Scotland

[Orale 1,087]

I'm headed to Scotland next November with a few good friends and I'm early planning for it. The West Highland Line suggestion above looks amazing and we'll definitely do that. We only have four days for Scotland as we're doing a week driving around Ireland. We'll probably fly into Glasgow from Dublin or Belfast for the train ride and try to do a full day in Edinburgh after that and fly home from there. I've been to Scotland a couple times but never the highlands, so I'm trying to fit in both the highlands for me and Edinburgh for the friends. I try not to pack too much into a short trip, but it may be necessary this time considering their tight schedule.  

[Neonmoon 38,129]

I’m also planning a 7 day trip to Scotland for May. (Hopefully)

So far, I see Edinburgh Castle, Royal Mile, Scotch Tour, Oban, Iona Beach

anything else? Arthur’s Seat? Stirling? Inverness? Isle of Skye?

[midtown 3,345]

Skip the castle. Like I said earlier evey Scott has told me that. Add Holyroodhouse and the cemetery with the dog. Forget the name

Oh and Colton Hill

[Brisketexan 105,047]

Skip the castle. Like I said earlier evey Scott has told me that. Add Holyroodhouse and the cemetery with the dog. Forget the name

Greyfriar’s - very cool cemetery. My son got overwhelmed there, it’s pretty powerful.
And on the castle, it’s at the end of your walk up the Royal mile; it’s worth a quick visit, for as long as you want.
We also did short trips to Stirling, St Andrews, and Loch Lomond when we went the first time.
Have some scotch and sticky toffee pudding at the Worlds End pub, and grab a sammich at Oink one day.

[Neonmoon 38,129]

So renting a car is a must? No trains? Or schedule a tour with somebody. That might be easiest. 

Edited December 4, 2022 by Neonmoon

[jimmyjazz 45,879]

No way would I skip the castle.  Beyond that, I'd start the Royal Mile there and walk downhill, but that's just me.

[Hate 20,106]

Yeah, no way I would skip the castle either. It’s worth it for the views alone.

[midtown 3,345]

54 minutes ago, Hate said:

Yeah, no way I would skip the castle either. It’s worth it for the views alone.

Was it better than the view from Calton HIll?

Edited December 4, 2022 by midtown

[Chewbacca 7,766]

Skip the castle. Like I said earlier evey Scott has told me that. Add Holyroodhouse and the cemetery with the dog. Forget the name

Oh and Colton Hill

The castle was fun. I wouldn't skip it. I like castles, though.

[Chewbacca 7,766]

No way would I skip the castle.  Beyond that, I'd start the Royal Mile there and walk downhill, but that's just me.

How do you start at the castle? Gotta walk uphill first.

Was it better than the view from Calton HIll?

Yes. Castle was way better than Calton Hill.

[jimmyjazz 45,879]

43 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

How do you start at the castle? Gotta walk uphill first. 

Feels like we got dropped off from a tour bus or something.  Maybe we walked up.  Don't remember.

[Brisketexan 105,047]

2 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Feels like we got dropped off from a tour bus or something.  Maybe we walked up.  Don't remember.

We stayed in an AirBNB really close to the castle, so the top of the hill was kind of our base of operations anyway.  We started most of our days at the top of the hill, and worked things out from there.

[SmokeyTheBear 5,562]

All booked up for late June. 2 nights in Edinburgh, 2 nights in Isle of Skye and 2 nights in Inverness. Then off the Netherlands for a month. So excited. 

[Neonmoon 38,129]

Just got back. Thanks for all the recommendations 

We did pretty much everything except Isle of Skye and St Andrew’s. Glencoe is one of the more beautiful places on earth. The entire country is pretty, warm, and welcoming. And they love a wee dram, which is nice. Loch Lomond and Loch Ness were both beautiful but the drive to Loch Ness was a bitch. I liked Stirling Castle the best as far as tourist sites. We even fit in the Royal Britannia (per demand from the women). 

Definitely don’t skip Edinburgh Castle. Great views of the city. 

National museums are free too. 
 

