Scotland in October

[dancingfish]

Looking for alittle advice on what are the must see's in Scotland- We will be there for 6 days staying down in Kilconquhar (Fife)

 

Not sure if we will want a car? I heard there is wonderful transportation system That could get us to Edinburgh for the day or Shirling. But if we wanted to go see the Loch Ness a car would be necessary or a tour of some sorts.

 

Any suggestions would be wonderful as we really (really) have no knowledge!

[Pleasantcruiser]

Take the train to Edinburgh for the day....a long day. Edinburgh Castle, the Palace and the Royal Mile. Do a nightime tour of "Grey Friar's Bobby" Cemetary....creepy and fun! Try to see Roslin Chapel in Roslin (think The Davinci Code) right outside Edinburgh (may want to spend the night in Edinburgh for all the sights). Sterling Castle is well, "sterling!" Definately need a car to go to Loch Ness. Driving is easy outside of the city but I never drive in Edinburgh. Edinburgh is really lovely and easier to "experience" than the oh so crowded London. The Borders are beautiful, about 1 1l2 hours south of Edinburgh. Green rolling hills, Lochs, quaint villages, wonderful cheese and, of course, golf amid the castles. We'll be there in 2 weeks visiting my mother-in-law for a week coming off an Oceania Cruise from Dover to Rome. Was in Scotland in June too and always enjoy the people. Totally unpretentious, kind, warmhearted, curious and eager to get to know you and impart their knowledge! Have a wonderful trip. Email my Scottish husband for any more information....Gordon@thescotsman.com.

[DougYWG]

Don't take a car into Edinburgh but do go. When you do have a car....

St. Andrews is great, even if you don't golf. Have lunch at Rufflets. Anstruther, Crail, Elie.... I'm told that Falkland Palace is worth a visit - not too far from you. I love Pitlochry and the drive along Long Tummel all the way to Kinloch Rannoch. If you are fit, climb Schiehallion. Capt. Scott's ship, The Discovery, is at Dundee. Scone Palace, near Perth. Glamis Castle. Dunfermline Abbey. Drive to the top end of Glen Clova and have lunch at the hotel. Park the car in Glen Doll and go walking. Watch out for the deer - it's rutting season so they might take a fancy to you. I'll keep thinking...

[Elaine0138]

Dancingfish

 

You will need a car if you are staying at Kilconquhar.

 

The nearest train stations are a far bit away, you would have to take a bus to St Andrews then out to Leuchars, or a bus to Kirkcaldy then catch the train.

I do drive into Edinburgh it isn't bad if you avoid the rush hour, parking isn't a problem, I always use one of the multistory ones, never park on the street to many blue meenies... the over zealous parking wardens.

 

It is a lovely drive up to Loch Ness, over Rannoch moor and through Glen Coe, passing through Fort William as you drive up the Great Glen. It is a full days driving. I am sure you will have a great time whatever you do or go.

[haggis]

Have a look at www.visitscotland.com It goes through all the counties.

Jimmy

[calmac]

I agree with Elaine that you will need a car but you will be well placed for touring based in Kilconquhar.

 

St Andrews has a lot to offer aside from golf - university (oldest in Scotland), cathedral and castle (both ruined), beaches (but very cold water in October!). I would agree with DougYWG on Rufflets for lunch - it's a lovely country hotel just outside St Andrews.

 

Dunfermline has the Birthplace of Carnegie Museum - where Andrew Carnegie (think Carnegie Hall, NY) was born and an abbey.

 

For Edinburgh I would be inclined to drive to the outskirts and use the Park and Ride - there's one just beside the airport.

 

As haggis suggested look at visitscotland and come up with some options - those of us posting here will be able to tell you if your options are feasible.

 

Enjoy your visit to Scotland.

[dancingfish]

thanks so much for all your tips! We have decided that a car will be a must! And hopefully we can use the public transportation when feasible.

 

We are now trying to decide weather to take a 9 hour bus tour up to see the loch ness monster (yes we will see it!) or to try and navigate ourselves up there. Any thoughts on that? We are thinking that it will be a good 3 hour trip up? Are the roads managible?

 

Also is there any not to miss sights below Edinburgh?

[donna5]

Just got back. If you have a rental car, drive up yourself, that way you can stop to see the sights. Go to Urqhuart castle(lockness), If you are driving up the highway and see a sign for Broomhill Train Station, go down and take a picture of it (if you are a Monarch of the Glen fan). Broomhill was used for Glenbogle Station and the signs are still up. You can even buy a train ticket souvenir for around 50 cents that say Glenbogle. We stayed in Edinburgh and Aviemore (McDonald Highland Hotel Resort).

 

In Edinburgh, the Point Hotel (go to their website) and they sometimes have some really good specials, but you have to book on their site, you give them your CC. # but they don't charge you ahead unless you don't turn up or cancel. It is a great location and we had a view of Edinburgh castle. Go early and first go through with a guide and then explore the castle. They shoot of a canon at 1PM. If you do Holyrood Palace that is pretty good too. They give you a device that you push the button when you are in certain areas and you have headphone to listen to and they have really good sound.

