Scotland: train or car?
Mr. A
1 week. I would appreciate any opinions regarding taking the train while in
Scotland vs. renting a car. Are there so many things to see off the beaten
track that we'd miss things if we took trains? We're flying into Edinburgh
and would like to head to the west coast.
wessie
news:b3g3ic$1m0ku6$1...@ID-73954.news.dfncis.de:
Personally I would always take a car. The railway timetable will severely
restrict your options.
Part of the charm of Scotland is arriving somewhere nice, seeing a nice
B&B or hotel and deciding to stay for a day or 2 to explore that
particular area in detail. B&B/small hotel owners are usually a fount of
local info. and will point you in the direction of local highlights not
always listed in guide books.
I used this B&B near Fort William - highly recommended. The owners are a
local photographer and his American wife. Breakfasts are an interesting
combination of US/UK favourites.
http://www.almac.co.uk/personal/woodside/index.htm
If you are travelling by rail then you will most likely spend your nights
in the larger towns as you will not have the option to drive on to the
next village should you find a particular B&B full.
However, if you just want to view scenery from behind glass then there
are some great rail journeys possible - there was a thread here last week
on that topic.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?X38852893 will take you to the thread on
google
--
wes...@ukrm.newt
BMW R1150GS
The Reids
Scotland is all about the Highland landscape, OK there is a rail line
but you will be *severly* restricted in what you see. IMO drive up the
west coast and maybe over the bridge to Skye.
--
Mike Reid
Land of roast meat "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk/castile.htm"
(see web to email)
Desmond Coughlan
>>We're planning our first trip to Scotland next month, and will be there for
>>1 week. I would appreciate any opinions regarding taking the train while in
>>Scotland vs. renting a car. Are there so many things to see off the beaten
>>track that we'd miss things if we took trains? We're flying into Edinburgh
>>and would like to head to the west coast.
> Scotland is all about the Highland landscape,
Erm ... pardon ?
--
Desmond Coughlan
desmond @ zeouane.org
http: // www . zeouane . org
Owain
You won't want a car in Edinburgh and can do without one in the
Edinburgh-Glasgow central belt which is well covered with trains and buses.
Trains run to Oban and beyond that there are local bus services - but a car
will give you considerably more freedom.
You might find a 3-day rail rover ticket then a 3-day car hire for the west
coast a convenient combination. As wessie said, there was a thread on train
travel in Scotland not long ago but I will mention again www.scotrail.co.uk
for timetables, route maps etc.
Tourist boards you may be interested in:
Argyll, The Isles, Stirling Loch Lomond
http://www.scottish.heartlands.org/
Ayrshire and Arran
http://www.ayrshire-arran.com/
Dumfries and Galloway
http://www.dumfriesandgalloway.co.uk/
March is probably a good time to visit as you should get fairly good
weather, but the tourists and the midges won't be out in force.
Owain
Mr. A
news:Xns932DA66...@130.133.1.4...
Thanks, wessie. So, is it safe to assume that we won't need advance
reservations for a room at this time of year.
wessie
>
> Thanks, wessie. So, is it safe to assume that we won't need advance
> reservations for a room at this time of year.
>
You will have no problem finding places to stay
Some B&B's are seasonal but you will almost certainly find places to stay -
having a car will help as you will not be looking for somewhere close to the
rail station and can stop when a "vacancies" sign is spotted.
I like to find a pub with a nice log fire at this time of year. Then if the
weather turns cold/wet you can snuggle up to the fire with a pint of 80/-
whilst your Aberdeen angus is grilled to your liking.
If you want to guarantee a room then go into any tourist office and they will
prebook a room for you at your intended destination
--
wes...@ukrm.newt
BMW R1150GS
Ian Millward
Edinburgh-Glasgow central belt which is well covered with trains and
buses.>>
Who, in their right mind, would come all the way to Scotland for their
holidays and want to spend them in the central belt. I live just on the edge
and I can tell you that you want to avoid it like the plague as it is either
urban sprawl or agricultural. Although having said that, Edinburgh is worth
a day or two.
