Visiting Scotland-getting around

**cessna152towser** · 26th March 10, 03:56 PM

If you don't mind driving on the left Alan, car hire is your best option as it will let you cover more ground. Our nearest railway station to Hawick is Gretna Green which is forty miles away. Looking forward to meeting you while you are here.

**CameronCat** · 26th March 10, 04:11 PM

A very humorous look at driving in Europe (and by extension, UK, but on the other side from that shown) can be found at this animated link: http://www.animationarcade.com/animation/yesandno.html

Fairly old, but one of my favorites.

Side note: sound track is a bit loud...turn the spkrs down.

**Alan H** · 26th March 10, 09:45 PM

Thank you everybody. I fully expect that I will be solo for this trip, though it's possible that Joan will come along. I would honestly prefer to walk everywhere and take public transport when I had more than seven or eight miles to cover...and if I had ten weeks to do it, I would. It's more likely that I'll have two weeks and a few days.

If I drink more than two drams, my nose runs horribly so I won't be driving drunk. The discomfort isn't worth it!

Hire a car, then.

**sfb** · 27th March 10, 01:49 AM

You'll have a great time here, I'm sure. I never get tired of the scenery and I've had 46 years of it.

I'd definitely underline Forrester Modern's point about making sure there's plenty of fuel in your tank, if you're touring about. I do a fair bit of hillwalking, so I'm all over the place regularly and there's a few areas - even when you're on the "main" road in a popular touristy kind of place - where filling stations are few and far between. Scotland's not a big country, but the way the roads in the north are laid out you sometimes have to travel a long circuitous route to get to somewhere that's not far away as the crow flies!

And some of the wee independent filling stations have a habit of shutting for lunch, church (if they open on Sundays in the first place!), early on Wednesdays etc etc. Not that I've ever been caught out like that, of course, with all my local expertise.

**Seanmhair** · 27th March 10, 06:32 AM

Don't try to see everything in one trip. Pick out a few places important to you and really do that area for a few days.

If you rent a car do get an automatic (From flatland and even though I have driven a standard for 40 years, hills give me the willies) and fill up often. Don't plan long trips on Sundays!

Definitely stay in B&Bs. Besides meeting interesting people, we asked for oatmeal at the B&Bs, ordering it the night before (as many begin cooking it the night before) It was always perfectly cooked steel-cut oats in generous portions and as we also requested not getting the heavy fried breakfasts, we got almost a quarter off our bill, totally unexpected, but true every B&B we stayed in.

Take your time and expect the unexpected. Our two favorite finds were Castle Doune where Monty Python was filmed (had 2 teens with us) which was just going to be one more castle after going to Sterling, ended up spending several hours there just watching them! and the little stone circle at Lochbuie on Mull, mystical place and only one other couple there the hour or so we were there and I only happened to find it on one map!

Food was incredible everywhere we went.

Enjoy your trip!

**Noel Christian Riddell** · 27th March 10, 01:13 PM

I hired a little silver Vauxhall hatchback when my brother and I were in Scotland. That car got the most amazing gas mileage ever!

My rental (from a place at Waverly Station, Edinburgh) came with a 'return car with EMPTY fuel tank' tagged on the contract. Made things easier.

Driving on the left side of the road wasn't too hard except for our yankee tendency to look a certain direction before pulling into traffic. The hardest part was learning to ship a standard transmission with my left hand. After a day or two I was a pro.

Hope you have a great trip.

**sydnie7** · 29th March 10, 08:42 AM

My sister (~20 trips) and mother have found driving in the UK somewhat easier as they are left-handed. As a rightie, I've logged many miles on the left (5 trips) but echo all the advice above. Never used a GPS but it sounds like a wonderful idea, only caution is some stories I've read about lorry drivers being directed into streets where their truck wouldn't fit! So GPS + common sense seems the way to go. The Michelin map book (Amazon link below) is the best printed map we've found, and would be worthwhile for the big picture even if you have GPS for the turn-by-turn detail.

Michelin map book on Amazon

If you have any doubts about your US car insurance and/or credit card company's insurance coverage of the rental, there are some alternatives to the criminally high cost of insurance from the rental company itself. AmEx has a "premium" package you can purchase, and there are some other third-party companies that offer coverage.

Make sure your U.S. passport is good for at least 6 months AFTER your return from UK, otherwise they won't let you in! There are other great tips at a site called Slow Travel. Although it is aimed at those taking longer trips, and covers all of Europe, you will still find great info on the site and forum.

Have fun and show us lots of pics when you get back!

**BEEDEE** · 29th March 10, 04:32 PM

Alan - as an alternative, last trip we made to Scotland we hired a camper van. Gave us all the freedom we wanted cause you can just stop by the road if you need to, although we used campsites. Didn't have to worry about B&Bs, hotels etc and never had a problem finding somewhere to park for the night.

We had a Peugeot diesel with a twin bed, toilet, shower and kitchen area (refrigerator and propane stove). Just perfect for the two of us.

Brian

**cessna152towser** · 31st March 10, 06:35 AM

If you book the travelodge hotels you can sometimes get a room for £20 a night if booked well in advance

Yes indeed Travelodge is excellent value for money, but from experience I can tell you that they often overbook their rooms, I think this is one of their means of keeping down costs as they appear to work on the assumption that a certain percentage of the bookings will not show on the day, so if you do use Travelodge you are best to check in fairly early in the day to ensure you will get the room.