for the duration of your trip. Train travel in my country can be infrequent, unreliable and expensive. Scotland is beautiful to drive through, you can plan your own route, and if you see a view, village or pub en route where you want to stop off you can. The only pain is parking in cities. Check with your accommodation whether they have parking available and make sure you have good directions, especially for Edinburgh and Glasgow as signs can be confusing. Happy holidays!

The nearest that the train from Oban gets to Glencoe is Tyndrum.You should be able to get a bus from Oban to Glencoe no problem.Try the Pollochar Inn at the South end of South Uist.

Hello all,

Thank you so much for your replies. Yes, we were planning to rent a car only for the time we would be in the Hebrides, and then use the train pass when back on the mainland. We had thought if need be we could rent a car for a day trip or two. Your ideas have helped me to try and convince my husband, again, that we should rent a car, rather than depending upon the train pass. My daughter was in Rome in May and the day she arrived they announced a 4 or 5 day train strike, which changed all her plans. Can this happen in Scotland?
I was feeling we maybe had made some pretty ambitious plans, particularly since we were depending mostly on trains.
The Freedom on Scotland pass does sound like a fairly good bargain, though, especially since it includes the ferry trips to the Hebrides. Thanks again for your posts. Now I have some thinking to do about our plans.

canadalassie: Do you have specific plans at St. Andrews or will you just be exploring? Will you and/or your husband be playing golf?

I was hunting for this post since I was too busy at work to deal with it, and it disappeared...but ony because Seth's mom had topped it

Great trip canadalassie. It's a joy to see people step off the beaten track.

If you would like to extend your use of public transport can I make the following suggestions.

Put off the St Andrews trip till you get back from the islands. Hire your car in Edinburgh on the 28th and come to the Lonach Games in Strathdon for your dancing. Spend the night on Speyside. It's an easy run from there down to Oban, through Glencoe (a bit off the straight line, but so what), to catch the 3.10 ferry to Lochboisdale on the 29th.

I second the suggestion of the Pollochar Inn. On the Monday and Tuesday you can take in the joys of South Uist and Eriskay and even Barra (which you'll have stopped at on Sunday anyway).

On the 1st head up through the islands to, probably, Lamlash Lodge in North Uist (the Lochmaddy's a bit tacky- tho' not as bad as the Lochboisdale!) and at some point catch the little ferry from Berneray to Leverburgh. Come off from Stornoway to Ullapool. You could even pick up the Braemar Gathering on the 4th, if you did that.

That would give you the 5th for Blairgowrie, staying in Dunkeld, and the 7th for St Andrews and back to Glasgow.

NOw, there's nota damn thing wrong with what you've planned. You will find you have more flexibility with the car, but...

PLEASE read No Great Mischief before you come and, if you like it, but in a lighter vein, a book I cannot for teh life of me remember the name of about a young man sailing from glasgow to vancouver in his Great-grandfatehr's "footsteps" and crossing Canada to Vancouver after his grandfather and his father.

There are thousands of books about all all this- well dozens anyway.

I have family by marriage from the Uists so do let me know if I can help at all

Seth's Mom, and Sheila,

Thanks for your replies. It has definitely given me 'food for thought". My husband was hoping to get in a round of golf, on one of the courses at St Andrew's, but it is not a must. e do plan to golf at Askernish, on South Uist, whre more ansectors came from.
sheila, we are pondering your suggestions. My one concern, for the ferry to Lochboisdale, was that I had hoped to be on the early one, so we could see the isles as we approach them. For some strange reason, I feel as though I will be returning "home", even though I have never been there, and I feel I really need to approach the Isles during day light hours. Does this sound ridiculous? Your suggestion for the highland games at Crammond sounds good, and I actually had hoped to go to the Braemar gathering, so your suggestion felt like you were reading my mind.
we still face the car hire versus rail pass issue, but I will explore that further as time permits. We haven't made any decisions we can't change at this point.
I hope to pick up your suggested reading during my next trip into the city. Thank you all again so much. I am still open to suggestions, and will post further as to what we decide to do.

Canadalassie, can I have a pint of what you're on?

It would be quite difficult to get on to the Old Course, but there are a plethora of lovely courses in the area. My "plan" would allow you to do that. You'll find golf courses everywhere in Scotland, down to the smallest village.

Which clan do your forebears come from?

I take your point on the ferry. One of may all time great moments was sailing up the Sound of Mull at 6am on a warm pink spring morning....