We took the Train from Edinburgh to Aviemore and really enjoyed it. There is a discount buying your ticket the day before. The train is really quiet. If you need to use the internet for a little bit, the public library has free access for 1/2 at a time. Take some ponchos and umbrellas.

Enjoy

[ILoveScotland]

Elaine and Calmac and others are exactly right. You'll need a car. And you can drive in Edinburgh; it's just an adventure for those of us in the US to do so. And finding parking is difficult.

 

There is a Tourist Information Office on top of Waverly Train Station just off Princes Street in Edinburgh with lots and lots of good information. That might be a good place to start your day in Edinburgh.

 

With a car you can also go to some wonderful areas where you simply can't get to by public transportaiton. A few years ago DH and I stayed a week in a time share resort in the small town of Aberfeldy (north and a bit west of Perth) which shouldn't be a terrible drive. From there we drove out through Glen Lyon which is just a delightful glen. You can do an Internet search, but here's a link that even has a picture of the combination tea room/post office where we stopped for lunch.

 

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/glenlyon/glenlyon/index.html

 

Another favorite visit near Aberfeldy was the Scottish Crannog Center which shows how the people lived there 5000 years ago and includes a replica dwelling. Here's a link about that:

 

http://www.crannog.co.uk/

 

 

Stirling is wonderful. You can climb to the top of the Wallace Memorial, visit the castle and go to Bannockburn where Robert the Bruce defeated the English.

 

You can drive up the A9 to Inverness with a detour over to Culloden where Bonnie Prince Charlie and his allies were defeated in 1745.

 

And as Elaine and Hilary have said you can then go on to Loch Ness, over to Ft. William and on down the shore of Loch Leven and across through Glen Coe which for my money is the loveliest place in Scotland (well, I haven't visited all the places, but it's the loveliest I've seen).

 

And, no I'm not from Scotland. I just love the best small country in the world and wish I could live there!

[ILoveScotland]

I should have added that the www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk web site is probably my favorite of the many web sites about Scotland.

[donna5]

There is a visitor center in the Airport that also has a wealth of information.

[Elaine0138]

I would drive yourselves up to Loch Ness it isn't a difficult road.

If you have a car you will be able to drive to the rail station and park then jump on the train for Edinburgh.

I would drive to Stirling good easy parking there. Just walking up to the Castle is very interesting

You will get lots of info at the discover Scotland site.

[BellKat]

Don't forget that if you are going to drive in Scotland, that you will be driving on the "wrong" side of the road. We did this a few years ago. Not only are you driving on the wrong side, but you are sitting on the opposite side of the car that you are used to AND the gear shift is on you left - not your right! Makes for real interesting driving. And they have lots of roundabouts which we don't have many of here in the Seattle area. The best thing about the roundabouts though is that if you blow it and get off on the wrong one, there is usually another one a short distance away which allows you to go around that one and back the way you came. Anyway, you'll love Scotland. It's a beautiful country. Try to see the Eilean Donan Castle outside of Dornie. It's been in lots of movies and TV shows and is the most photographed castle in Scotland. Not to mention it's my ancestral home.

 

Kathleen

[Globaliser]

Not only are you driving on the wrong side, but you are sitting on the opposite side of the car that you are used to AND the gear shift is on you left - not your right!

Both I and other people I know who regularly drive on both sides of the road actually find that sitting on the correct side of the car is a help rather than a hindrance. Being on the opposite side of the car from "normal" helps your brain to keep on top of the fact that you have to be on the opposite of the road. Your brain flips over all your learned "normal" traffic patterns.

 

In fact, the hairiest moments that I've had have been when driving a right hand drive (UK) car in continental Europe.

 

One thing that will help a first-timer is getting a car with an automatic gearbox, even if you don't normally drive automatics. That takes away one layer of workload, which can be very comforting even if automatic gearboxes aggravate you (like they do me).

[calmac]

You might want to do some route planning ahead of your visit. For the UK I normally use the travel planner on http://www.theaa.com

[ILoveScotland]

I found www.theaa.com years ago and agree it's great for planning an itinerary. I like it because it allows you to set up interim stops.

 

I drove in Scotland for the first time back in 2001 (for 2 weeks) and again for a shorter time in 2002. I found the manual transmission stick shift in the center to be no hindrance at all. The gear positions are the same as they are here in the US, and that helped. Renting an automatic transmission is very costly even if that would make the driving a bit easier.

 

The rental car agencies know that those of us who drive on the right and sit on the left will have our problems. So all the rental cars have a big sign on the dashboard just behind the steering wheel reminding the driver to drive on the left.

[camNaud]

You will also be near to Dundee, where you can Visit RSS Discovery (Captain Scott's Ship) which was built in Dundee, and took the intrepid explorer to Antartica, on his ill-fated expidition. For golf fan's you have Carnoustie as well as St Andrew's. In fact this corner of Scotland has numerous golf courses to try.

 

You can use park n ride system for Edinburgh. You take you car as far a Queensferry - park the car - and a coach / bus takes you into the centre of 'Auld Reekie' and back.