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Scotland 2019

Neil Sawyer

New Member
Hello Slow Travellers! Looking for some ideas and recommendations on accomodations and other day trips for our trip to Scotland in June 2019. We currently plan to stay in Edinburgh for a week and Inverness/Highlands for a week. Golf and "Outlander" self guided touring is on the agenda.
 
If you want help with planning itineraries then this is a useful resource. Click on the length of time you have and there are suggestions for diiferent itineraries that will help give you an idea what can be achieved in the time available.

Your best source of information about Scotland is the Undiscovered Scotland website. Start with the map pages and follow the links for lots of information and pictures of different places to visit. I use this for all my planning of Scotland holidays.

This page has lots of different suggestions for scenic drives from Edinburgh or for the Highlands.

There is so much to do and see that it is impossible to know where to begin! Once you have got some ideas collected come back for more information.
 
If you want help with planning itineraries then this is a useful resource. Click on the length of time you have and there are suggestions for diiferent itineraries that will help give you an idea what can be achieved in the time available.

Your best source of information about Scotland is the Undiscovered Scotland website. Start with the map pages and follow the links for lots of information and pictures of different places to visit. I use this for all my planning of Scotland holidays.

This page has lots of different suggestions for scenic drives from Edinburgh or for the Highlands.

There is so much to do and see that it is impossible to know where to begin! Once you have got some ideas collected come back for more information.

Thank you for many great suggestions and advice. One question is about day trips in/around Edinburgh and Inverness as out two main stay locations. I will be doing some golf days and any information on day trips and good transportation options as she may want to take a bus/train as I may have the car.
 
With a week you have lots of scope...All of these are easily do-able by public transport. No doubt there are lots of other suggestions other people can suggest. If you have a car, then the list becomes endless!

Edinburgh
• Half day to Rosslyn Chapel which can be done easily by bus from Edinburgh. This is a wonderful place and suddenly appeared on everyone's itinerary after the Da Vinci Code .
• Full day to St Andrews (train to Leuchars and then bus to St Andrews). A small university town with ruined abbey cathedral and castle as well as a super sandy beach
• Train to Stirling (Castle, Argyll's Lodgings and Old Town Jail) You could easily spend a full day here. If time allows break journey in Linlithgow with its ruined Palace, otherwise this is another nice half day.
• Train along the newly opened Borders Railway to Galashiels and then bus to Melrose for the ruined Abbey. Both of these are pleasant border towns and different to each other.
• Take the bus to South Queensferry and catch the boat to Inchcolm Island with its ruined abbey in the Firth of Forth. There are two companies running the trips- here and here.
• Catch the train to North Berwick and/or Dunbar for a trip to the seaside.
• Catch a train across the Forth bridge to Dunfermline with its abbey and ruined castle as well as the Birthpkace of Andrew Carnegie Museum...
• Spend a day in Glasgow which has a regular train service from Edinburgh and is very different to it. Visit the Cathedral and the necropolis (amazing!). Provand's Lordship is one of the oldest houses in Glasgow. There is also the Kelvingrove Museum and the People's Place. And finally finish off with tea in the Willow Tea Rooms, designed by the iconic Scottish architect Charles Rennie Macintosh.

Continued....
 
continued....
Inverness
• All day train trip to Thurso at the far north of Scotland - this is a wonderful run through dramatic scenery.
• All day trip by train to Kyle of Lochalsh - again another spectacular journey. If time allows, break journey at the deligtful small settlement of Plockton.
• a (very long) day trip from Inverness to Orkney - several companies do these, however, not having used any of them, I can't recommend one above the others. Tourist Information in Inverness may be your best source of information .
https://wowscotlandtours.com/orkney-day-tour-from-inverness/
https://www.onthegotours.com/uk/Uni...es-to-Visit/Inverness/Orkney-Islands-Day-Trip
http://www.goscotlandtours.com/jog-ferry/inverness/orkney-tour.html
• bus to Culloden (for the Battlefield, although I can't say this is one of my top sees) and then a short walk to Clava Cairns which really are one of my favourite places.
• Catch a bus to Drumnadroichit and visit Castle Urquhart. A lot of people are very dismissive of Loch Ness and the castle, but I must admit that I like it. Alternatively you could do a cruise on Loch Ness and view it from the water.
• Visit Dunrobin Castle. This has its own halt on teh Thurso line (make sure you tell the guard you want to get off there and check train times too!). This used to be the private halt for the Duke of Sutherland.
• Take the train to Elgin with its ruined cathedral. Stop off at Nairn on the way back to Inverness and go for a walk along the beach.
• Catch the hourly bus to Ardersier and then walk the two miles along the coast road to Fort George. This is a marvellous setting on a promontory jutting out into the Moray Firth and if you are lucky you may see dolphins from teh ramparts. This is the most amazing military construction built after the Battle of Culloden to control the Highlands and crush any future Jacobite rebellions. The scale of Fort George is impressive and it is virtually unchanged since it was built. It remains one of the largest and most impregnable fortifications in Europe. However by the time it was finished, the Highlands were relatively calm and no action was ever required from Fort George. There is a story, maybe apocryphal, that one shot was fired by a jittery soldier on night duty who thought he saw a Jacobite soldier creeping up to the fort and fired at him. Next morning the guards found the dead body of a cow.
Rabies offer a series of Day trips from Inverness, and get good reviews on other review sites.
• Other ides for day trips here.
 
