Traveling to Scotland in May....Any suggestions?

LASTCRUSADER

New member
Hi all,

I'm going to be traveling to Scotland in May and I was wondering if those of you who have been there might suggest some things for me to do while I'm there.

I know that I'll be spending time in Edinburgh, Inverness and heading north to the Orkney Islands(since my ancestors are from there). I'll eventually end up in England to meet my sister who is studying in Sheffield.

This of course is just a rough idea of what I would like to do so if anyone has any suggestions that would be great! I'm just starting to map out the details of my trip.
 

Stoo

Well-known member
BUMP

So, I'll soon be in Scotland for a few days and was wondering if anyone had some interesting suggestions for places to visit in Edinburgh.
Obviously, there's the castle and the haunted walk tour is supposed to be worth doing but I'm looking for good museums, restaurants & pubs.
(Been searching the internet for ideas but figured I'd ask here for an Indy fan's perspective.)
 

Pale Horse

Moderator
Staff member
Pub Golf

I learned about pub golf in Edinburgh. 18 pubs, one british pint in each. The number of gulps you take to finish each pint is considered your score. Par for the course is a standard 72.

I made nine holes, only.

Probably didn't help that I toured the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre on the Golden Mile earlier that day.
 

adventure_al

New member
Can't believe I almost missed this thread.

I'm your man, Scottish through and through! any questions give me a shout!

Loads to see in Edinburgh. Really nice city but it is geared for tourists. The likes of the castle is well worth a look though.

Also check out a 'witchery tour'. These are great! they tell you alot about the cities history and the guides are basically actors/actresses who play the part of a local in the old time. They tell ghost stories about all the ghoulish goings on of the old town (all based in fact, alot of really gruesome stuff went on!). They'll also take you underground to the old vaults beneath the city. This is meant to be a bit scary and they play up to it but it also gives you a look at a completely different side of edinburgh you wouldn't see otherwise. They are great fun though.

Inverness is the biggest city in the highlands. The centre is pretty modern and isn't really anything special. Still it can be used as a base to explore other parts of the highlands. Nearby Aviemore is nice. Also you can get trains from Inverness further north. If you have timeget a train to Kyle of Lochalsh which is the mainland point opposite the Isle of Skye which has loads to see and do on it itself.

Orkney is fantastic! Loads to see history wise. The like of Skara Brae (an intact stoneage settlement) is a must see. As is 'maes how' (spelling?) a great mound with a narrow shaft leading into a burial chamber. A scottish pyramid if you will :p

For the highlands it is best if you drive. The biggest mistake people make is thinking they can see it in a few weeks. We may be a small nation but due to the landscape of the highlands and the amount of things to see and do you could spend months here and not see it all!
 

adventure_al

New member
Stoo said:
BUMP

So, I'll soon be in Scotland for a few days and was wondering if anyone had some interesting suggestions for places to visit in Edinburgh.
Obviously, there's the castle and the haunted walk tour is supposed to be worth doing but I'm looking for good museums, restaurants & pubs.
(Been searching the internet for ideas but figured I'd ask here for an Indy fan's perspective.)

National Museum on Chamber Street is well worth seeing. They have a roof terrace aswell that will give you some great views of Edinburgh aswell. The big plus is that it is free entry too! Likewise for the Museum of Childhood on the royal mile, it shows you mostly how children and families lived years ago. As another free attraction it is probably worth having a quick look.

As for the pubs/resteraunts what sort of things do you like? How old are you? There is loads so I'm sure you'll find something to cater for your tastes.
 
Scontland is always beautiful (even when it's rainy:D ). I'd suggest you to visit the wonderful Eilean Donan Castle, expecially if you're a Highlander fan!
And always keep your camera turned on! :)
 

VP

Moderator Emeritus
adventure_al said:
Shows how the raven has slowed down recently, this topic is still top and without any fresh replies. :(
Back to what it was previously, thank god. The flood of posts last year was overwhelming.
 
Me in Loch Glenville

connerystoupe.jpg
 

Stoo

Well-known member
adventure_al said:
Can't believe I almost missed this thread.

