Honeymoon in Scotland, trip suggestions

[Jock Scot]

Jock,

Thanks for the feedback. I really appreciate the tip about the binoculars, as that is not something I would have thought of until it was probably too late. Are there any must see spots for wildlife you can recommend?

As for the kilt in my other trips the only time I've worn the kilt in Scotland before was when I was 10 years old padding about my uncle's place in Ayrshire. It was my first kilt and I didn't know any better. I think we'll only pack the kilt if we have anything on the schedule that might be an occasion to wear one (highland games or ceilidh) and if we do I'm sure we will both be wearing the custom tartan we're having made, so we will match.

As you probably know, seeing wildlife either happens by accident, or after sitting, watching and waiting! If you are in the Highlands then, ten minutes with the binoculars whilst by a loch, glassing the hills and water can often pay dividends. Skye is probably the best place(not the only place) to see the Golden Eagle and the Sea Eagle, but with wildlife it really depends on the time of year and luck. Dolphins, whales and basking sharks are also around our shores in the summer months too.

You are getting good advice here from the others too. Sometimes, often in fact, it is the visitors who have the "T shirt" who are the ones who have the useful travel tips to an area and the posts above prove the point.

Yes Scotland is wet, but you may be interested to know that the Western Highlands has been the warmest place in Britain for the last few days and looks like being so for a few more days. Beware of the sun in Scotland! It is not tropical type heat, but with little air pollution the human skin can and does burn easily. I kid you not.

[neloon]

What can you recommend in Aberdeenshire? I've not spent much time researching sites in that area.

Here you go
https://www.visitscotland.com/destin...en-city-shire/
Alan

[cessna152towser]

The rolling Southern Uplands are too often overlooked by our visitors from North America. Here in the Scottish Borders and in neighbouring Dumfries and Galloway you can see much surviving history of the borders warfare and the Reivers in the form of many castles, tower houses and fortified farms. The Borders towns all have their own individual character with their annual horseback Common Riding events. Here in Hawick alone we have the House of Cheviot sock factory, Johnston's of Elgin Cashmere Visitor Centre, Hawick Cashmere visitor centre, the award winning Wilton Lodge Park with its spectacular waterfall, the Heritage Hub where you can carry out ancestry research if you have ancestry from Scotland or Northern England, or sip a cool beer or latte on the glass floor over the water wheel of the historic Tower Mill. Hawick markets itself as Scotland's heritage capital and is very popular with European visitors, and also a stopping place for some of the Japanese tourists but strangely is relatively unknown to our North American friends.
Most of the Scottish population lives in the central belt and the Southern Uplands are in places just as sparsely populated as the Highlands. The scenery is more gentle and while the mountains may be less spectacular the ancient castles and abbeys more than compensate for this.
If you do spend time in Edinburgh, you can easily visit the Borders on a day trip using tne new Borders Railway which opened last September and can bring you here in under an hour from the centre of Edinburgh. Don't go all the way to the, hopefully temporary, end of the line at Tweedbank as this is just a residential area and leaves you a forty minute walk or a five minute bus ride short of the tourist town of Melrose with its historic Abbey and walled gardens. Instead alight at Galashiels and take a bus from the transport interchange there. Buses run fast and frequent from Galashielse to Melrose, Kelso, Jedburgh, Selkirk or Hawick. Visit Kelso or Jedburgh abbeys or explore Jedburgh's historic closes (from Jedburgh Castle down to the High School is just like Edinburgh Royal Mile but on a smaller scale and without all the tourist tat). Or explore the Kirk o' the Forest in Selkirk where William Wallace was first appointed Guardian of Scotland and where Franklin D Roosevelt's mother's family are buried, just a one minute walk from the main bus stance in Selkirk Market Place.
Personally I think Edinburgh is a dump and not worth visiting, but like CTBuchanan I have connections with Glasgow so maybe I am biased. Glasgow is worth visiting for its friendly people, its vibrant waterfront, beautiful parks and splendid architecture, especially the People's Palace, Kelvingrove Art Gallery, Glasgow University and the Charles Rennie MacIntosh designed Scotland Street school museum.
Glasgow is a good location for visiting the west coast. There are frequent trains to Gourock, Ardrossan, Largs or Ayr and many ferry services on the Firth of Clyde. Visit the islands of Bute and Arran if you have an opportunity. There are a few daily trains to Oban or Fort William and onwards to Mallaig on the West Highland line famous as a location in the Harry Potter films.
If you really do need to visit the outer islands such as Tiree, the Outer Hebrides, Orkneys or Shetlands, best to fly from Glasgow Airport, otherwise you will spend a lot of your time on surface travel.

