5 days: Glasgow-Edinburgh Trip Report

Old Aug 25th, 2010, 12:06 PM
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5 days: Glasgow-Edinburgh Trip Report

Thank you to everyone's suggestions which proved invaluable in planning this trip. It was great. Janisj is going to help post a trip report!
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Old Aug 25th, 2010, 12:18 PM
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Installment 1:

As I found the comments here so useful, I am posting some feedback - nothing fancy enough to be called a trip report though. This was a combined business/fun trip so I won't go into too much detail about certain aspects. I think it will be clear which were the expense account hotels ...Started off in the Glasgow City Centre Hilton - convenient enough, allowing us (teenage son and I) to walk everywhere with exception of bus to the West End (Kelgingrove, university, botanical garden). Very easy and very straight shot from a bus stop one street over from the hotel which amused us as when we'd asked the concierge for bus information he rather loftily replied that he hadn't taken a bus in years and directed us to the taxi rank. Most memorable eating was at Two Fat Ladies (Blythswood street), chosen purely because it was a quick walk away. (Yes, we're a bit lazy). Glasgow sights have been well covered elsewhere - just to say son and I loved the Mackintosh House at the Hunterian and were so disappointed that a change in husband's meetings meant we cut our Glasgow stay short by a day so we missed the Willow Tearooms.

Picked up a hire car and drove to Cruachan - my son was particularly interested in this: the world's first high head reversible pumped storage hydro scheme, housed in a gigantic man-made cavern. Otherwise it seemed a little crazy to drive two hours in one direction then turn around and drive almost as long again in the opposite. I'm glad we went but here's my travel tip: if at all possible, book your tour first! Cruachan turned out to be incredibly popular - we showed up just after 2 to find the first available tour was at 4. (we were unable to book in advance as husband had scheduled conference calls en route and we had no idea how long those would take.) So we examined the exhibit, had a nice snack in the pleasant tearoom, exhausted the tiny gift shop, went back to the car and read our books. The tour is only 25 minutes long and my son admitted it perhaps hadn't been entirely worth the wait but we were happy enough to accommodate this request on his part. And the drive to Cruachan was beautiful - we then hopped in the car and drove to Dunkeld - to another Hilton property.

Dunkeld: whereas the Glasgow city centre Hilton is the standard corporate high rise, the Dunkeld hotel is lovely, a very traditional Highland-type lodge which was acquired by Hilton long after the hotel had established a name for itself. It sits on the banks of the River Tay and we walked along to the ruins of the historic and haunting Dunkeld cathedral. One can then walk further into the little village of Dunkeld - very pretty with shops along the specialty boutique line rather than tourist tat. Also on the grounds of the hotel is a an activity centre: archery, quad biking, clay pigeon shooting etc. Again, it is advisable to book an activity in advance (everything was booked by the time we showed up but we hadn't had our heart set on anything in particular).

After two nights in Dunkeld we drove to our next two night stop: Crail on the Fife Coast, East Neuk. On the way we stopped at Scone Palace where my son rated the maze very highly indeed. We spent an absurd amount of time trying to find the site which is NOT in Scone. We'd booked a triple room in The Hazelton Guest House in Crail - I cannot recommend it enough. Cost was £30 each per night - we had a large light room with a view over the harbour, three separate beds in a row which sounds a bit dorm-like but it wasn't at all. Lots of space for us and our three huge suitcases plus three chairs, TV, sink in the room. Our ensuite bathroom (shower) was also spacious and the hot water pressure was far superior to the Dunkeld Hilton's! Spotlessly clean, an 18th century merchant's house - no noise from the other guests though it was fully booked. The owners were friendly and helpful without being obtrusive at all- they pointed us to a short circular walk which we did that evening - down by the beach and harbour. Breakfast was a high point - my husband had the full Scottish each morning but I chose the fish option: smoked salmon on creamy scrambled eggs on a muffin with a little roast tomato on the side. Again, much better than the institutional buffets at the Hiltons.

Crail was a good base for exploring this corner of Fife. The only drawback was lack of choice for dinner in the evening - this wouldn't have been a problem if we'd wanted to drive down the road but instead each night we crossed the street and ate at the restaurant in the Golf Hotel - good plain seafood, delicous desserts. The second night we tried to book dinner at the Caiplie House, another B&B but it was fully booked. In fact that night we had trouble getting into the Golf Hotel diningroom (that sounds wrong - atmosphere is much more like a family pub) and saw one group of tourists being turned away. With a little planning (our weak spot obviously), a reservation at the Caiplie would have been a good idea. The menu that night featured lobster. (also available fresh off the boats in Crail harbour).