Lots of people in your situation feel the same way. It's one of the joys of being Scottish

Good morning, Sheila,

Yes, my comments on golf at St Andrew's sounded very naive, didn't they? We had read in a guide book, that if you wanted to test your luck, you could put your name in the next day lottery, or just get up early, go to the course, and hope to join in with a threesome, needing a fourth. We would like to see the Old Course, but understand golfing it would likely not happen. This is more for my husband than for me. The rest of the trip is all about me!!
My maiden name is McDonald ( yes, Mc, not Mac), my mother's parents were both McCormick's, with a bit of MacPherson, Whitton, and Smith mixed in. All my family Roots extend back to Benbecula and South Uist, and from there, I have no idea.

I think the car hire has won out over the rail pass, as we can just purchase rail tickets as needed. We love the idea of being able to stop at little villages, rather than just watching them pass us by.

I had read somewhere that there was no cost involved in returning a car to a different location than you picked up? Does any one have any knowledge of this? Does anyone have any recommendations for car hire? My search for a car begins now...wish me luck!

actually lassie it is not impossible for a single to get on at the old course. I have taken friends there several times and all but once they got on.

There is the daily lottery - you can call from Edinburgh and if you are lucky and get chosen - your next days itinerary is set. Since you are in Edinburgh a few days you probably have a 50-50 chance of getting on via the lottery.

But barring that, the starter will ask any two- or threesome if they would accept a fourth (or third). They almost never decline so you can just show up at the starter's cabin in the morning and would have a decent chance of getting on. This is much harder if there are two of you playing - but I have never taken a single player that could not get on sometime durimg the day - UNLESS there is some specila event and all groups are already set as foursomes.

So don't give up - it is not a sure thing he could play - but it is definitely possible . . . . . .

Hi Janis,

Thank you so much for the tips about golfing at St Andrews. Honestly, if he could golf the Old Course, I know he wouldn't care about another thing we did in Scotland, and I could do or purchase anything I wanted while there. Are there any castles for sale...or how about a pipe band? I am going to make every effort to try to get him on. I hadn't really thought of putting his name in while we were in Edinburgh, but if he got on, I could spend the time exlporing the city by myself, people watching, and with the festival on, I am sure I will not be bored. He will be so excited after reading your post, the only down fall will be that he will want to take his clubs along. That is another reason we are leaning towards hiring (we call it renting here) a car. Thanks again for your advice.

a brief but definitive guide:-

You can't walk on at the Old Course. To book a tee at the Old Course in advance you phone, probably about a year in advance on 01334 466666 and ask for advance reservations.

Thereafter you can only get a tee by going through the daily ballot procedure. You phone the links committee on 01334 466666 the day before you want to play before 2pm (For Mondays you phone on Saturdays). You tell them the names of the golfers and their handicaps. (If you are picked you will have to show handicap certificates) and you tell them your home clubs. The ballot is then picked at random. They have on average 12-15 slots available per day.

The cost is £110 per round and the rounds are available for 2- 4 players

You can also try to play as a single or a pair on the actual day.
The starter will try to match you with a pair or a three ball if he can.

They suggest that you check the date in advance to ensure the tees are not booked for competition.

They suggest you turn up as early as possible to maximise your chances

They suggest you phone the day before after the ballot is drawn to find out how many two and three balls there are that you might join in with.

They say it happens a lot, but they guarantee nothing!

http://www.standrews.org.uk/booking/booking.htm

BTW, if I didn't mention it, I LOVE the Uists. Thank you for choosing to visit them

canada

I've just been speaking to a friend of mine from Benbecula who tells me that if you are interested in the geneaology thing you might like to speak to a guy called Bill Lawson who runs an island service Seallam, from the Old Schoolhouse in South Uist.

Or Angus's mum. She has McCormick's in the village and McPherson's in her pedigree

Hi Sheila,

Well, you are the best ambassaodr for your country. If the people I meet there are half as helpful and friendly as you, I won't want to leave. I wasn't sure if I wanted to be bothering people while I was there, looking for long lost relatives, although I am sure I would be looking for similar features, thick course hair, fair complexion, tiny hands and feet, and a good hearty laugh. But, now that you say it out loud, I could probably spend a wee bit of time with Mr Lawson, or Angus's mum. We have reworked our itinerary, and I will post it as a new post, if you wouldn't mind taking a few minutes to critique it, I would appreciate it. It is not written in stone, as we have some details to work out( I think I will still be doing this as I board my flight, sigh...) but, if you could get me further details on how to contact Mr Lawson, I would be very appreciative.