[NPG]

If you are planning on seeing Dunnattor, I would suggest Bayside B&B (baysidebandb.co.uk) or davjabay@gmail.com. This is in the town of Stone Haven.
I'm pretty sure that is where we stayed. Our "room" was a two bedroom apartment right on the beach, only a block from downtown and two blocks from a grocery store. It is about 2 miles from Dunnattor.
No one has air conditioning there, so it was great to have some windows open and get the sea breeze and let the sound of the waves lull me to sleep.
My wife said she would try to find the name of the other B &Bs we used. Loved the one in Edinburgh just can't remember the name and the streets change names every couple of blocks so I decided street addresses were useless there.

Thank you for that, I will look into Bayside B&B.

[NPG]

As you probably know, seeing wildlife either happens by accident, or after sitting, watching and waiting! If you are in the Highlands then, ten minutes with the binoculars whilst by a loch, glassing the hills and water can often pay dividends. Skye is probably the best place(not the only place) to see the Golden Eagle and the Sea Eagle, but with wildlife it really depends on the time of year and luck. Dolphins, whales and basking sharks are also around our shores in the summer months too.

You are getting good advice here from the others too. Sometimes, often in fact, it is the visitors who have the "T shirt" who are the ones who have the useful travel tips to an area and the posts above prove the point.

Yes Scotland is wet, but you may be interested to know that the Western Highlands has been the warmest place in Britain for the last few days and looks like being so for a few more days. Beware of the sun in Scotland! It is not tropical type heat, but with little air pollution the human skin can and does burn easily. I kid you not.

Great information. I know patience is the key, but knowing where one might find some of the wildlife to begin with is a big help so I appreciate the recommendations. I also appreciate the note about the heat and the sun. As one prone to burn I'll take note. That reminds me, how bad are the bugs up in the Highlands in the summer?

[NPG]

Here you go
https://www.visitscotland.com/destin...en-city-shire/
Alan

Thanks! I'll check it out.

[NPG]

The rolling Southern Uplands are too often overlooked by our visitors from North America. Here in the Scottish Borders and in neighbouring Dumfries and Galloway you can see much surviving history of the borders warfare and the Reivers in the form of many castles, tower houses and fortified farms. The Borders towns all have their own individual character with their annual horseback Common Riding events. Here in Hawick alone we have the House of Cheviot sock factory, Johnston's of Elgin Cashmere Visitor Centre, Hawick Cashmere visitor centre, the award winning Wilton Lodge Park with its spectacular waterfall, the Heritage Hub where you can carry out ancestry research if you have ancestry from Scotland or Northern England, or sip a cool beer or latte on the glass floor over the water wheel of the historic Tower Mill. Hawick markets itself as Scotland's heritage capital and is very popular with European visitors, and also a stopping place for some of the Japanese tourists but strangely is relatively unknown to our North American friends.
Most of the Scottish population lives in the central belt and the Southern Uplands are in places just as sparsely populated as the Highlands. The scenery is more gentle and while the mountains may be less spectacular the ancient castles and abbeys more than compensate for this.
If you do spend time in Edinburgh, you can easily visit the Borders on a day trip using tne new Borders Railway which opened last September and can bring you here in under an hour from the centre of Edinburgh. Don't go all the way to the, hopefully temporary, end of the line at Tweedbank as this is just a residential area and leaves you a forty minute walk or a five minute bus ride short of the tourist town of Melrose with its historic Abbey and walled gardens. Instead alight at Galashiels and take a bus from the transport interchange there. Buses run fast and frequent from Galashielse to Melrose, Kelso, Jedburgh, Selkirk or Hawick. Visit Kelso or Jedburgh abbeys or explore Jedburgh's historic closes (from Jedburgh Castle down to the High School is just like Edinburgh Royal Mile but on a smaller scale and without all the tourist tat). Or explore the Kirk o' the Forest in Selkirk where William Wallace was first appointed Guardian of Scotland and where Franklin D Roosevelt's mother's family are buried, just a one minute walk from the main bus stance in Selkirk Market Place.
Personally I think Edinburgh is a dump and not worth visiting, but like CTBuchanan I have connections with Glasgow so maybe I am biased. Glasgow is worth visiting for its friendly people, its vibrant waterfront, beautiful parks and splendid architecture, especially the People's Palace, Kelvingrove Art Gallery, Glasgow University and the Charles Rennie MacIntosh designed Scotland Street school museum.
Glasgow is a good location for visiting the west coast. There are frequent trains to Gourock, Ardrossan, Largs or Ayr and many ferry services on the Firth of Clyde. Visit the islands of Bute and Arran if you have an opportunity. There are a few daily trains to Oban or Fort William and onwards to Mallaig on the West Highland line famous as a location in the Harry Potter films.
If you really do need to visit the outer islands such as Tiree, the Outer Hebrides, Orkneys or Shetlands, best to fly from Glasgow Airport, otherwise you will spend a lot of your time on surface travel.

