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Old 11-20-2012, 01:01 PM
 
Location: Maryland
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Hey Folks,

Working on some plans for a major trip (2-4 weeks) to Scotland (and northern England) for 2014.

Question to those who have actual experience: am I correct in my assumption that one can hit almost all the Scotland attractions on day tripping from Edinburgh? I know that some areas take a day's drive to get there but in general, most of Scotland seems reachable on day trips. All comments would be appreciated.
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Old 11-20-2012, 01:25 PM
 
Location: Oxford, England
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Nope. Scotland is BIG. Some of un-missable parts of Scotland are Highlands and Islands and that deserves at least a weekon their own. A day trip from Edinburgh would be Glasgow ( though it deserves at least 3 or 4 days), Perth, Sterling, The Trossachs ( can be combined with Sterling), Some of the Borders if you don't want to actually do or see that much and also the fishing villages up in Fife the coast from Edinburgh.

A trip to Scotland without going towards Fort William, Mallaig, The Ardnamurchan Peninsula, hopping to Skye or even doing Mull and some other Islands would be a real shame. It is some of the most beautiful scenery on the planet IMO. Also you can go further North towards Sutherland , Ullapool etc...

Bear in mind most roads are single lane little twisting roads some even without passing places and it takes ages to go from A to B. Also for most places once you get in properly rural areas there is only one road to the place you want to go and from it...




The East Coast is no way near as attractive.

I lived in Scotland for five years and even in that time we barely scratched the surface.
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Old 11-20-2012, 01:30 PM
 
Location: Colorado
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Depends on what you consider to be a day-trip. What's the furthest or longest you would drive to get there and back again: 2 hours, 3 hours?

Certainly there is plenty to see close to Edinburgh. The city of Glasgow is about an hour but you couldn't do it justice in just one day. Bamburgh is just under 2 hours, Alnwick about the same, Newcastle and Hadrian's Wall a bit further. North to Loch Ness would take nearly 3.
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Old 11-20-2012, 01:56 PM
 
Location: Gorgeous Scotland
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mooseketeer View Post
Nope. Scotland is BIG. Some of un-missable parts of Scotland are Highlands and Islands and that deserves at least a weekon their own. A day trip from Edinburgh would be Glasgow ( though it deserves at least 3 or 4 days), Perth, Sterling, The Trossachs ( can be combined with Sterling), Some of the Borders if you don't want to actually do or see that much and also the fishing villages up in Fife the coast from Edinburgh.

A trip to Scotland without going towards Fort William, Mallaig, The Ardnamurchan Peninsula, hopping to Skye or even doing Mull and some other Islands would be a real shame. It is some of the most beautiful scenery on the planet IMO. Also you can go further North towards Sutherland , Ullapool etc...

Bear in mind most roads are single lane little twisting roads some even without passing places and it takes ages to go from A to B. Also for most places once you get in properly rural areas there is only one road to the place you want to go and from it...




The East Coast is no way near as attractive.

I lived in Scotland for five years and even in that time we barely scratched the surface.
Aye. Agreed. I've lived here for nearly 13 and still have many places I haven't seen yet.
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Old 11-20-2012, 01:58 PM
 
Location: Gorgeous Scotland
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Scotland may look small on a map, but when you start driving you realize just how many lochs there are and the reason the roads are all winding in and out.
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Old 11-20-2012, 02:15 PM
 
Location: Airstrip 1, Oceania
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If I was going for 4 weeks, I would spend 1 week in each of Edinburgh, Inverness (for the northern highlands), Oban (for the Hebrides) and Dumfries (for Galloway and the English lake district) and it's still going to be a lot of driving.
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Old 11-20-2012, 02:15 PM
 
Location: Colorado
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Originally Posted by Ameriscot View Post
Scotland may look small on a map, but when you start driving you realize just how many lochs there are and the reason the roads are all winding in and out.
And almost all the roads are single lane so if you get stuck behind someone who won't pull over and let you pass, you could be there a while
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Old 11-20-2012, 02:18 PM
 
Location: Gorgeous Scotland
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Originally Posted by chilaili View Post
And almost all the roads are single lane so if you get stuck behind someone who won't pull over and let you pass, you could be there a while
Most of the roads are 2 lane, not single track although there are a lot of single track. On the islands most are single track but not the mainland. And there are also 4 lane divided highways and motorways.
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Old 11-20-2012, 02:19 PM
 
Location: Gorgeous Scotland
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Originally Posted by Brontosaurus View Post
If I was going for 4 weeks, I would spend 1 week in each of Edinburgh, Inverness (for the northern highlands), Oban (for the Hebrides) and Dumfries (for Galloway and the English lake district) and it's still going to be a lot of driving.
He's including northern England as well though, so I'd say at least 10 days for that with Hadrian's Wall and other areas. Northumbria is very nice as well.
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Old 11-20-2012, 02:24 PM
 
Location: in the southwest
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Rick Steves is a nice guy, but I'll never forget years ago reading his Scotland guidebook in which he said if you get up to Inverness you've seen all there is worth seeing in Scotland. Not so, Rick!

We once spent two weeks in Scotland,driving around. It was in August and we got to see some of the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, but Scotland has so much to offer, from the lochs to the distilleries to the glens, and don't get me started on the castles. Stirling Castle was our favorite.

The coastal northwest is so beautiful. We visited Inverewe Garden, which is lush with plants you can't imagine growing there, the north Atlantic drift keeps the region temperate, there are little palm trees growing in the charming harbor town of Plockton, which calls itself the jewel of the Highlands, and who am I to disagree.
One of the more amazing place was the Applecross Peninsula. For some, this is white-knuckle driving, but we were from Colorado so were not intimidated.

If I have not convinced you to see more than a day trip from Edinburgh, I would take the train to Glasgow.
Also, you might consider a splurge at Borthwick Castle, which is actually within the city limits, though it doesn't feel like it when you're there. The ancient castle is seething with history, and we had a great dinner there too, then spent the night. It was pricey at the time but felt like money well spent.
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