I'm going to Scotland for a week in September - What should I do and see?

In My Humble Opinion
21

Okay - building on what floats your boat above:

Currour Halt has a nearby Youth Hostel set on the banks of Loch Ossian. http://www.syha.org.uk/hostels-in-scotland/highlands/loch-ossian.aspx

If you can beg or borrow some sleeping bags you could come in on the morning train, drop your kit (it’s only 30 mins down to the Loch) walk, stay the night and leave the next day. Much better than trying to push on and do it in one day. The Hostel is fab - no power bar lights, no hot water or showers, bring in your own food - attracts those that love wilderness so popular so book beds well ahead if you fancy it. The setting and quiet is amazing. The hills are not that near - longish walk-ins - so you would get much more out of it by spending the night there and could not be more different than Glasgow/Edinburgh.

Falkirk Wheel is okay but you know it is very modern not historical, right? You can book a trip on a canal boat which takes the wheel to change levels and when I went I wish I had done that as looked better than just watching the action. Recall it was pricey though compared to just watching. If you are going up that way there are a few nearby options including:

  1. Ruined royal palaces at Linlithgow (http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/propertyoverview?PropID=pl_199&PropName=Linlithgow%20Palace

  2. The model village at New Lanark (world heritage site) http://www.newlanark.org/index2.shtml

or

  1. The working steam railway at Bo’ness http://www.srps.org.uk/railway/ for starters.
22

Oh - and you might wish to defer the Stone Skimming Champs to next time (although they do sound wacky) as Oban must be five or six hours drive from Glasgow.

23

Thanks, NotQuiteKarpov. That’s all really helpful. Looks like I’ll probably be giving the championships a pass.

Hopefully I can talk my friends into the hostel (The Glasgow guy is an artist and not a huge fan of camping and such).

24

I take it you mean return journey? Oban can be done in two hours from Glasgow.

25

Friends of mine went to Islay in April (as part of a longer tour, Islay was an overnight stay) and really, really enjoyed the experience.

26

I spent three months in Glasgow in 2007 and saw a good bit of Scotland. Lots of good recommendations in this thread already. I heartily second a hike up The Cobbler overlooking Loch Long. Take the train to Arrochar. If you leave early in the morning it’s an easy day trip from Glasgow.

A few of my other favorites:

the Isle of Skye - remote but spectacular, and home to Talisker whisky. Far from Glasgow, but I cannot recommend it too highly!

The spectacular seaside ruins of Dunnator Castle near Stonehaven, about 15 miles or so south of Aberdeen – my favorite by far of the umpteen castles I visited.

And in Glasgow itself, besides the zillion pubs and museums and historical sites, it’s worth a peek inside the Xscape entertainment complex just to say you’ve actually seen an indoor ski slope. Not something you see every day!

Cheers!

27

Loch Ness. And tell us if the monster is real!

28

I discussed Loch Ness with an English friend once. He said that he had spent a week there at a scout camp when he was a child and didn’t see one single trace of a monster. We came to the conclusion that this was probably because he was too young to drink whisky at the time.

29

I’ve been on a cruise on Loch Ness (twice) with an operator out of Fort Augustus. Not only does he swear that the monster exists, he has pictures of it on his mobile phone somehow and has been offered $26 million (US) by a European millionaire for one.

The first trip I thought he was just a bit strange. The second time- a few years later it had become boring.

30

For Glasgow itself, I like the Kelvingrove and the Lighthouse (we’ve got a family connection to that one).

If you like Alasdair Gray, and if your mate is an artist, he’ll either love or hate him, you can try to see the mural in the Ubiquitous Chip. Actually, read 1982 Janine for a view of Glasgow and the early Edinburgh Fringe.

I love, love, love the transport museum, but I’m just like that. I haven’t been to the new home, though.

Tchai-Ovna in Otago Lane is nice for tea and snacks and a shisha pipe, if that’s your thing. There’s actually two, but that’s the one I’ve been to. To continue in a Russian vein, Cafe Cossachok is nice food at not bank-breaking prices. There’s jazz some nights and a gallery.