Now off to plan the next trip. 

[Dbeasy 15,040]

So we are thinking about a 2 week combined Scotland Ireland trip. Knowing there will be a lot of driving in Ireland, wondering whether train travel from town to town would make sense in Scotland. 

Edited August 14, 2023 by Dbeasy

[squib 1,120]

6 hours ago, Dbeasy said:

So we are thinking about a 2 week combined Scotland Ireland trip. Knowing there will be a lot of driving in Ireland, wondering whether train travel from town to town would make sense. 

I rode the train from Dublin to Galway last year then down to Limerick.  Jumped off an had beers along the way. It is a nice way to travel but the network in Ireland is more limited than it is in Scotland and England. 

[Incredulity 11,645]

15 hours ago, Dbeasy said:

wondering whether train travel from town to town would make sense in Scotland

Yes.  If you are packing light. 
 

There was a labor dispute the last time I was in Scotland so rail service was screwy.  We rented a car.  After a day getting used to other side of road driving wasn’t any big challenge.

[locodos 5,387]

If you are in the Highlands (especially the remote areas) and you are getting hungry or want a coffee and you see a place that is open...  don't over think it.  Stop.  There's no guarantee you'll find anything further on, or if you do, that it will be open even during peak hours.

 

Also make sure you have a sedate play list going on the stereo...   I was just lost in music and the winding road and almost over cooked a turn or took a blind summit too fast. (on more than a few occasions)  Those roads up there are slim, mountainous, rolling, and the views are legit.  

This song almost killed me.   

 

Edited September 25, 2023 by locodos

[locodos 5,387]

If you're going Highlands...  Don't go cheap on the waterproof boots/ foul weather gear.

[locodos 5,387]

[gsoda3 3,245]

On 11/25/2022 at 5:07 PM, Brisketexan said:

Jealous. I could have breakfast with black pudding every day.
And the scots really are nice, mostly willing to engage in random conversation, welcoming, and funny.

the fiesta on 35 and 39th has black pudding.  

 

we'll be in scotland for the first time ever next august.  going to be in annandale and edinburgh, maybe glasgow.  we'll have all four kids with us (13, 11, 10, 7). i've got a pretty good list going for edinburgh from this thread- it seems like glasgow might not be the best use of time?

[Brisketexan 105,047]

30 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

the fiesta on 35 and 39th has black pudding.  

 

we'll be in scotland for the first time ever next august.  going to be in annandale and edinburgh, maybe glasgow.  we'll have all four kids with us (13, 11, 10, 7). i've got a pretty good list going for edinburgh from this thread- it seems like glasgow might not be the best use of time?

Fiesta is the only place I've found black pudding in Austin.  I may have to make a run there this weekend.

Glasgow is a cool town, but all-in-all, it's not the top tourist destination in Scotland for a reason.  It's a cool city, there's some stuff to see and do, but Edinburgh has much more in terms of "tourist shit your family will want to see."  Glasgow isn't a bad base of operations for trips to the western islands, Loch Lomond, that sort of thing, and there's definitely a good 1-2 days of stuff to see in Glasgow if you want.  Hell, we own a home there now, but I wouldn't put it as the MUST SEE place in Scotland.  Just a cool town with its own vibe, and honestly, that vibe is kind of best for students and young professionals: it's still quite affordable, cool and affordable nightlife in the West End and Finnieston, laid back parks and such for the older crowd to just "be."

[txduck87 985]

Went in June. View of the castle from our Airbnb did not suck.

[SmokeyTheBear 5,562]

On 5/15/2023 at 5:21 PM, Neonmoon said:

Just got back. Thanks for all the recommendations 

We did pretty much everything except Isle of Skye and St Andrew’s. Glencoe is one of the more beautiful places on earth. The entire country is pretty, warm, and welcoming. And they love a wee dram, which is nice. Loch Lomond and Loch Ness were both beautiful but the drive to Loch Ness was a bitch. I liked Stirling Castle the best as far as tourist sites. We even fit in the Royal Britannia (per demand from the women). 

