Taking a trip!

[Nerts]

Hello all!

I'll be getting married and going on my honeymoon at the end of June and we're planning on going to Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and England (and any where else we can get to depending on time). Are there any places, things, events we should be investigating while we're going to be in town? IE: special events, great food and drink, nice hikes, that sort of thing.

We'll be hitting the tourist stuff for sure, but I'm looking for some of the 'local flavor', those hidden jems that people only know about because they live there. ;-)

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks!

[Arlen]

It would depend a lot on what areas you were in.
For instance, I could recommend a lot of places in Scotland to go to, but if you are only going to be in the Highlands it might be difficult for you to take repeated day-trips to the Lowlands.

Do you have any rough plans of where you would like to go?

[Dirk Skene]

PM member Pour1malt. He has a guesthouse in Scotland.

[northernsky]

Congrats on your up-coming nuptials. Are you getting married kilted? A honeymoon in Scotland? Now that is romantic!

[RobertParker]

On my honeymoon, we started at Edinburgh for a couple of days. We then went up into Invernessshire (sp?) and stayed at a castle that had been made into a B&B. I really recommend that. It can be a little pricey, but getting to live that kind of thing really made the trip memorable. From there, we went down to Rannoch and Perthshire, where the Robertson clan had much of its lands, so we could see the ancestral homeland, as it were.

So what all that means is that I would find ways to make it very personal; visiting areas with some sort of personal connection if you have that option is a really great thing.

As far as more specific areas go, check out Pitlochry in Perthshire. It's a tourism town in the sense that a lot of Europeans and Brits seem to go there for holiday, but it's not overrun with kitchy Gold Bros. type of stuff. There's lots of good out-doors options, like hikes and the like. They've got highland nights (one was on the grounds of Blair castle!) that feature cool local performers (the local pipe band even played "Highland Cathedral", which was what the piper played for the recessional at our wedding in the states).

[Ancienne Alliance]

PM member Pour1malt. He has a guesthouse in Scotland.

Yup ! I'm planning to stop there for at least a drink !

[Phil Wright]

When you have a better idea of places you are likely to get to, just Google the nearest city name and TIC (Tourist Information Centre.) The leg work is done for you!
Congratulatins on your up & coming nuptuals & hope you have a fantastic honeymoon over this way!
Phil

[beloitpiper]

If you go to Ireland, here's what you do for the touristy visit:

-Fly into Dublin. Go see the brewery, the Book of Kells, the history museum, and walk through Temple Bar.
-Next, so to Belfast. While there, take a bus tour of the Giant's Causeway.
-After that, go to Galway (best city in Ireland!). Take a day trip to the Aran Islands and get a jaunty-car tour.
-From Galway, drive through Co. Clare, stopping at the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher.
-You can either spend the night in Limerick or drive straight through to Cork. Go to Blarney Castle and the Cork Gaol.
-Next, go to Kilarney and go on the Ring of Kerry tour.
-From there, you're ready to go to Shannon Airport and fly to Scotland!

If you want the real deal, here's what you do:
-Fly into Dublin. Go to the Brazen Head pub (Ireland's oldest) and the Porterhouse Pub. Visit the Guinness Brewery and the Book of Kells. Avoid Temple Bar at all costs.
-Go to Belfast. Take a Black Taxi tour and spend the night at the White Head pub and Kelly's Cellar pub.
-Then go to Galway. Check out the Aran Islands and rent a bike. Back in Galway, visit the Crane Bar, Taffe's Bar, and Aras na Gael (warning: it's mostly Irish speaking).
-Take a day trip up to Clifden, learn some Gaelic from the locals, and visit Kylemore Abbey.
-Drive through the Burren and stay the night in Doolin. While there, go to Gus O'Connor's Pub. Best music in Ireland.
-From there, go to Cork and check out St. Finbarre's Cathedral and the English Market for the best food in town (all fresh!).
-Then go to Kilarney. Check out O'Connor's Pub and go around the Ring of Kerry. The next day you should go horse-back riding through the national park. Then go to Dingle and go around the Ring of Dingle and meet Fergi the dolphin.
-THEN you're ready for Shannon airport and Scotland.

[The Ulsterman]

If you go to Ireland, here's what you do:

-Fly into Dublin. Yes, it's the capital and there's a lot to do, but honestly...it's not very Irish. Stay there for a day and go see the brewery and the Book of Kells.
-Next, so to Belfast. While there, take a black taxi tour and then take a bus to the Giant's Causeway.
-After that, go to Galway (best city in Ireland!). Take a day trip to the Aran Islands and Kylemore Abbey. Also, be sure to go to the Crane Bar and Taffe's Pub.
-From Galway, drive through Co. Clare, stopping at the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher.
-You can either spend the night in Limerick or drive straight through to Cork. Go to Blarney Castle, St. Finnbarre's Cathedral, and the English Market.
-Next, go to Kilarney and go on the Ring of Kerry tour.
-From there, you're ready to go to Shannon Airport and fly to Scotland!

I must agree about Galway...i love it!!!!...and try to get there at least once a year.
But if you happen to visit Northern Ireland,....the Ulster American folk park at Omagh, County Tyrone is a great day out.
Also in Belfast, there is the Cultra Ulster Folk and transport museum.
Both parks are quite similar, and you can walk around the old style cottages and schools etc, which were literally taken brick by brick, from their original location, to the park.
At the Omagh park,....you walk around half the park viewing Ulster life from the past,..and then you board a ship,...and when you walk out the other side, you are in America!!! (a lot of people say, that it's a lot less hassle than waiting for hours at Heathrow airport)
In all honesty Nert,....You will have a ball,...I love the entire British Isles,...but as i live in Northern Ireland, i can only give it the thumbs up.
The mountains of Mourne, are haunting to say the least(and the only mountains in the British Isles which literally DO "sweep down to the sea".......the old Belfast shipyard ,with it's huge Samson and Goliath cranes, home of the Titanic..(you can still see the building she was designed in, as well as the slip she was launched from).....The Glens of Antrim, The Fermanagh lakeland (sheer bliss)....The walls of Derry/Londonderry (as far as i know, the only completely walled city in Britain, if not Europe)....I could go on all night about my country,..and whilst i can only let the others give advice about England , Scotland and Wales, i can envisage you and your good wife coming back,..time and time again.
...and i promise,....i don't work for the N.Ireland tourist board.
Neil.

[Jock Scot]

Where are you planning to go? By the way RobertParker ,just to be helpful so to speak it is: INVERNESS-SHIRE.