Our big expedition the next day was a boat trip to the Isle of May - this we DID book in advance but the boat takes about 100 so I'm not sure it was strictly necessary. There are also RIB (rigid inflatable boat) trips and those only hold about 10 people so booking in advance is advisable for those. The trip totals about 4 hours and although my husband had moaned that that would kill the whole day, in fact we fit in both a visit to the arts festival in Pittenweem and tour of Kellie Castle and Garden first.

Am getting nervous about the length of this (is it turning into a trip report?!) and I have a poor record of losing stuff so will post this and then continue on.
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Old Aug 25th, 2010, 12:19 PM
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Installment 2:

Pitenweem, Kellie and Isle of May all in one day and it wasn't rushed at all. The art festival was fun in that many venues were actually private homes and it was fascinating to go into a little cottage and discover that behind high walls were beautiful gardens or that a plain warehouse looking facade hid a huge light filled loft. We got to Kellie an hour before the house actually opened so read the paper in the incredible walled garden - we had amazing weather. My husband had to buy a hat to prevent sunburn. Kellie was perhaps our favourite historic house/castle - although so romantic from the outside, the roomos though beautiful are very homey and include a nursery at the top of the tower complete with heaps of toys.

The Isle of May trip seemed to pass in a flash. The schedule varies with the tide - that day the boat left at 2. I noticed that the next day's departure was at 10:15. Although the 40,000 puffins had left the isle a fortnight before, there were plenty of birds and seals to marvel at. . We'd worried that two hours on the island seemed a bit long but in fact we thoroughly enjoyed the time spent exploring the trails. And although the boat was full, people dispersed very quickly and one could almost imagine one was alone on the island.

Next day we were heading for Edinburgh and the Fringe but we went via St. Andrews and also stopped at Falkland Palace. Had a terrible time finding the Hertz office in Edinburgh due to road closures caused both by the Festival and the laying of the tram lines. Another Hilton - this time the Caledonian which was superb. Best thing was the view of the castle from the rooms (and even from the loo). Also spotting all the celebrities at breakfast the next morning - not talking Brangelina here but rather well known faces off the BBC. This was our third visit to the Fringe and if you have any interest at all in theatre/music/performanc/arts/book GO! One memorable day we saw five performances starting with a radical reinterpretation of Dracula at midnight and including a free stand up at noon, back to back Soweto Gospel Choir concert and a Korean beat box/martial arts comedy, an Iranian comic, pre-West End production of Five Guys Named Moe starring The Wire actor Clarke Peters, an immersive theatre piece which was both terrifying and exhilarating (101) etc etc etc.

Oh and finally, I'd booked dinner at The Witchery. I'd read all of the comments here and knew a lot of people think it is over priced/over hyped. It is over priced but the dining room was beautiful, the food was great and for a special occasion blow out meal we all enjoyed it. We might have loaded up on the breakfast buffet and skipped lunch a few days to afford it but we thought it well worth it.

Final thought: we were struck by how few American tourists there were in East Neuk. Everywhere else was crawling with them but not there. Lots of people from the continent (Spanish, Italians, French in particular) but no Americans. Not complaining! Just wondering. Husband thought it's because that Coast doesn't have the splendid drama of Highland type scenery - it is all very pretty but then there are many pretty fishing villages where we live (England). The Fife villages though were quite unspoiled and I definitely recommend them for a gentle change of pace.

And finally, finally forgot to say that on our way to Crail we stopped at Scotland's Secret Bunker which
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Old Aug 25th, 2010, 12:20 PM
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And to wrapup:

Forgot to say that from Dunkeld we visited the Dewars distillery which was fun, also had a great meal at the Inn on the Tay, overlooking the river, watching the white water rafters struggle against the current.
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Old Aug 25th, 2010, 12:23 PM
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Should have added -- Boveney wrote this wonderful trip report - not moi

I just copy/pasted it for her.
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Old Aug 25th, 2010, 01:08 PM
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Thank you, Boveney, for your trip notes. I definitely appreciate them, hoping for more trips to my favorite country sometime in the future.

And also thanks to Janisj for her assistance.
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Old Aug 25th, 2010, 11:09 PM
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Your son sounds like a really cool travel partner, especially for a 17 year old.

Janis - I read the original TR and enjoyed it so thanks for your help in making this into a 'real' trip report
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Old Sep 29th, 2010, 01:29 PM
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Great report, Boveney. Thanks for taking the trouble- and thanks to your lovely assistant too.
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