Definitely don’t skip Edinburgh Castle. Great views of the city. 

National museums are free too. 
 

Now off to plan the next trip. 

Dude, Isle of Skye was the highlight of our Scottish trip. Even more beautiful than Glencoe. You need to go back. 

 

[Neonmoon 38,129]

Definitely going back. 

[Gordon Shumway 452]

Son just graduated Clemson and is going to Europe for a couple months before the real world starts.  I am meeting him in Scotland in January.  The plan is to fly into Edinburg on Friday and rent a car to head straight to St. Andrews.

Spend Saturday in St. Andrews and on Sunday walk the Old Course and then leave. The plan is to go to Inverness for a couple days.  Do a Whisky tour from Inverness and then head to Isle of Sky, hike old man Storr and the fairy pools.  

My son is a golf whore, so he found a course he wants to play on the Outer Hebrides called Askernish.  Then we plan to spend the night in Glencoe and finish for a couple of days in Edinburgh. 

Anything i am missing?  Is three days in Inverness too much?  Am I spreading ourselves too thin?

Is Glencoe worth more than a day ? 

Any Food/Bar recs.  I’ve made a list of some of the places mentioned here. 

Thanks in advance. 

[SmokeyTheBear 5,562]

21 hours ago, Gordon Shumway said:

Son just graduated Clemson and is going to Europe for a couple months before the real world starts.  I am meeting him in Scotland in January.  The plan is to fly into Edinburg on Friday and rent a car to head straight to St. Andrews.

Spend Saturday in St. Andrews and on Sunday walk the Old Course and then leave. The plan is to go to Inverness for a couple days.  Do a Whisky tour from Inverness and then head to Isle of Sky, hike old man Storr and the fairy pools.  

My son is a golf whore, so he found a course he wants to play on the Outer Hebrides called Askernish.  Then we plan to spend the night in Glencoe and finish for a couple of days in Edinburgh. 

Anything i am missing?  Is three days in Inverness too much?  Am I spreading ourselves too thin?

Is Glencoe worth more than a day ? 

Any Food/Bar recs.  I’ve made a list of some of the places mentioned here. 

Thanks in advance. 

3 days might be a bit much in Inverness but if you are using it as a home base to travel the Highlands,  than you should be good.  

Food and drink around Inverness that we enjoyed:

https://www.themaltroom.co.uk/ for tastings. Super small place and the staff were great. 

https://www.mustardseedrestaurant.co.uk/ we went for lunch after many recommendations and loved it

https://www.xoko.co.uk/ coffee and excellent breakfast/pastries

When we went,  we ended up staying in a small town outside of Inverness called Nairn. If you find yourself there,  https://theclassroombistro.com/ this place was great.

Edinburgh:

https://www.oinkhogroast.co.uk/ for a quick pulled pork sandwich while you walk the streets

Cafè Elmrow for a full Scottish breakfast

https://www.eleanore.uk/ had our favorite meal in Scotland.  I want to go back to Edinburgh just to hang out here again. 

https://www.sprywines.co.uk/ chill wine bar. There is a small room in the back if you wanted a secluded space

https://www.taisteal.co.uk/ solid and affordable fine dining

Honestly,  we didn't have a bad meal in Scotland.  I left thoroughly impressed with their scene. 

Edited February 5 by SmokeyTheBear

[Neonmoon 38,129]

Edinburg restaurants 

The Devil's Advocate - The Devil's Advocate - Bar & Kitchen (devilsadvocateedinburgh.co.uk)

Edinburgh Larder - Café and Takeaway Serving Locally Sourced Food

HOME - Makars (makarsmash.com)

Copper Still - Scottish Bar & Restaurant | Copper Still

[Chewbacca 7,766]

38 minutes ago, SmokeyTheBear said:

Honestly,  we didn't have a bad meal in Scotland.  I left thoroughly impressed with their scene. 

I felt the same way.  Thoroughly gruntled with the food in Scotland.  We ate very well while we were there.  And left with a love of haggis and black pudding.

