Scotland :-)

[fccs]

So, it looks like two friends and I will be heading to Scotland in May. I just had to share.

[wendywombat]

Have you been here before?

We have been living here for Two years now and love it.
So much to see and do.
Don't forget the Great Scottish Tapestry...only a few miles from where I now live.

[Serinde]

May is an excellent time to visit (usually): reasonable weather and no midges! Where will you be going?

[richardandtracy]

Oh you lucky thing. There is frequently good weather at that time of year too.

Regards,

Richard

[rcperryls]

I hope this is the right smilie for being very envious of your trip to come. When my sister and I went to the UK many years ago we were in England and Wales, but didn't have enough time for Scotland. Hoping that I will get there one day too. I keep waiting for some one to finally build a "transporter" that is less expensive than air travel and much faster too. There are so many places I would be able to get to more easily than I can manage now.

Carole

[Roland]

Congrats. Hope you have a great trip.

[fccs]

We are staying at a Hilton property in Ballater (relatively close to Balmoral, I think) for five nights, and then probably a couple nights in Edinburgh (starting late May and leaving very early June). I’d love to see the tapestry but I’m not sure my friends would be interested in a special trip for it. We are hoping to do castles and whisky tours, of course.

Apparently we’ll have to rent a car, and from what we’ve read, automatics are very hard to find (and only one of us can drive a stick). I’m willing to be a copilot but driving on the opposite side of the highway is going to confuse my mind. I have a Facebook friend who lives less than an hour from our Ballater hotel, so we’re hoping to get together so she can show us the “real” Scotland.

For all three of us, this will be our first trip to Scotland, so any tips and suggestions and welcome.

[Nicola Main]

Awww Debby you and your friends are going to have a great time! I live in Carnoustie on the east coast just outside Dundee but have visited Deeside many times on day trips and love that area so much! Banchory is lovely and has Crathes Castle which is a great castle to visit, Aboyne has a lovely gift shop and cafe, Braemar is a well known town with hotels and lovely mountain scenery. There will be walks everywhere if you like walking and one of my favourite places is the Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve which is halfway between Ballater and Aboyne and has the Burn o' Vat visitor centre which has information on the area's wildlife and landscape. If you want castles there are are loads in the surrounding area.

[Serinde]

The Great Tapestry of Scotland is worth seeing even if you aren't into stitching. It's like a huge comic book of Scottish history. And anyway, you can get there from Edinburgh on the train that runs through the Borders -- wonderful!

Don't be put off about the car. Of course you can hire automatics, but they might cost a bit more. What most often alarms my American family is that the roads are narrower and there are a lot of hills, so these prairie folk can't see where they are going too easily. Trucks on the "wrong" side coming around a curve also give pause for thought. Go online and learn in theory how to manoeuvre around British roundabouts.

If you are up by Ballater, you must not miss an opportunity to explore at least part of the Cairngorm National Park. You'll have good comfortable shoes, of course you will. You don't have to climb a Munro (although you could), but it's an alpine landscape and almost unique in Scotland. But avoid Aviemore -- it's not what it was.

If your friend will drive, Blair Castle in Blair Atholl is well worth the excursion. Castle and arboretum! (and the cafe is good, too; never underestimate the importance of a good scone). Plus there is an exhibition of needlework by Lady Evelyn which is astounding.

[wendywombat]

You can specify an automatic car when you hire in advance online. We've done so many times when we popped over from France before we moved here.
Have to echo Serinde about Blair Atholl! It's gorgeous.
Further south is Stirling, also well worth a visit.

The Scottish Tapestry in Galashiels is so incredible. It's in a fantastic new building especially designed to show it off.
Edinburgh has some good museums and the Castle where the Scottish Crown Jewels are kept is well worth a visit. Just watch out for the cannon going off at 1pm. Caught me unawares once when standing near it.

[karen4bells]

Congrats. Hope you have a great trip.

I definitely agree!! And more than a little jealous!!! I hope you have a fantastic trip!!

[richardandtracy]

Don't be too worried about driving on the wrong side of the road. Every time a UK driver drives in the US/Canada/Europe they're faced with the same problem & survive to tell the tale. It's something that you quickly get used to. The most dangerous period is 24-48 hours after starting to drive on the wrong side, you're starting to feel you're used to it but haven't got all the correct habits ingrained. Once you're at the 96hr point you're starting to get the right habits too and are much safer. But roundabouts, yes, get used to them and watch videos about them if you need (and I don't mean the ones on the /r/carcrash or /r/idiotsincars Reddits, though they may show what not to do very plainly). And remember there is NO equivalent of 'Right Turn On Red' here or anywhere else in Europe with traffic lights. 'Right turn on Red' seems to me as if it was invented when roads were much less busy, and may be hazardous these days. In the UK we have 158 vehicles per mile of road, while the US averages 70 vehicles per mile, and with that traffic density here, a 'left turn on red' would be unsafe. OK, Scotland has more miles of road per person & per car than the South of England, but even then the traffic density may still be higher than in large swathes of rural US.

There are an increasing number of automatics available, as they now seem to be no worse (from the fuel consumption point of view) than an average driver and are sometimes better. In the past the penalty used to be up to 5mpg compared to a manual, and with those older manual cars only doing 30-35mpg and the high fuel costs in the UK, that hurt, and explained their unpopularity.

Regards,

Richard

[fccs]

You all are so helpful and I know I’ll be referring back to this thread often between now and May. Keep the tips coming.

[fccs]

My trip is getting so close now. We've booked our tours from Edinburgh and have our tickets for Balmoral while at the hotel in Ballater. We have our train tickets from Aberdeen to Edinburgh. We still have to figure out how to get from the airport in Aberdeen after we return the car down to the train station.

This is one of our tours:
begins by following the road that connected Caledonia with Roman Britannia.
stop in Kelso
Alnwick Castle
north along the Northumberland Coast
back to Edinburgh

And the other:
travel through the historic grace of Linlithgowshire
stop at the Kelpies Monument
head to the shores of Loch Lomond,stop
head into the Trossachs or ‘The Highlands in Miniature’
stop for lunch in the heart of the National Park
stop at Stirling Castle
back to Edinburgh

[Serinde]

Eeek! When and where are you likely to be having lunch in the national park?? Not too far from where I am, if you are allowed to have gatecrashers!

[rcperryls]

Awesome trip. I am completely and absolutely jealous and envious and all those things and hope that you have a wonderful, fantastic trip with as good weather as is possible and safe travels all the way there and back!

Carole

[fccs]

Eeek! When and where are you likely to be having lunch in the national park?? Not too far from where I am, if you are allowed to have gatecrashers!

Really? It would be amazing to meet up. It’s a very small tour group (a 16 person van) so I don’t think it’s going to be highly restricted. This is what it says for that part of the day:

“You stop for lunch in the heart of the National Park then continue to the city of Stirling where you can visit one of Scotland’s most magnificent castles.” I’ll have to read some of the review and see if anyone indicates where they stop.

[Mabel Figworthy]

Have a lovely trip!

[Serinde]

It isn't a "Rabbie's" tour, by any chance?

Don't see why we couldn't meet up -- maybe Stirling Castle might be a better idea, though!

[fccs]

It is a Rabbies tour. My son and DIL used them when they went to Scotland a few years ago and really liked them. Stirling Castle would work…I think we have a decent amount of time there. The tour is Wednesday, June 1.