In terms of Edinburgh, I’ll second the Halfway House and Arthur’s Seat. At the Halfway House, get the Cullen Skink. After Arthur’s Seat, check out the National Museum for the little effigies they found up there.

If you get out near Rannoch Moor, Schiehallion is an easy climb. Yes, the pointy side looks impressive. You only go up that way if you are bonkers. The other side is a nice, rocky ramp. That’s nearer the Kinloch Rannoch side of things, though, and less remote. And if you’re that was anyhow, you can see the National Trust site of Killicrankie with the Soldier’s Leap.

I see someone has recommended Skye, which is awesome, and I’ll go further and say that Mull and Iona are great, but all three of those are a lot of driving. We even picked up a few hitchhickers on Mull who had over-extended themselves hiking.

Yes, you will regret taking a car to Edinburgh. Glasgow too. Both have great public transport systems- the Edinburgh buses are some of the least mysterious that I have encountered and Glasgow has an Underground.

31

If I could add Cullen Skink is a fish soup, not baked lizard.

The Rannoch Moors are haunting, for mine just behind Culloden (in usual Scottish weather).

I would also suggest no car in Edinburgh. It is not huge, public transport and walking are great and there are also the open top bus tours which will take you everywhere. Plus, Edinburgh is a bastard of a place to drive in if you don’t know it- I have never not got lost just getting out! And I drive on the same side of the road as they do.

I realise a few of these suggestions are going to be impractical for a week also.

32

The Museum is free and has some great stuff, but once you’re up Arthur’s Seat, instead of just coming back into town, go down the back of it via some steps to Duddingston, turn left along the Vennel and visit the Sheep Heid Inn for food and beer. Any time we’re there, we usually opt to sit in their beer garden. There’s a regular (but not necessarily frequent) bus back into the town centre which leaves from a few minutes away. Or walk along the bus route for 5 minutes past the bird sanctuary and then turn right onto the Innocent Railway path and stroll back that way. The last section is through an old tunnel (which can be avoided) and it terminates where you’d probably leave Arthur’s Seat anyway…

33

We never get to eat anywhere different in Edinburgh- it’s always off to the City Restaurant because someone is addicted to the curry sauce there.

34

Try Mother India - excellent food served tapas style, and only 200 yards from the City Cafe on Infirmary Street!

35

We decided not to do a tour that included Loch Ness, when I found out it would involve a long bus ride over winding Highland roads. Though maybe throwing up in the loch (from motion sickness) would attract the monster… Then again, this is Britain, I’m sure the theory that vomiting in the loch will attract the monster has been tested :wink:

Loch Ness is not near Glasgow or Edinburgh. Google Maps has it as about a 3 hour 45 minute drive from Glasgow. Maybe if you enjoy driving along Highland roads, that might be worth it. Certainly not for me, though.

36

It’s very reachable from Inverness, however, as we once camped in Inverness and took the bus out to Loch Ness. Obviously, you don’t have to camp there- we just like camping. We didn’t have a car then, so it was camping stuff on the train and hiking from there.

I didn’t go into Inverness or Aberdeen in any detail (or Skye, Mull and Iona), as they can be awkward to get to when you’ve got a limited time and there’s really plenty to see in Glasgow and Edinburgh without complicating it.

If you are thinking further afield, I’ll second aesop and also recommend Stonehaven, which is a short trip from Aberdeen. The castle ruins are spectacular and were used for the exterior shots on Mel Gibson’s Hamlet. There is also the large war monument and the open-air seawater swimming pool. The Ship Inn on the waterfront has great cullen skink. I’m not obsessed, I swear.

Culloden is a good day trip and the interpretive centre is great.

Nearer to Edinburgh are Perth and Dundee (blech.) Perth and the surrounding area is lovely country and has some nice hillwalks. Dundee has the Discovery, which is the ship from Scott’s first polar expedition.

37

Not so much winding IMO and quite beautiful.

38

Can any Scots comment on interesting events or festivals happening in the second half of September in the vicinity of Glasgow/Edinburgh?

39

Edinburgh’s all festivaled out by then - we’ll have been hard at it from mid-July to early September!

40

A Visitor’s Guide to Scotland (slightly rude language but funny, might not be entirely SFW):