Last edited:
Eleanor - Thank you for all the great ideas, you are a gem! We have a week in each location planned with maybe an overnight in St. Andrews to walk the Old Course on Sunday.
 
In St Andrews you can get a guided walking tour of the old course. We actually only walked 3 holes.
Check out the St Andrews Cathedral cemetery and and see Old Tom Morris' grave.
Train to Dunfermline Abbey. Robert the Bruce's tomb is in the Abbey. as is a shrine to St Margaret.
Tour HMY Britannia
Stirling Castle is a must.
From Inverness, day trip to Culloden
https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/culloden
Visit Speyside Distilleries

Here are a few more , we did not visit all of them

Edinburgh

Top 13 Must Do Activities when visiting Edinburgh

1.Edinburgh Castle , Castle Hill, 0131 225 9846

2.Royal Botanic Garden , 20A Inverleith Row, 0131 552 7171

3.Museum of Scotland , Chambers Street, 0131 247 4422

4.Camera Obscura and World of Illusions , Castlehill, The Royal Mile, 0131 226 3709

5.Royal Yacht Britannia , Ocean Terminal Leith, 0131 555 5566

6.National Gallery of Scotland , The Mound, 0131 624 6200

7.Scott Monument , Intersection of Princes Street and Waverly Bridge, 0131 529 4068

8.Royal Mile , Edinburgh Castle to Holyroodhouse Palace, Old Town

9.Holyroodhouse Palace , Holyrood Road, 0131 556 5100

10.Real Mary King’s Close , 2 Warriston’s Close, High Street, 08702 430160

11.Open Top Bus Tour, Waverley Bridge, 0131 220 0770

12.Museum of Edinburgh , 142 Huntly House Canongate, Royal Mile, Edinburgh, EH8 8DD

13.John Knox House

Check out the attached PDF
 

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In St Andrews you can get a guided walking tour of the old course. We actually only walked 3 holes.
Check out the St Andrews Cathedral cemetery and and see Old Tom Morris' grave.
Train to Dunfermline Abbey. Robert the Bruce's tomb is in the Abbey. as is a shrine to St Margaret.
Tour HMY Britannia
Stirling Castle is a must.
From Inverness, day trip to Culloden
https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/culloden
Visit Speyside Distilleries

Here are a few more , we did not visit all of them

Edinburgh

Top 13 Must Do Activities when visiting Edinburgh

1.Edinburgh Castle , Castle Hill, 0131 225 9846

2.Royal Botanic Garden , 20A Inverleith Row, 0131 552 7171

3.Museum of Scotland , Chambers Street, 0131 247 4422

4.Camera Obscura and World of Illusions , Castlehill, The Royal Mile, 0131 226 3709

5.Royal Yacht Britannia , Ocean Terminal Leith, 0131 555 5566

6.National Gallery of Scotland , The Mound, 0131 624 6200

7.Scott Monument , Intersection of Princes Street and Waverly Bridge, 0131 529 4068

8.Royal Mile , Edinburgh Castle to Holyroodhouse Palace, Old Town

9.Holyroodhouse Palace , Holyrood Road, 0131 556 5100

10.Real Mary King’s Close , 2 Warriston’s Close, High Street, 08702 430160

11.Open Top Bus Tour, Waverley Bridge, 0131 220 0770

12.Museum of Edinburgh , 142 Huntly House Canongate, Royal Mile, Edinburgh, EH8 8DD

13.John Knox House

Check out the attached PDF
Thanks!
 

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