England and Scotland in 2014

[RedSox68]

We are planning a family trip to England and Scotland in 2014 -- staying in London and doing lots of train excursions and then going to Scotland. Anyone done this? If so, here are my questions:

1. Fly into Edinburgh, Scotland first and leave from Heathrow, or vice versa?

2. Use transportation throughout London and outskirts and rent a car in Scotland?

3. Where and how to rent a car in Scotland?

4. Anyone stay in any castles in Scotland?

Any tips for travel, flights, hotels and dining would be most appreciated.

 

[stoneyloon]

If I were you, I'd plan to fly into and leave from London. Our (Scottish) international connections are not the best.

You can get a flight from London up to Inverness very cheaply and fly back to London from Edinburgh, again cheaply. This way you get to see a good mix of Scotland.

For car hire, Avis or Europcar are fairly widespread.....

I don't stay in a castle but there are loads of them around my area, so can put you on to a few to visit if you like?

 

[RedSox68]

If I were you, I'd plan to fly into and leave from London. Our (Scottish) international connections are not the best.

You can get a flight from London up to Inverness very cheaply and fly back to London from Edinburgh, again cheaply. This way you get to see a good mix of Scotland.

For car hire, Avis or Europcar are fairly widespread.....

I don't stay in a castle but there are loads of them around my area, so can put you on to a few to visit if you like?

Thanks -- any names you can throw out there would give me a start.

 

[misspickle]

make sure you visit Eilean Donan castle its beautiful!!

http://www.lochduichhotel.co.uk/

 

[MichelinMan]

If you are near Aberdeen at all, then have a visit to Dunnottar Castle in Stonehaven (15 miles south of Aberdeen) -its just round the corner from my house! It is an old ruined castle, jutting out into the North Sea, where Mel Gibson filmed Hamlet, and the Scots hid the Scottish Crown Jewels from the English!

This is my son standing in front of it:

Aberdeenshire also has a few other castles nearby too - Crathes, Drum and Fyvie castles are all open to the public (and are more complete than Dunnottar Castle is).

Not sure of any castles you can actually stay in, but I do know you can rent lodges in the grounds of Balmoral Castle (the Queen's castle where she goes on holiday every year).

Eilean Donan Castle on the West coast is also stunning - we stayed in a B&B that overlooked the loch where the castle is once (can't remember the name of it though, sorry).

Edinburgh is well worth a visit, and also has a good castle. You could always fly in or out from Manchester too - there are direct trains from Edinburgh to Manchester Airport which makes travel a bit easier. Flights from Scotland to the states cost a bomb.

If you are into whiskey, try to take in a distillery tour at Glenfiddich - it is free, unlike the other distilleries.

 

[stoneyloon]

I'm from the same town!

I took some friends from Austalia to Dunnotar Castle and they were blown away by the history of the place.

If you are near Aberdeen at all, then have a visit to Dunnottar Castle in Stonehaven (15 miles south of Aberdeen) -its just round the corner from my house! It is an old ruined castle, jutting out into the North Sea, where Mel Gibson filmed Hamlet, and the Scots hid the Scottish Crown Jewels from the English!

This is my son standing in front of it:

Aberdeenshire also has a few other castles nearby too - Crathes, Drum and Fyvie castles are all open to the public (and are more complete than Dunnottar Castle is).

Not sure of any castles you can actually stay in, but I do know you can rent lodges in the grounds of Balmoral Castle (the Queen's castle where she goes on holiday every year).

Eilean Donan Castle on the West coast is also stunning - we stayed in a B&B that overlooked the loch where the castle is once (can't remember the name of it though, sorry).

Edinburgh is well worth a visit, and also has a good castle. You could always fly in or out from Manchester too - there are direct trains from Edinburgh to Manchester Airport which makes travel a bit easier. Flights from Scotland to the states cost a bomb.

If you are into whiskey, try to take in a distillery tour at Glenfiddich - it is free, unlike the other distilleries.

 

[Lizzi]

Definitely don't hire a car round London - there is a great tube/bus system, and a day travel card means you can travel on either bus or tube with it. The only thing you need to check is that it covers your entire journey (e.g. centre of London is Zone 1, outskirts are zone 6, so if you're heading out of the main centre, get a ticket to cover to zone 6.)

Enterprise car rental is pretty good, and they also run a system where they will arrange to pick you up from a hotel or station etc to take you to the rental office, so in Edinburgh, it might be useful.

If you know when you want to travel between the cities, book your tickets ahead of time to get the best prices. i always use the website www.eastcoast.co.uk as I find they offer the most competitive prices for train travel. Alternatively, national express or megabus is pretty good for coaches too.

 

[irenep]

Having flown from Edinburgh to new York I know there are definitely flights to the USA from there (and Glasgow) so I expect it would be easy enough to do a trip into London and out of Edinburgh (or vice-versa, I don't think it matters really)

I have never stayed in any castle but it is possible to stay in some Scottish Castles e.g. National Trust for Scotland rents out apartments/rooms(self-catering?) I think at Fyvie Castle and Brodie Castle also I know Kildrummy Castle has recently reopened after a major refurb.
maybe have a look here NTS (National Trust Scotland)
and here http://www.kildrummycastlehotel.com/#
and here

Now, I don't know what these properties are like to stay in so you would need to do further research and I am sure there are plenty of other similar places- these are just a couple near here that I can think of.

Its a good idea to rent a car in Scotland and any of the agencies will have desks at the airport or in the city. I rented a car recently in London (to visit friends in Essex) but you definitely don't want to be driving in London! I used National and wasn't impressed - got an old banger and they were giving the man beside me a lot of hassle about dents/scratches trying to get him to fork out a ton of money. Have also used Hertz (without bother). Just my personal experience, mind.

Hope that helps your planning a little!

 

[misspickle]

hope this helps you http://www.rampantscotland.com/castles/castlesaccom.htm

 

[VailaTigger]

We got married (and stayed in) Culcreuch Castle, Fintry, Stirlingshire. Can highly recommend staying there! Great scenery too. (It's a 10 min drive from our house).

 

[RedSox68]

Incredible tips and suggestions so far. Thanks so much.

 

[Lesleyluvsdisney]

Hi.

It doesn't really matter where you fly in and out of as you'll probably need to go via London anyway. Depending on where you are coming from?

Although I'd probably say do London first as that's a faster paced city.

Have a great trip when it comes x

 

[RedSox68]

Hi.

It doesn't really matter where you fly in and out of as you'll probably need to go via London anyway. Depending on where you are coming from?

Although I'd probably say do London first as that's a faster paced city.

Have a great trip when it comes x

Yeah, that's a big decision. We know that our Scotland side of the trip will be full of driving (and anxiety about driving ) and lots of going every day, where our London stay will be in one place. And since it is an apartment with full cooking abilities, I tend to think that that leg of the trip is going to be more relaxing. So we have to decide whether we want to start with the big city or end with the big city

 

[loadsapixiedust]

www.visitscotland.com would be a good starting place for things to see and places to stay. If you are anxious about driving you could take a coach tour, they are a good way to see several attractions in a few days without having to drive yourself which means that you can just sit back and enjoy the scenery.

 

[RedSox68]

www.visitscotland.com would be a good starting place for things to see and places to stay. If you are anxious about driving you could take a coach tour, they are a good way to see several attractions in a few days without having to drive yourself which means that you can just sit back and enjoy the scenery.

Wonderful site -- thank you

 

[misspickle]

here's another site http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/