The South East, Dumfries and Galloway are nice. Anywhere on the East side
from Stirling North is worth visiting but you are wasting a good holiday if
you consider doing it all by rail. If you don't want to hire a car, the bus
service is generally quite good.
<<Are there so many things to see
| off the beaten track that we'd miss things if we took trains? We're
| flying into Edinburgh and would like to head to the west coast>>
I would be inclined to pre-book a night in Edinburgh for when you arrive and
have a look around then hire a car and head out to Stirling on the M9. From
there you could either potter about the Trossachs which have lots of
scenery, or head on up the A84, A85 and A82 through Glen Coe. By then you
will have had a surfeit of nice views and would probably want to start back
again.
Places on route you might consider stopping over night are:Aberfoyle,
Callander and Oban, Cutting across to the East on the A85 you might like to
consider joining up with the A9 for your return journey. Some places en
route worth stopping at: Aberfeldy, Dunkeld or Pitlochry. I think that would
probably use up a week without overdoing it.
Hope this helps,
Druid29
Użytkownik "wessie" <wessie...@ukrm.net> napisał w wiadomości
news:Xns932DE06...@130.133.1.4...
....
> Some B&B's are seasonal but you will almost certainly find places to
stay -
> having a car will help as you will not be looking for somewhere close to
the
> rail station and can stop when a "vacancies" sign is spotted.
>
Hi,
I have a short question - how much does it cost to stay at B&B's ?
--
Druid29
"All art is quite useless"
(O.Wilde)
wessie
>> Some B&B's are seasonal but you will almost certainly find places to
>> stay - having a car will help as you will not be looking for somewhere
>> close to the rail station and can stop when a "vacancies" sign is
>> spotted.
>>
>
> Hi,
> I have a short question - how much does it cost to stay at B&B's ?
Depends on the location - farmhouse B&B can cost as little as £12.50 per
person sharing a double room, whereas a night in a castle could cost hundreds
of pounds
£20-25 per person in tourist areas is more the norm for a traditional B&B or
small family run hotel.
http://www.smoothhound.co.uk will give you specific details
--
wes...@ukrm.newt
BMW R1150GS
Druid29
> Depends on the location - farmhouse B&B can cost as little as Ł12.50 per
> person sharing a double room, whereas a night in a castle could cost
hundreds
> of pounds
>
Thanks a lot. I've just visited the webside and this is what I needed. I
come from Poland and our tourist offices don't offer accomodation in UK.
Now I think about situation when I travel without reservations made via
Internet. Can I expect similar prices? What about availability in high
season (July)? And the last question - how expensive is petrol in UK?
wessie
news:b3i3to$fib$1...@news.onet.pl:
>> £20-25 per person in tourist areas is more the norm for a traditional
>> B&B or small family run hotel.
>>
>> http://www.smoothhound.co.uk will give you specific details
>>
>
> Thanks a lot. I've just visited the webside and this is what I needed.
> I come from Poland and our tourist offices don't offer accomodation in
> UK. Now I think about situation when I travel without reservations made
> via Internet. Can I expect similar prices? What about availability in
> high season (July)? And the last question - how expensive is petrol in
> UK?
All of the B&B on that website quote their rates - sometimes you can
negotiate if you plan to stay in the same place for more than 1 night or
are a large group.
If the B&B has its own website and an email address then they will usually
respond to an email enquiry about availability. If you are planning to
visit popular areas such as the English Lake District or Stratford upon
Avon then I would recommend that reservations are made for July.
Fuel prices: see http://www.theaa.com/allaboutcars/fuel/index.html
--
wes...@ukrm.newt
BMW R1150GS
Peter McGurk
news:b3i3to$fib$1...@news.onet.pl...
> Thanks a lot. I've just visited the webside and this is what I needed. I
> come from Poland and our tourist offices don't offer accomodation in UK.
