Saraho

We will be in Scotland for four days this September and plan to spend two nights in Edinburgh. What small town or village do you like that is easy to get to by train or bus? We would like to spend a couple of nights outside of a city.

We have thought about Stirling as a possibility- although I know it is about 40,000 in population. What do you suggest- Stirling or another favorite place?

janisj

Well - for me it certainly wouldn't be Stirling. The Castle is amazing -- but the city is nowhere near being a small town or village. Just another city and Edinburgh is MUCH better as a city.

What are you looking for? A really small place to just chill? A bigger place w/ shopping/sites/restaurants? A seaside town? Highland scenery? A base for day trips by bus?

Saraho

I'm exploring possibilities now- maybe a really small place or an interesting seaside town, but I think my preference would be highland scenery. I wish we were going to be able to spend more time in Scotland- next time we will.

We are traveling with friends who have never been to the UK or Europe before so I'm doing most of the trip planning, but I'm trying to include their interests, too. This is actually the first time we have traveled with friends so I'm finding the planning a little more complicated than for our usual trips when we just go whatever we want to.

janisj

OK - Are you definitely against renting a car for those two days? W/ 4 of you it will be more economical -- plus it would give you unlimited flexibility where you could go.

But initially here are a few places easily reached by train. . .

<B>St Andrews</B>. Train to Leuchars and local bus or taxi the 6 miles over to St Andrews. Not a village but LOTS to fill you time. Fabulous beach (where they filmed the beach scenes in Chariots of Fire), Castle, cathedral ruins, the old course (a big public park all day on Sundays when there is no play), Local bus services to the Fife fishing villages.

<B>Dunkeld</B>. A small place w/ beautiful scenery, Cathedral ruins on the bank of the river, some small antique shops.

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.u...eld/index.html

<B>Pitlochry</B>. Not necessarily my favorite town but a good place for this type of stay. It is very tourist-centric because of the festival theatre that draws so many visitors. That means there are lots of places to eat/drink. Plus there is lovely scenery all around.

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.u...hry/pitlochry/

<B>Oban</B>. A seaside resort and working port w/ferries and tours over to Mull/Iona. Lots of places to stay and really nice views from the town.

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.u...ban/index.html

<B>Stonehaven</B>. Maybe not the usual recommendation -- a working fishing port of about 8,000/9,000 population. Neat harbor. Walking distance to the truly awesome Dunnotar Castle.

http://www.dunnottarcastle.co.uk/

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.u...ven/index.html

For a bigger city - maybe consider Perth. Scone Palace and nice scenery nearby.

None of these are actually close to Edinburgh -- but all are reachable by train.

Now, w/ a car you could go <i>anywhere</i> and we could recommend many other places.

annw

We loved St. Andrews and Pitlochry. St. Andrews more tweedy, with of course the golf but also university and a walkable town with good food and drink. Pitlochry we went to with the lads when they were younger -- nice little town, train station, a very nice theatre, a salmon ladder and draw bridge (these things mattered at that age).

Ackislander

There really are no "Brigadoon" type villages near Edinburgh, nor anywhere else in Scotland for that matter.

I think janisj's advice, as always, is spot on. If you don't want to rent a car, the train to Glasgow and then on to Oban takes you on part of the West Highland Railway (see another thread on that today). You could take a CalMac ferry from Oban to somewhere in the islands and back for a scenic day.

wellididntknowthat

I second Oban. It hs the benefit that, by train, the journey takes you through some fabulous scenery and a day trip to the picturesque Tobermory is very doable.

Frances

The villages of the East Neuk are oozing charm and character and do have a bus service but I'm afraid I don't know the name of the bus company which runs it. It takes about one and a half hours to drive by car from Edinburgh so that gives you an idea of how far they are. You are looking at Pittenweem, Anstruther, St Monans and Crail. Some good restaurants here too.

Saraho

Wow! Thanks for the great suggestions. I'll do some more research on the places you suggested and then I'll be back to ask some questions. I really enjoy planning a trip- especially with such interesting possibilities.

amelie

Go with something janisj recommended, and do consider renting a car. I love Stonehaven, and also St. Andrews. Oh and we did really enjoy Pitlochry, even with all the touristy shops (was good for souvenirs for my niece).

sheila

My one other suggestion is Blair Atholl. It is a very small town. It has a good range of tourist amenities. It has fabulous scenery from every window; and it has the castle. Oh , and the train stops there.

janisj

I was going to include Blair Atholl on my list -- but figured I'd gone on long enough already

The villages Frances mentions are what I meant in the >>Local bus services to the Fife fishing villages<< bit.

DaveMM

Bookmarked...thanks.