[Wiler77 1,566]

22 hours ago, Gordon Shumway said:

 

My son is a golf whore, so he found a course he wants to play on the Outer Hebrides called Askernish. 

 

I just googled that course.  Looks amazing, and also looks like the definition of "old Scottish golf."  Can't wait to hear about it.

Also looks like they put 18 flags in the middle of nowhere in a beautiful location and called it a "golf course".  How are you getting there?

[Gordon Shumway 452]

37 minutes ago, Wiler77 said:

I just googled that course.  Looks amazing, and also looks like the definition of "old Scottish golf."  Can't wait to hear about it.

Also looks like they put 18 flags in the middle of nowhere in a beautiful location and called it a "golf course".  How are you getting there?

We are taking a fairy from Mallaig.  We will be renting a car and driving from there.  it looks fun, and he is the most excited about playing this course than anything. 

 

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions,Ill post pics from the road.  

[orange dream 1,246]

Planning to spend a couple of weeks in Scotland / Ireland this Summer with my wife and our 3 kids (2 in college and a 10 year old).

Trying to figure out lodging, probably easiest to rent an apartment instead of multiple hotel rooms.  Is Airbnb and/or Vrbo the way to go or is there some Brit or Euro version that is a better source for me?  I'm a bit afraid of getting scammed as I've seen a few listings noting "Hacked account / Fake listing".

@txduck87 @Brisketexan @Chewbacca @Incredulity @Hagbard Celine

Anyone else who has experience with Airbnb or Vrbo or Brit / Euro equivalent specifically in Scotland / Ireland, any guidance you can provide is appreciated.

[Brisketexan 105,047]

4 minutes ago, orange dream said:

Planning to spend a couple of weeks in Scotland / Ireland this Summer with my wife and our 3 kids (2 in college and a 10 year old).

Trying to figure out lodging, probably easiest to rent an apartment instead of multiple hotel rooms.  Is Airbnb and/or Vrbo the way to go or is there some Brit or Euro version that is a better source for me?  I'm a bit afraid of getting scammed as I've seen a few listings noting "Hacked account / Fake listing".

@txduck87 @Brisketexan @Chewbacca @Incredulity @Hagbard Celine

Anyone else who has experience with Airbnb or Vrbo or Brit / Euro equivalent specifically in Scotland / Ireland, any guidance you can provide is appreciated.

We did Airbnb in the UK (granted....10 years ago), and got a nice place in Edinburgh and in London.  There were 6 of us traveling, so it was the way to go.  But I can't vouch for how well it works now.

[Chewbacca 7,766]

14 minutes ago, orange dream said:

Planning to spend a couple of weeks in Scotland / Ireland this Summer with my wife and our 3 kids (2 in college and a 10 year old).

Trying to figure out lodging, probably easiest to rent an apartment instead of multiple hotel rooms.  Is Airbnb and/or Vrbo the way to go or is there some Brit or Euro version that is a better source for me?  I'm a bit afraid of getting scammed as I've seen a few listings noting "Hacked account / Fake listing".

@txduck87 @Brisketexan @Chewbacca @Incredulity @Hagbard Celine

Anyone else who has experience with Airbnb or Vrbo or Brit / Euro equivalent specifically in Scotland / Ireland, any guidance you can provide is appreciated.

We did an airbnb in Edinburgh, but I've soured on STRs as a whole after seeing what they have done to housing markets in tourist areas (including Edinburgh).  I'll be sticking with hotels going forward, I think.

[Hagbard Celine 10,848]

21 minutes ago, orange dream said:

Planning to spend a couple of weeks in Scotland / Ireland this Summer with my wife and our 3 kids (2 in college and a 10 year old).

Trying to figure out lodging, probably easiest to rent an apartment instead of multiple hotel rooms.  Is Airbnb and/or Vrbo the way to go or is there some Brit or Euro version that is a better source for me?  I'm a bit afraid of getting scammed as I've seen a few listings noting "Hacked account / Fake listing".

