Yet another Scotland itinerary...
May 2nd, 2005, 01:53 PM
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Yet another Scotland itinerary...
Well our itinerary seems to be shaping up...but there are some holes... particularly June 6th and 7th where we will be exploring and staying overnight along the way. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
June 4-5 Two days/nights with family in Prestwick - west coast, Cuzean Castle, Largs, Isle of Mull/Arran if time permits
June 6-7 Two days and nights exploring - what to see besides Stirling? Glencoe? Loch Lomond? Fallkirk Wheel? Would like to see Wallace and Roy historical stuff...
June 8-9 Two nights in Edinburgh at the Elmview - just Edinburgh or time to explore elsewhere?
June 10-11 Two nights in St. Andrew's at the Albany Hotel - what to see in area?
June 12 Depart from Glasgow late afternoon
June 4-5 Two days/nights with family in Prestwick - west coast, Cuzean Castle, Largs, Isle of Mull/Arran if time permits
June 6-7 Two days and nights exploring - what to see besides Stirling? Glencoe? Loch Lomond? Fallkirk Wheel? Would like to see Wallace and Roy historical stuff...
June 8-9 Two nights in Edinburgh at the Elmview - just Edinburgh or time to explore elsewhere?
June 10-11 Two nights in St. Andrew's at the Albany Hotel - what to see in area?
June 12 Depart from Glasgow late afternoon
May 2nd, 2005, 02:11 PM
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I truly don't think you can do Mull from Prestwick and live.
So- 3 options for your 2 days.
1. The Borders- soft hills, wide river, fancy mansions.
2. West coast- zip up to Oban. Take in Mull if you insist. You could catch Rob Roy country coming back south.
3. The Central Highlands- Strathyre and the Perthshire mountains. lots of Rob Roy.
Wallace doesn't have places- just a monument near a river he fought a battle at. And no-one knows where the battle was.
So- 3 options for your 2 days.
1. The Borders- soft hills, wide river, fancy mansions.
2. West coast- zip up to Oban. Take in Mull if you insist. You could catch Rob Roy country coming back south.
3. The Central Highlands- Strathyre and the Perthshire mountains. lots of Rob Roy.
Wallace doesn't have places- just a monument near a river he fought a battle at. And no-one knows where the battle was.
May 2nd, 2005, 03:00 PM
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Wallace came from Elderslie near Paisley.Nothing left to see.Glasgow is connected to Prestwick by fast train (45 mins)From there the western highlands is open to you by bus or train.Go to Oban.Rob Roy is mainly myth.
May 2nd, 2005, 06:54 PM
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Rob Roy MacGreagor is certainly not a myth - As any Graham or MacGregor will know.
he and his wife are buried in Balquhidder - which you could visit if you go to Glencoe and Stirling since it is on the route between the two.
Sheila is absolutely right - there is no way you could visit Arran, Culzean and Mull in two days. Just use the 2 days in Prestwick to visit Culzean, some Robert Burns sites and Crossraguel Abbey. You MIGHT be able to squeeze in a trip over to Arran.
After Ayrshire, I'd usually recommend the Borders - but w/ the list of things that seem to interest you I'd do Loch Lomond, Balquhidder, Glencoe, the Trossachs, Stirling. This area can be explored in 2 days - but Stirling castle by itself takes several hours.
W/ just 2 days, you would be best served just staying in Edinburgh. It is a compact city and you can see a lot in a short visit - but 2 days is about minimum if you want to see anything more than just the Castle, Royal Mile, and Holyrood.
And in Fife there is a LOT to see/do so w/ only 2 days you need to pick/choose. St Andrews (Castle, Cathedral, Old Course and west sands at a minimum), Falkland Palace and 2 or 3 of the fishing villages (Crail, Anstruther, Pittenweem, etc) would fill up your 2 days.
he and his wife are buried in Balquhidder - which you could visit if you go to Glencoe and Stirling since it is on the route between the two.
Sheila is absolutely right - there is no way you could visit Arran, Culzean and Mull in two days. Just use the 2 days in Prestwick to visit Culzean, some Robert Burns sites and Crossraguel Abbey. You MIGHT be able to squeeze in a trip over to Arran.
After Ayrshire, I'd usually recommend the Borders - but w/ the list of things that seem to interest you I'd do Loch Lomond, Balquhidder, Glencoe, the Trossachs, Stirling. This area can be explored in 2 days - but Stirling castle by itself takes several hours.
W/ just 2 days, you would be best served just staying in Edinburgh. It is a compact city and you can see a lot in a short visit - but 2 days is about minimum if you want to see anything more than just the Castle, Royal Mile, and Holyrood.
And in Fife there is a LOT to see/do so w/ only 2 days you need to pick/choose. St Andrews (Castle, Cathedral, Old Course and west sands at a minimum), Falkland Palace and 2 or 3 of the fishing villages (Crail, Anstruther, Pittenweem, etc) would fill up your 2 days.
May 3rd, 2005, 02:20 PM
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Budget and style for your good place to stay, please?
I do so LOVE it when Tony drops in.
Mons Graupius, Tyrannulet, is the site of the battle at which the Romans, under Agricola, stuffed the Picts under Calgacus.
No-one actually knows where the site is, but one thing is for sure, it's nowhere near where you're going
I do so LOVE it when Tony drops in.