Saraho

Now I think I'm going to add a few more days to our time in Scotland. I'm just not comfortable with such a short visit when there are so many interesting places to see.

Some people have mentioned going to Perth, Curroff (sp) a village near Stirling, and of course, the Isle of Skye. Any opinions about these places? I must be spelling Curroff wrong since I unsuccessfully tried googling it.

janisj

That would be Culross . . . (but pronounced not too far from your spelling sort of kur-uss)

All of those places are good -- but you'd need to add more than a 'few' days . . . .

You don't need to stay in Culross, it is an easy stop on the way to other places.

Just how many days are you considering - other of the time in Edinburgh?

meggycam

If you want to stay close to Edinburgh, South Queensferry is a beautiful little village about 5 miles from Edinburgh. The village is right on the edge of the Forth, and right under the famous Forth Bridge. North Queesnferry is on the other side of the Forth, and also handy as its on the train line in to Edinburgh, but the south is the nicest part.The train rom North Queensferry you can take you east back to Edinburgh, or along the East coast villages close to the sea, so lots of lovely scenery, and you could hop off at the lovely Pittenweem, or any other village on that line.

Google hotels in South Queensferry, and you will see some photos that will give you an idea. Hawes Inn is a traditional inn, offering good bed and breakfast(continental). Orroco Pier is modern accom. Premier Inn if basic but good value. Bed & Breakfast can be a very good alternative in Scotland, too.

Linlithgow with its Palace (20 miins in the train from Edinburgh), is another really nice place, and is on the train line for both Stirling, Glasgow and Falkirk. If you go to Stirling, make sure you see the Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum, as it's really worth seeing. There is a good official website for Stirling listin things to do for kids and adults. <http://www.visitstirling.org>

Another unique little village, if you have a car, is Falkland. It is a fair bit north of Edinburgh, and away from the coast. It is very small but has a Palace in the middle of it, and the buildings are very old and interesting. It is very quiet there, but a good place if you have a car to take you to other places.

Hope you have a lovely trip.

alihutch

Culross is beautiful (,y pal always pronounces it Curiss) we go to the Red Lion quite often for lunch

http://redlionculross.co.uk/index.php

Saraho

Thanks for all your suggestions. Now I'm having fun doing research on all of them.

Our current plan is to fly into Edinburgh airport and immediately get on a bus or train to spend the first night somewhere outside of Edinburgh. Then we will have three and a half more days for exploring a little of Scotland outside of Edinburgh.

We definitely plan to see Culross at some point and I am researching your other suggestions to see where else we will go. I only wish we had time this trip to see all of the places you are mentioning! But we'll come back.

Where would you suggest we spend the first night after we arrive at the Edinburgh airport? We were thinking of somewhere interesting that is a half hour or hour train/bus ride from Edinburgh. We will be coming from Brussels so jet lag won't be an issue.



At the end of our time in Scotland we will stay in Edinburgh for two or three days before going to the Lake District/Manchester where the couple
we are traveling with have appointments.

Ronael

Oban is a nothing place in my opinion....WAY too touristy & very over rated. We found it to be very dirty, especially the harbour! Try a smaller town such as Creiff. It's beautiful, easy to find accommodation & plenty to do. The drive there is very pretty and gets you off the motorways.

MacSporran

First thing...never understimate the time to it takes to travel around Scotland. Things look close on a map but it reality it takes at least twice as long as you expect to get there.

For instance, you talk about spending your first night somewhere outside Edinburgh that's on a bus or train link.

I'd always recommend train if possible in Scotland, but even to get from the airport into Edinburgh city centre (there's no station at the airport) will take you easily 90 minutes from leaving the plane to stepping off at Haymarket (more if it's Waverley).

Then you have to wait for a train. If it's not a Glasgow train then it's almost certainly an hourly service, so you may have a wait for that.

You may to want to consider that and depending on your time of arrival spend the first night in Edinburgh and get up early the next morning to travel.

Many of the suggestions you already received are very good (of course) , but some will require a train + a bus.....that's up to you if you want to spend the time and the energy doing that, but getting to some place even relatively close by....such as Crieff and the East Neuk towns would take around half a day of your time.

Oban means a changeover in Glasgow and would simply seem to be far too far.

From the recommendations you've received already, and given the limited time-span, I'd suggest somewhere close by and on a train line (or very, very close to it) would be the sensible option.

St Andrews and Dunkeld would seem to fit the bill. Both lovely towns, and both within 90 minutes of Edinburgh by train (and short bus or taxi journey in the case of St Andrews).

Of course, it's up to you. But I would be careful about cramming too much into a short time and travelling too far.....I can't emphasise enough the point about seemingly short distances being very misleading in Scotland.

Good luck whatever you decide...