@txduck87 @Brisketexan @Chewbacca @Incredulity @Hagbard Celine

Anyone else who has experience with Airbnb or Vrbo or Brit / Euro equivalent specifically in Scotland / Ireland, any guidance you can provide is appreciated.

the #1 issue with britain is plumbing

what they call a "power shower" is an electric water sprayer

you have zero guarantee on potable water quality especially in the private homeowner rental market

both cold and "hot" water could be coming from an open cistern in the attic with dead birds in it

i would inquire with the owner of every rental property as to the type of plumbing they have on site

you want to hear the owner say PRESSURIZED hot water, which you follow up with the question to clarify that the property has an UNVENTED CYLINDER for hot water creation

those words will get you the bathing experience you take for granted in the rest of the western world

+++

January days are SHORT in Escocia - with the time change it will be real tempting to burn half the available daylight before you've finished breakfast

+++

I have too many recommendations that would break your primary itinerary so I will only say that if you are going to Mallaig and skipping Loch Morar shame on you

+++

I want to hear more about this @Brisketexan Glasgow situation.

 

[Brisketexan 105,047]

3 minutes ago, Hagbard Celine said:

I want to hear more about this @Brisketexan Glasgow situation.

Not much to tell.  Boy is in uni in Glasgow.  Instead of renting, we bought a flat - wasn't too pricey, exchange rate was decent.  He'll live there through school.  After that, it's in a good enough location that renting it out to students should generate decent income and, eventually, we may want to have it as a part-time residence for us in retirement.  Wouldn't mind spending the summer months in Glasgow.  Even if it's mostly as a base of operations/taking day and longer trips out and about in the UK.

[Hagbard Celine 10,848]

fair enough

i'm waiting for penelope to just buy cool places in cool places and set up the surl-stays-for-free club

[SmokeyTheBear 5,562]

1 hour ago, orange dream said:

Planning to spend a couple of weeks in Scotland / Ireland this Summer with my wife and our 3 kids (2 in college and a 10 year old).

Trying to figure out lodging, probably easiest to rent an apartment instead of multiple hotel rooms.  Is Airbnb and/or Vrbo the way to go or is there some Brit or Euro version that is a better source for me?  I'm a bit afraid of getting scammed as I've seen a few listings noting "Hacked account / Fake listing".

@txduck87 @Brisketexan @Chewbacca @Incredulity @Hagbard Celine

Anyone else who has experience with Airbnb or Vrbo or Brit / Euro equivalent specifically in Scotland / Ireland, any guidance you can provide is appreciated.

We had great success with B&Bs. 

[orange dream 1,246]

13 minutes ago, SmokeyTheBear said:

We had great success with B&Bs. 

Where did you find them?

[SmokeyTheBear 5,562]

27 minutes ago, orange dream said:

Where did you find them?

Some on booking.com and some just searching Google maps in areas we wanted to be.  My family liked the more local connection and feel with the families that owned/served. 

[Dbeasy 15,040]

Ok, with our Colorado trip for 2024 locked in, I'm back turning attention to Scotland. Had originally planned to do it this summer, but delayed it to 2025 because I'm starting to get old and have health crap to deal with. 

We dropped Ireland from the plan, and are now focused on Scotland for ~12-15 days. Thoughts so far are:

1. Fly into Edinburgh and spend a few days, including taking the train out to St Andrews. Maybe stay there a night. Not sure.

2. Take the train to Glascow. Spend a day there before jumping on the West Highland line.  Not sure where to ultimately stop or get off along the way. Oban? Ft  William? Mallaig? Stop and get off along the way and then jump back on?

3. I am a HUGE peaty scotch fan and am trying to figure out how to get down to Isle of Islay to see the peaty scotch distilleries, but it's way way out of the way, 5 hours each way.

4. From Oban, Ft William, or Mallaig, head to Isle of Skye for a few days.

5. Head over to Inverness, or do something on the NC500.

6. Take the train back to Edinburgh and fly out.

Thoughts? I also can't figure out when I would have a car vs using trains and ferries.