> Now I think about situation when I travel without reservations made via
> Internet. Can I expect similar prices? What about availability in high
> season (July)? And the last question - how expensive is petrol in UK?
>
> --
> Druid29
Druid:
For July, book ahead - popular destinations may be getting full. Most B&Bs,
etc., even if they don't have internet bookings, will happily take a booking
by phone, especially if you can guarantee your reservation with a credit
card (lots of places take VISA/Mastercard these days, although some may
still be cash-only).
Petrol is EXPENSIVE in the UK, especailly compared with Poland. See
http://www.aaroadwatch.ie/eupetrolprices/ for comparisons; unleaded is ?1.15
a litre in UK.
Peter
RH
But there is an extensive bus network in Scotland bside the train lines. True, both trains and
buses in the Highlands and the islands are rather infrequent. Did not bother me, I planned the
trip before leaving for Scotland (all schedules on the web) and I enjoyed the social
atmosphere in buses and even more so in trains, meeting Sctos of all sorts. I don't like to be
locked into a car with the scenery passing like in a movie and rare contacts during stops.
Public transportation travel is an experience in itself.
An when getting to an island or a town, why note rent a bike to discover the surroundings?
RH
RH
and 40 Pounds per night and person, with Scottish breakfast.
BTW: I also love the Ayrshire Coast, about 40 mins by train from Glasgow, including the Isle of
Arran.
RH
The Reids
> I don't like to be
>locked into a car with the scenery passing like in a movie and rare contacts during stops.
>Public transportation travel is an experience in itself.
your not "locked into a car", you stop and get out and go for a walk,
take photographs, whatever, when you feel like it. Drive up glens you
like the look of. Public transport is a travel experience in itself, I
agree, but a car is much more flexible. When in the highlands I like
to walk the hills and glens, its pretty hard to do that without a car,
possible in many cases, but hard.
You have my admiration for reducing traffic and pollution by doing it
th hard way, but it is the hard way.
The Reids
>> Scotland is all about the Highland landscape,
>
>Erm ... pardon ?
OK, OK, you want to nitpick. Not *all* about.
lets replace that with "the jewel in the crown of Scotland is the
internationally renowned beauty of the highland landscape"
As a lowland city dweller its certainly what I go for and I suspect
many other visitors, obviously if you live there its different.....but
this is a travel ng.
What would you list *above* the highland landscape as attractions for
foreign visitors?
mr. a
"Ian Millward" <ian.mil...@ednet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:v5o69hs...@corp.supernews.com...
It looks like we'll spend the first 2 nights in Edinburgh, then rent a car
and find our way around. Now I wish we had more time, but one must work to
pay off one's holiday.
RH
It might seem the hard way to you, Mike, because you are not used to travel by public
transport. But going by car needs planning to, not to forget the risk of an accident (a friend of
mine had a collision with a sheep, and the sheep always has priority in the highlands). And a
bit of physical effort has benefits, too. And: the more people will use public transport, the more
frequent it will gradually become, thus also benefitting the locals.
I know I talk like a politician in the desert.
RH
The Reids
>It might seem the hard way to you, Mike, because you are not used to travel by public
>transport. But going by car needs planning to, not to forget the risk of an accident (a friend of
>mine had a collision with a sheep, and the sheep always has priority in the highlands). And a
>bit of physical effort has benefits, too. And: the more people will use public transport, the more
>frequent it will gradually become, thus also benefitting the locals.
>I know I talk like a politician in the desert.
I take your point that accidents (but not crimes) are less frequent on
public transport (but then I don't drive like some of the idiots who
crash all the time), and the bit about frequency.
We go to Wasdale in the Lake District quite a lot, couple of times a
year, we just chuck all the stuff in the car and go. By train/bus we
would have to lug the luggage, take a taxi from god knows where, as
there isn't any public transport, I don't think there ever has been?
Once there we would be marooned, no trips out on horrible wet days
when its too grotty to walk.