Mons Graupius, Tyrannulet, is the site of the battle at which the Romans, under Agricola, stuffed the Picts under Calgacus.
No-one actually knows where the site is, but one thing is for sure, it's nowhere near where you're going
May 3rd, 2005, 04:11 PM
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There are two nights we need to book, and they don't need to be in the same place necessarily. We would prefer a guest house or small quaint hotel - 3 or 4 star....up to 40/50 GBP pp/night.
May 6th, 2005, 04:50 PM
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If you want to visit places with links to Wallace and Rob Roy your first step should be to forget everything you saw in the films with Mel Gibson and Liam Neesson. Great entertainment, but historically wide of the mark.
Several places have "discovered" links to Wallace since the film gave him such a high profile. Elderslie in Renfrewshire is traditionally accepted as his birth place but several other places with similar names have also laid claim. Not far from where you're going in Prestwick, Ayr still has an area called Wallacetown - one of his earliest military successes was an attack on Edward 1's garrison there. Lanark claims to be where he got himself outlawed by killing an English nobleman who had killed his wife / fiancee / sweetheart, an incident in the film which is at least vaguely related to real life. Stirling has the closest connections as his greatest military success was at the old bridge over the River Forth here. The national Wallace Monument on a hill near Stirling can be seen from miles away. Less prominent, not even marked on many maps, a place called the Robber's Stone north of Glasgow is where a Scots nobleman betrayed Wallace and handed him over to be butchered. An area of Glasgow not on most tourist itineraries, Robroyston, is said to derive its name from the robber's stone.
For Rob Roy you're looking at the Trossachs, easily accesible from Stirling or Glasgow. The Tourist Information Centre in Callendar has one of these audio visual thingies telling his story. Glengyle at the quiet end of Loch Katrine is where he was born (one possible derivation of "Katrine" is from "cateran" or "thief" which may or may not be connected with Rob's way of life). Rob Roy lived for many years at Inversnaid on the quieter east shore of Loch Lomond, a very scenic drive if you can find the time. As others have mentioned, a must visit place for anyone interested in Rob Roy is his grave at Balquhidder. The inscription "MacGregor Despite Them" refers to the fact that for most of Rob's life it was a criminal offence to be called MacGregor.
The MacGregors acted as guides for travellers crossing the treacherous marshes that stretched across Scotland, just south of the highland boundary, in the old days. Tradition tells that they gradually turned this into a protection racket. If you hired a MacGregor your cattle were safe, otherwise they were mysteriously stolen en route. The highland cattle of those days were black, unlike the brown ones we see now. Payment for protecting the black cattle was usually given in food - meal. It became known as black meal, so among many inventions to be proud of, the Scots also have the less honourable claim of having invented blackmail. So what if it hasn't been historically proven? It's a great story.
Several places have "discovered" links to Wallace since the film gave him such a high profile. Elderslie in Renfrewshire is traditionally accepted as his birth place but several other places with similar names have also laid claim. Not far from where you're going in Prestwick, Ayr still has an area called Wallacetown - one of his earliest military successes was an attack on Edward 1's garrison there. Lanark claims to be where he got himself outlawed by killing an English nobleman who had killed his wife / fiancee / sweetheart, an incident in the film which is at least vaguely related to real life. Stirling has the closest connections as his greatest military success was at the old bridge over the River Forth here. The national Wallace Monument on a hill near Stirling can be seen from miles away. Less prominent, not even marked on many maps, a place called the Robber's Stone north of Glasgow is where a Scots nobleman betrayed Wallace and handed him over to be butchered. An area of Glasgow not on most tourist itineraries, Robroyston, is said to derive its name from the robber's stone.
For Rob Roy you're looking at the Trossachs, easily accesible from Stirling or Glasgow. The Tourist Information Centre in Callendar has one of these audio visual thingies telling his story. Glengyle at the quiet end of Loch Katrine is where he was born (one possible derivation of "Katrine" is from "cateran" or "thief" which may or may not be connected with Rob's way of life). Rob Roy lived for many years at Inversnaid on the quieter east shore of Loch Lomond, a very scenic drive if you can find the time. As others have mentioned, a must visit place for anyone interested in Rob Roy is his grave at Balquhidder. The inscription "MacGregor Despite Them" refers to the fact that for most of Rob's life it was a criminal offence to be called MacGregor.
The MacGregors acted as guides for travellers crossing the treacherous marshes that stretched across Scotland, just south of the highland boundary, in the old days. Tradition tells that they gradually turned this into a protection racket. If you hired a MacGregor your cattle were safe, otherwise they were mysteriously stolen en route. The highland cattle of those days were black, unlike the brown ones we see now. Payment for protecting the black cattle was usually given in food - meal. It became known as black meal, so among many inventions to be proud of, the Scots also have the less honourable claim of having invented blackmail. So what if it hasn't been historically proven? It's a great story.
May 11th, 2005, 08:15 PM
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Sheila,
Sorry, but The Drover's Inn is by far and the way funkiest place we have seen in the UK. Took many pictures, and had a delightful lunch there, but would be more than careful of staying the for the night. Must be my aversion to the big bear!
Sorry, but The Drover's Inn is by far and the way funkiest place we have seen in the UK. Took many pictures, and had a delightful lunch there, but would be more than careful of staying the for the night. Must be my aversion to the big bear!
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