[Chewbacca 7,766]

Ok, with our Colorado trip for 2024 locked in, I'm back turning attention to Scotland. Had originally planned to do it this summer, but delayed it to 2025 because I'm starting to get old and have health crap to deal with. 
We dropped Ireland from the plan, and are now focused on Scotland for ~12-15 days. Thoughts so far are:
1. Fly into Edinburgh and spend a few days, including taking the train out to St Andrews. Maybe stay there a night. Not sure.
2. Take the train to Glascow. Spend a day there before jumping on the West Highland line.  Not sure where to ultimately stop or get off along the way. Oban? Ft  William? Mallaig? Stop and get off along the way and then jump back on?
3. I am a HUGE peaty scotch fan and am trying to figure out how to get down to Isle of Islay to see the peaty scotch distilleries, but it's way way out of the way, 5 hours each way.
4. From Oban, Ft William, or Mallaig, head to Isle of Skye for a few days.
5. Head over to Inverness, or do something on the NC500.
6. Take the train back to Edinburgh and fly out.
Thoughts? I also can't figure out when I would have a car vs using trains and ferries.

Next time we go, we are going to fly to Heathrow and take the train to Scotland. Edinburgh airport isn't great and train travel is far less stressful than flying, IMO.

[Brisketexan 105,047]

Next time we go, we are going to fly to Heathrow and take the train to Scotland. Edinburgh airport isn't great and train travel is far less stressful than flying, IMO.

Yeah, we need to head from London to Edinburgh in a coupla months. I looked at flights, but they’re all way early and out of airports like Stansted. Instead, we can hop a few blocks over for a 9:00 departure from Kings Cross, leisurely ride with breakfast on board, and we get to Edinburgh like 90 minutes later than a flight would get us there, but we get off at Waverly which is a walk to our hotel, as opposed to the airport which is another drive into town.
It’s just more pleasant to take the train.

[Dbeasy 15,040]

10 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

15 hours ago, Dbeasy said:

Ok, with our Colorado trip for 2024 locked in, I'm back turning attention to Scotland. Had originally planned to do it this summer, but delayed it to 2025 because I'm starting to get old and have health crap to deal with. 
We dropped Ireland from the plan, and are now focused on Scotland for ~12-15 days. Thoughts so far are:
1. Fly into Edinburgh and spend a few days, including taking the train out to St Andrews. Maybe stay there a night. Not sure.
2. Take the train to Glascow. Spend a day there before jumping on the West Highland line.  Not sure where to ultimately stop or get off along the way. Oban? Ft  William? Mallaig? Stop and get off along the way and then jump back on?
3. I am a HUGE peaty scotch fan and am trying to figure out how to get down to Isle of Islay to see the peaty scotch distilleries, but it's way way out of the way, 5 hours each way.
4. From Oban, Ft William, or Mallaig, head to Isle of Skye for a few days.
5. Head over to Inverness, or do something on the NC500.
6. Take the train back to Edinburgh and fly out.
Thoughts? I also can't figure out when I would have a car vs using trains and ferries.

Next time we go, we are going to fly to Heathrow and take the train to Scotland. Edinburgh airport isn't great and train travel is far less stressful than flying, IMO.

This is an interesting idea. I assume you have to take the train from Heathrow to kings cross to catch the fast train to Edinburgh?

[Brisketexan 105,047]

This is an interesting idea. I assume you have to take the train from Heathrow to kings cross to catch the fast train to Edinburgh?

Yep. Or a cab. We’ve done that, except to Euston to catch a train to Glasgow.

[Dbeasy 15,040]

So I’ve figured out that to see distilleries on Isle of Islay, we would have to skip Iverness. Is skipping it that big of a deal?

It also creates a scenario where we might be able to take the train from Glasgow to Oban, and then rent a car there and use it on Isle of Skyle

 

 

 

[Brisketexan 105,047]

So I’ve figured out that to see distilleries on Isle of Islay, we would have to skip Iverness. Is skipping it that big of a deal?
It also creates a scenario where we might be able to take the train from Glasgow to Oban, and then rent a car there and use it on Isle of Skyle
 
 
 

Full disclosure: haven’t been to Inverness. But from all reports from people who have gone there, it’s super tourist-trappy. We’re going to pass through and maybe spend a couple of hours there, but only because it’s on our route from Ullapool to Edinburgh (where we’re flying out of).
Islay seems important to you, so go there.

