As someone who is booking a trip as I type here I can tell you the last two weeks of June are NOT the cheap season. Judging by the hotel rates in Edinburgh July, August and September are not either. $ 1.95 = 1 GPB doesn't help either.

It seems that most folks I know who go to Scotland seem to think there is nothing in the country outside Edinburgh and Loch Ness. (The knowledgeable denizens of this forum notwithstanding.) I'm certainly no expert but we're going to spend the majority of our trip in the south using Ferintosh as our base. (Robertson, I have my dates and will send you a reservation this afternoon.) There is much to do and see either in within driving distance from Dumfries and much of it will be cheaper than Edinburgh.