Thank you, and point conceded about skipping over the Border towns. I did not know about the new rail line. You also bring up a point I had not considered. I had planned on using mostly rail for our travels, and ferries out to the isles, but would flying be more expedient? Here in the states it is a little hard to find flights within the UK to the smaller airports.

[cessna152towser]

but would flying be more expedient? Here in the states it is a little hard to find flights within the UK to the smaller airports.

Flying is not cheap as the flights to the islands tend to use smaller planes with a more personal service, but can be cost effective if you want to see as much as possible in the time available.
When I was based in Glasgow I often had to visit Campbeltown on the Kintyre peninsula on business and my employers insisted I travel by air as it was only a 75 mile, 20 minute flight each way and I could do a full working day and be home the same evening. The alternatives were a 145 mile drive on circuitous twisted roads or two car ferries via the Isle of Arran with overnight hotel stays needed to complete the work.
There are flights daily from Glasgow to the islands of Tiree, Barra, Lewis and Harris, Orkney and Shetland, and twice daily to Islay, and from Oban Airport to Coll. On a clear day you get some magnificent views of the west coast from the air. There are also internal flights over the Scottish mainland from Glasgow and Edinburgh which would take you to Aberdeen, Inverness or Wick.
Information on some of Scotland's smaller airports can be found here:- http://www.hial.co.uk/

[NPG]

Flying is not cheap as the flights to the islands tend to use smaller planes with a more personal service, but can be cost effective if you want to see as much as possible in the time available.
When I was based in Glasgow I often had to visit Campbeltown on the Kintyre peninsula on business and my employers insisted I travel by air as it was only a 75 mile, 20 minute flight each way and I could do a full working day and be home the same evening. The alternatives were a 145 mile drive on circuitous twisted roads or two car ferries via the Isle of Arran with overnight hotel stays needed to complete the work.
There are flights daily from Glasgow to the islands of Tiree, Barra, Lewis and Harris, Orkney and Shetland, and twice daily to Islay, and from Oban Airport to Coll. On a clear day you get some magnificent views of the west coast from the air. There are also internal flights over the Scottish mainland from Glasgow and Edinburgh which would take you to Aberdeen, Inverness or Wick.
Information on some of Scotland's smaller airports can be found here:- http://www.hial.co.uk/

Thanks for the information, are there specific airlines you can recommend for these flights? My google-fu only turned up a site that wanted me to fly from Glasgow to Dublin to get to Stornoway airport.

[cessna152towser]

Loganair, which flies under the FlyBe franchise does most of the flights to the western isles, Orkneys and Shetlands.
Also Eastern Airways for flights up the east coast from Edinburgh to Aberdeen Inverness or Wick.
http://www.loganair.co.uk/destinations/timetable