Funny story we overheard about Inverness: while my wife and I were having a nice dinner in Glasgow, the table next to us was a really cute English couple heading home from their honeymoon. They’d spent part of it in Inverness, and were talking to their waiter about it. They related that one night, they were in what they thought was a nice hotel…but it was right across the street from a very sketchy strip club. They laughed at the parade of old dudes coming out all night long, and confessed that it didn’t really set the mood for them. They weren’t too hip on Inverness.

[Hagbard Celine 10,848]

On 6/7/2024 at 5:00 PM, Dbeasy said:

Ok, with our Colorado trip for 2024 locked in, I'm back turning attention to Scotland. Had originally planned to do it this summer, but delayed it to 2025 because I'm starting to get old and have health crap to deal with. 

We dropped Ireland from the plan, and are now focused on Scotland for ~12-15 days. Thoughts so far are:

1. Fly into Edinburgh

all admiral itineraries assume that whatever luggage  you have is maneuverable at speed through crowds by the personnel (travelers) deployed on your mission (journey) - in other words, once you pull luggage off a carousel - it's mobile and does not require additional humans, carts, or doubling back - you and your party are mobile and capable of schlepping your own shit - no children or elderly complications - those bring travel command and control to it's knees; in addition, this is not a penelope junket, but YOLO, and no cost is spared.

+++

1. fly in to edinburgh: NO

never switch domestic for transoceanic, for a dozen reasons

scotland does not currently and has never had nonstop service from dfw or iah

day 1

you are in austin - don't lengthen your trip by 8 hours minimum and risk a domestic irrop trying to switch in atlanta, newark, jfk or boston - use the best option - nonstop to lhr

day 2

arrive T5 with rooms booked at the attached sofitel hotel with prepaid breakfast included the following morning; take a hot shower, stay awake as long as possible, and reset your circadian; when the bar opens in the hotel, time for pints and early pub dinner.   it's not worth the hour tube in to london and hour back - you are hanging out at heathrow today - we can discuss options offline for killing hours noon-4pm

day 3

get up the next morning early - force yourself to get up at 530am and walk in when the incredible sofitel breakfast opens at 6am

don't fly to scotland - splurge on a car service to kings cross, tip everyone to handle your bags - and book first class on the LNER Azuma train to Edinburgh Waverly departing every 15 minutes it's an intercity train introduced in 2019 that takes 4:25 at 125mph; the first class lounge at kings cross is quiet and not over-run by mid-morning, and then you get free lunch on the train

you booked 2 nights at the balmoral hotel in edinburgh which is connected to and sits literally on top of edinburgh waverly station - let balmoral know you are arriving by train  and they will send a porter down to meet you and collect your bags

book dinner the first night in the hotel at number one: https://www.roccofortehotels.com/hotels-and-resorts/the-balmoral-hotel/dining/number-one/

day 4

because you are relaxed, rested and ready, and you are right in the middle of it all, you can do edinburgh in 1 long day; START EARLY, which in the summer in scotland is easy, because it only gets dark for 3 hours

day 5

because you are staying at the train station, you are pre-positioned to take any of the royal scotsman trains, which all depart from and return to waverly:

https://www.belmond.com/trains/europe/scotland/belmond-royal-scotsman/about

i'll pause here - pick your next train and then we'll pick it up from there

 

 

 

[Horndog 2,227]

If you have a couple of extra days, Shetland is well worth the effort. You can take an overnight ferry from Dundee or a very short flight. If you've watched the TV series you'll love it. 

[Hate 20,106]

Scotland is fantastic, but find yourself a good Italian joint to eat at while you are there.  Outside of a proper chippy, the food there sucks.  They have to import decent food there.

Edited June 9 by Hate