We're flying Icelandic into Glasgow, so we get a running start as we hit the
ground. Plan is to pick up a car at the airport and blow out of the urban area
into the countryside. I think we'll probably do that first night somewhere in
the Loch Lomond/Stirling area, then there are noises about meeting up with some
list members in the Loch Ness/Inverness area. After than we're pretty much
planning on winging it, with an already confirmed four-day stay at an inn on
the Isle of Sky. After that, more winging, I hope out to Lewis and Harris, but
maybe down to Mull.
This trip is about the outdoors rather than urban stuff. People who've been
recently, as well as people who live there, have told us that the visitor
centers are first rate, and one can stop in late in the afternoon and find
plenty of help with dinner and accommodations. I've enjoyed this in Canada as
well, at least in the Maritimes, and think it remarkably civilized and helpful.
If Olde Scotland is anything as accommodating as Nova Scotia, we're in for a
series of treats.
We've already decided that the next time we go to Europe for cathedrals and
museums and such, we're going in late January. After battling 500,000 tourists
at the Museum of Modern Art in New York last month, I can just imagine the Tate
or the Louvre "in season." When we were in London in late May/early June, the
"largest" museum we hit was the National Portrait Gallery, and that wasn't too
full. Didn't even try the Tate. The Florence Nightingale museum was a real
delight, with few people, and the Museum of London almost empty. Which was a
real shame. I'm sure the Museum of London is one of the most underrated museums
in all of the UK. By comparison, the British Museum was a joy, but like MOMA in
New York, we had to constantly avoid being caught in tip tides of Chinese and
Japanese tourists traveling by phalanx.
My son did Paris and London over Christmas/New Year's one year and loved it.
--Bob Whitmire
Registered Neanderthal
On Jul 11, 2013, at 10:10 AM, Chuck Norcutt wrote:
> When my wife and I went with friends to Scotland we first stayed with
> the friends' son and daughter-in-law in SW London and then took the
> Virgin train first class (recommended) to Glasgow. We stayed in the
> Ho-Tel apartments adjacent to the train station (also recommended) and
> rented a 4-door diesel Vauxhall sedan (also recommended) from Hertz
> about 1/2 mile away. We used the Ho-Tel apartment as a base for walking
> trips in the city and for day trips to Loch Lomond, Oban and many other
> places to the north of Glasgow.
>
> We then drove the car to Edinburgh, say many sights along the way and
> stayed at another Ho-Tel apartment on the water front in Edinburgh.
> There we did the same but using the bus to get into the city proper and
> the car for day trips. We returned the car in Edinburgh and took
> another (non-Virgin) train back to London. That train was OK but hardly
> the same excellent accommodations as we had on the Virgin train.
>
> What you do, of course, depends on how much time you have. Don't miss
> the royal botanical gardens in Edinburgh.
--
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