We do use trains sometimes to do point to point walks with the car at
one end, but the number of times the trains don't run (this is
weekends) are legion.
I also don't share your happy experience of other passengers, perhaps
because most of my public transport use is in London? My wife tried
buses for getting around to her outlying offices (she takes trains
across London to get to work) but due to the appalling behavior of
school children and fear of muggings enhanced by all the vandalism
(I'd kill those kids who destroy bus and train windows) she now pays
out for taxis.
I drive around with the doors locked and the stereo on, glad to be
away from the public, hey, I had better stop now before I start
ranting!
Anyway, I promise I always look out for cyclists :-)
Desmond Coughlan
{ snip }
> What would you list *above* the highland landscape as attractions for
> foreign visitors?
The Gorbals ..?
The Reids
>> What would you list *above* the highland landscape as attractions for
>> foreign visitors?
>
>The Gorbals ..?
As a southerner I find Glasgow bars scarey, I just cannot understand
the local accent, Jhimmy.
Frank Clarke
<rocklobs...@techie.com> wrote:
<b3g3ic$1m0ku6$1...@ID-73954.news.dfncis.de>
I've never driven in Scotland. My only experience of their roads was
a hair-raising tour thru the highlands careening along twisty roads
while seated where there OUGHT TO HAVE BEEN a steering wheel and a
brake pedal.
Scarier than any roller-coaster you have ever imagined.
Frank Clarke
<DONT_USE...@fell-walker.co.uk> wrote:
<fl6u5v4gummd91vvr...@4ax.com>
>As a southerner I find Glasgow bars scarey, I just cannot understand
>the local accent, Jhimmy.
Tony Blair is visiting an Edinburgh hospital. He enters a ward full of
patients with no obvious sign of injury or illness and greets one.
The patient replies: "Fair fa your honest sonsie face, Great chieftain
o' the puddin race, Aboon them a you take your place, Painch, tripe or
thairm, As langs my airm."
Blair is confused, so he just grins and moves on to the next patient.
The patient responds: "Some hae meat and canna eat, And some wad eat
that want it, But we hae meat and we can eat, So let the Lord be
thankit."
Even more confused, and his grin now rictus-like, the PM moves on to
the next patient, who immediately begins to chant: "Wee sleekit,
cowerin, timrous beasty, Thou needna start awa sae hastie, Wi
bickering brattle."
Now seriously troubled, Blair turns to the accompanying doctor and
asks "What kind of facility is this? A mental ward?"
"No", replies the doctor. "This is the serious Burns unit."
HH
excursions to the Orkneys and Skye.
Harlan
----
Soft Adventure tours, the way to go, at http://softadventure.net/tours.htm
Australia and New Zealand, November 2003,
http://softadventure.net/OZ-NZ2003.htm
"Mr. A" <rocklobs...@techie.com> wrote in message
news:b3g3ic$1m0ku6$1...@ID-73954.news.dfncis.de...
Polar
<hhhagueNOJ...@softadventure.net> wrote:
>If you have time, rent a car and drive the northern perimeter, with
>excursions to the Orkneys and Skye.
>
But don't say "the Orkneys". The natives are very sensitive about
that; just say "Orkney".
Though I rented a car for a month, I took the comfortable train from
Inverness to Scrabster, from where the boat leaves for Stromness.
Stayed a day in Stromness; did the museum (I am a mad fan of Dr. John
Rae, who sailed from there to work for the Bay in Canada). After a
pleasant day walking around Stromness, next day took a tour to the
other Islands. Great archeological sites; not to be missed! .
Then train back to Inverness; picked up car and drove to the Western
Isles; Skye, Arran.
>Harlan
>----
>Soft Adventure tours, the way to go, at http://softadventure.net/tours.htm
> Australia and New Zealand, November 2003,
>http://softadventure.net/OZ-NZ2003.htm
>
>
>"Mr. A" <rocklobs...@techie.com> wrote in message
>news:b3g3ic$1m0ku6$1...@ID-73954.news.dfncis.de...