I'm your man, Scottish through and through! any questions give me a shout!

Loads to see in Edinburgh. Really nice city but it is geared for tourists. The likes of the castle is well worth a look though.
Thanks for all your recommendations, adventure al, but unfortunately I had already left! I remember you posted a picture of yourself kilted up (w/sporran?) but hadn?t seen you post in awhile & didn?t know if you were still on here. Cool to hear from a true Scotsman!

The trip was a memorable one, for it began wonderfully but ended up in airport HELL due mainly to the UK?s worst snowstorm in 18 years! My girlfriend & I visited Edinburgh and stayed with a friend who lives in a small, village south of there called, Innerleithen (formerly St. Ronan?s Wells ? Ivanhoe?s, Sir Walter Scott, wrote a book about it).

Edinburgh was amazing but we only had 1 day so didn?t explore it too much apart from the castle and the Royal Mile. I LOVED the castle, not only for its structure but also because of its museums. The National Army Museum and the one for the Royal Scots Dragoons were awesome (the Royal Scots Greys museum was closed!) The highlight for me was seeing one of my favourite military paintings; the Cameron Highlanders' famous charge at Tel-el-Kebir in Egypt, 1882. I didn?t even know it was there...just walked into the room and POW ? there it was! We also visited the Crown Jewels vault which houses the Stone of Destiny...

There is Scottish blood in me so I tried looking for our family tartan in some of the shops, to no avail. Even the big one right by the castle didn?t have it but I did buy a book on my clan. Funnily enough, we checked out the Museum of Childhood on the Royal Mile (as, unknowingly, adventure al suggested). There were 2 or 3 toys in there that I actually had! Admission was free but I gave a donation. We didn?t get to play Pale Horse?s ?pub golf? game but bought a bottle of Famous Grouse whiskey instead. I wanted to do the Dungeon Tour but my girlfriend wasn?t keen on it. Next time...

Driving around the Scottish Borders was worth it for the geography and visiting the small towns scattered about. ?The rolling hills? are real. We saw more sheep than one could count. Sheep, sheep, sheep everywhere! Also saw a peregrine falcon, some Shetland ponies and almost drove over some road-crossing pheasants twice! I had some McSween?s haggis at a small restaurant in Peebles (connection with John Buchan, authour of ?The 39 Steps?) and took a stroll through Moffat (birthplace of Chief Marshal Dowding, commander of the RAF during the Battle of Britain). We also hiked up to the top of Grey Mare?s Tail, which is a waterfall near the village of Llandwrst. It was freaking cold that day!

The main pub (Corner Pub) in Innerleithen is probably the friendliest in the world. One of the barmaids even bought me something I had seen in a shop window but couldn?t get because the store was closed. Very friendly & generous deed.:)

One thing I oblivious to was the deal with Scottish currency. I had no idea you guys have your own money and, on top of that, from 3 different banks!?!

MONDAY morning was leaving day and it was a disaster. As mentioned above, their worst snowstorm in 18 years! In Canada we have heated runways so I was flabbergasted that a few inches of snow paralyzed most of southeastern UK! After 10 hrs. of delays our flight was cancelled with the next seats available on FRIDAY! We booked a new flight on another airline but had to transfer at London?s Gatwick. As we approached, the plane was forced to land at Southampton instead because some hydraulic fluid had spilled onto the main runway at Gatwick so we had to wait hours before it was cleaned up! After all that, our luggage didn?t arrive in Geneva. By the time we got home it was 11:00 PM. Door-to-door in took 15 HOURS to get from Scotland to Switzerland! (Not to mention 2 days late.):mad:

Still, I did enjoy myself and tried to make the best of the last bit. Edinburgh is the highest northern latitude I?ve been to and would like to go farther to check out the Orkneys and Skara Brae. (Indy is teaching his class about Skara Brae in ?Skull?! Ha ha.) Now I can chalk Scotland down as #13 on my list of countries visited. Beautiful country. Got some good photos, too.

Again, adventure al, thanks for your replies.:hat:
 

adventure_al

New member
Stoo said:
Again, adventure al, thanks for your replies.:hat:

I'm thrilled you had a great time!

There is so much to see and do in Edinburgh... and Scotland! it is a shame you never had longer.

If you ever come for a second visit be sure to give me a message, I'm always here just havn't posted in a while.

You made some rookie mistakes though! For example famous grouse is mass produced rubbish for the tourists (no offence!) you should have got yourself a nice bottle of Talisker, Highland Park or Deuchars White Label! Don't let famous grouse put you off one of the finer things in life! haha :p

oh btw what is your clan?
 

Stoo

Well-known member
adventure_al said:
If you ever come for a second visit be sure to give me a message, I'm always here just havn't posted in a while.
That, I will do!:hat:

You made some rookie mistakes though! For example famous grouse is mass produced rubbish for the tourists (no offence!)
Tell me about it. I saw the "Famous Feathered Friend" back home in the grocery store a few days later.:eek: So, what were the other rookie mistakes? Do tell!

oh btw what is your clan?
Althought it's not *my* name, on my maternal side the clan is a derivative of MacEwan. (If you're familiar with a certain, late '70s/early '80s TV drama with one, Larry Hagman, there lies a clue!;)) You would think that a MacEwan tartan would be easy to find but it wasn't.:(

Snapshots from the Scottish Borders:

Scotland_A.jpg

Scotland_B.jpg
 

AlivePoet

New member
Pale Horse said:
I learned about pub golf in Edinburgh. 18 pubs, one british pint in each. The number of gulps you take to finish each pint is considered your score. Par for the course is a standard 72.

I made nine holes, only.

Probably didn't help that I toured the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre on the Golden Mile earlier that day.

Reminds me of an experience I had at the Heineken factory when I was in Amsterdam. They claimed that beer bath tickets could be won. I entered the contest, but never heard back. I wonder who was the lucky beerstard?
 

adventure_al

New member
Alot of the time the tartan you see on display (and in the gift shops etc) is associated with Scotland as a nation. For family tartans you often have to go to a kilt specialist.

Looks like you got a couple of picture postcard shots there stoo! (y)

I was just out last weekend actually with an american guy who had been travelling on his own. He got chatting to me and my friends so needless to say I got a few rounds (something I'm told you don't do in the US/canada!?)of whisky in and we all ended up having a blast. Crackin' night:D
 

dr.jones1986

Active member
Im gonna be in Newcastle at the end of may for some time and i noticed its close proximity to Scotland...anybody know of any good day trip ideas from Newcastle to Scotland? Anything interesting to see across the border that isn't to far of a trip from Newcastle?
 

adventure_al

New member
dr.jones1986 said:
Im gonna be in Newcastle at the end of may for some time and i noticed its close proximity to Scotland...anybody know of any good day trip ideas from Newcastle to Scotland? Anything interesting to see across the border that isn't to far of a trip from Newcastle?

This is a common misconception. Britain isn't as small as Americans (generally speaking as well as nationals from other big countries) perceive it to be.

Remember Britain doesn't have massive motorways as such.

For example it takes around 4 hours from newcastle to get to a major scottish city. Although admitadly maybe only 2 hours by train.

I suggest at the very least take the train to edinburgh. There is far more to see north of the border!

Why are you going to newcastle? its not a particularly pleasant city.
 

dr.jones1986

Active member
adventure_al said:
This is a common misconception. Britain isn't as small as Americans (generally speaking as well as nationals from other big countries) perceive it to be.

Remember Britain doesn't have massive motorways as such.

For example it takes around 4 hours from newcastle to get to a major scottish city. Although admitadly maybe only 2 hours by train.

I suggest at the very least take the train to edinburgh. There is far more to see north of the border!

Why are you going to newcastle? its not a particularly pleasant city.

A friend of mine who spent a semester studying in england wants to see it and didnt get around to it last time. I think where gonna spend like 4 days in london, train to edinburgh for a few days, than visit some of his friends In York, than back to London for a flight home.
 
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