>| We're planning our first trip to Scotland next month, and will be there
>for
>| 1 week. I would appreciate any opinions regarding taking the train while
>in
>| Scotland vs. renting a car. Are there so many things to see off the beaten
>| track that we'd miss things if we took trains? We're flying into Edinburgh
>| and would like to head to the west coast.
>|
>|
>
--
Polar
Shawna Reynolds
and rented a car. There were some fantastic places that I saw that I would
not have if I had been on a train. The west coast is beautiful. If you go
to Isle of Skye be sure to go to Armadale Castle and Dunvegan. Also,
Stirling, about 35 miles from Edinburgh is fantastic. It has a wonderful
castle, and the town is lovely. I have a couple of suggestions on where to
stay if you need them. Have a lovely trip!
Shawna
"HH" <hhhagueNOJ...@softadventure.net> wrote in message
news:OGf9a.357395$HN5.1...@rwcrnsc51.ops.asp.att.net...
Owain
| It has a wonderful castle, and the town is lovely.
I like you :-)
Owain
Shawna Reynolds
Shawna
www.geocities.com/shawnareynolds2000
"Owain" <owai...@stirlingcity.co.uk> wrote in message
news:104690798...@dyke.uk.clara.net...
Desmond Coughlan
> | Also, Stirling, about 35 miles from Edinburgh is fantastic.
> | It has a wonderful castle, and the town is lovely.
> I like you :-)
Get yer coat, Shawna ... you've pulled !!
Desmond Coughlan
> My love of Stirling often gets that reaction! :-)
Can't understand why ... I studied there, and almost died of boredom. :-(
Shawna Reynolds
"Desmond Coughlan" <pasdespa...@zeouane.org> wrote in message
news:esfij-...@zeouane.org...
> le Wed, 05 Mar 2003 23:52:30 GMT, dans l'article
<25w9a.4378$gF3.4...@newsread1.prod.itd.earthlink.net>, Shawna Reynolds
<shawnar...@hotmail.com> a dit ...
>
> > My love of Stirling often gets that reaction! :-)
>
> Can't understand why ... I studied there, and almost died of boredom. :-(
Really? I can't imagine getting bored there. I guess that is because where
I'm from, my closest neighbors are cows and chickens. :-)
Shawna
www.geocities.com/shawnareynolds2000
Shawna Reynolds
"Desmond Coughlan" >
> Get yer coat, Shawna ... you've pulled !!
>
Desmond Coughlan
>> Get yer coat, Shawna ... you've pulled !!
> Possibly it is a cultural gap, but I don't know what that means. :-)
LOL !!
Shawna Reynolds
> le Thu, 06 Mar 2003 00:31:28 GMT, dans l'article
<AFw9a.4437$gF3.4...@newsread1.prod.itd.earthlink.net>, Shawna Reynolds
<shawnar...@hotmail.com> a dit ...
>
> >> Get yer coat, Shawna ... you've pulled !!
>
> > Possibly it is a cultural gap, but I don't know what that means. :-)
>
> LOL !!
>
Desmond Coughlan
>> >> Get yer coat, Shawna ... you've pulled !!
>> > Possibly it is a cultural gap, but I don't know what that means. :-)
>> LOL !!
> Hey! It's not very nice to laugh at the slow people! :-)
Sorry, I wasn't laughing (especially having seen your photo) ...
Owain
| > My love of Stirling often gets that reaction! :-)
| Can't understand why ... I studied there, and almost died of boredom. :-(
Law 43L1 with Enid Marshall?
Owain
Owain
|Owain a dit ...
| > | It has a wonderful castle, and the town is lovely.
| > I like you :-)
| Get yer coat, Shawna ... you've pulled !!
Err, no.
Owain
Tim Vanhoof
You can't get bored in Stirling -- Glasgow is only a short train ride
away.
--
WE CAN STOP THIS WAR
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