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Taking My Wife to Scotland to visit Castles and etc. ... Advice please if You've ever been.

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posted on Jan, 20 2017 @ 01:37 PM
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Greetings-

My Wife has asked Me to accompany Her to Scotland to visit the land of "Outlander" (some t.v. show about a WWII nurse who gets sent back in time...) My Wife mentioned Castle visits and visiting the countryside.

If I was still able to play Golf then I wouldn't really fret about spending My time but now that I can no longer play.. I'd be happy sitting in some bar and walking around the different towns and cities.

For those who have been---- Is it advisable to rent a car or take the bus? We plan on visiting in Sept. how is the weather during that time of the year?? Are there casinos?

Thanks for any help...



posted on Jan, 20 2017 @ 01:44 PM
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a reply to: JimNasium

Definitely rent a car.

Weather is normally wet in September. Hell, its normally wet every month, so I'd prepare for rain, but hope for sun.

There are some bars close to some castles, but it depending on which castles you're planning on visiting.

Casinos are normally in bigger towns/cities, but (again, depends on the castle) there are some casinos near ish (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen have a few casinos)
edit on 2012017 by TerryDon79 because: (no reason given)



posted on Jan, 20 2017 @ 01:55 PM
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a reply to: JimNasium

Castles and Countryside, forget casino's and bars unless you plan on visiting Castles in cities, these are not cheap to enter either.

My recommendation, if the wife wants to visit Outlander type stuff, is the Highlands which pretty much rules out Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen, Glasgow. which goes against your wants/needs lol.

Head for Inverness and surrounding areas ...... Loch Ness, Loch Mullardoch, Glen Afric etc etc ........... stunning scenery and nice "ruined" castles, a village there in Afric called Tomich would be a good base to stay (Log Cabins for hire, beautiful)

Stirling is also good, give Stirling Castle a miss unless there is an event on, go to Wallace Monument (the top of) but only if you dont mind heights



edit on 2017-01-20T14:05:33-06:002017Fri, 20 Jan 2017 14:05:33 -0600bFriday0501America/Chicago172 by corblimeyguvnor because: (no reason given)



posted on Jan, 20 2017 @ 01:55 PM
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Learn the language.

Watch some Scottish movies first eh?



posted on Jan, 20 2017 @ 01:56 PM
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Gretna Green. There is a little woodworker shop there. The man who owns it makes beautiful bowls and boxes.

I don't know if he's still there. I was last there in '01.



posted on Jan, 20 2017 @ 02:03 PM
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My favorite castle is Sterling...which is the gateway to the Trossacks...which is absolutely stunning in the Autumn.

I can't post photo's for you, but this link will help as it lists every castle in Scotland


www.historic-uk.com...Scottish Castles

Rainbows
Jane



posted on Jan, 20 2017 @ 02:16 PM
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originally posted by: angelchemuel
My favorite castle is Sterling...which is the gateway to the Trossacks...which is absolutely stunning in the Autumn.

I can't post photo's for you, but this link will help as it lists every castle in Scotland



Rainbows
Jane


Only when Runrig are gigging there




edit on 2017-01-20T14:18:59-06:002017Fri, 20 Jan 2017 14:18:59 -0600bFriday1801America/Chicago172 by corblimeyguvnor because: (no reason given)



posted on Jan, 20 2017 @ 02:26 PM
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Yeah, you'll want to hire a car. The public transport system once you leave the cities is hopeless.

And taking out a months membership to Historic Scotland might be a good idea, to get free entry to the castles. They can be expensive. Last time I was at Stirling castle it was... at least £15 a head. Maybe more.


Weather is pot luck any time of year. You might get rain for 6 weeks, you might get glorious sunshine. You might get snow.

Outlander is shot in the HIghlands, so you'll definitely want to head North from Edinburgh. But, being a small country, you can drive 90 minutes north of Edinburgh and be in the Highlands already.



posted on Jan, 20 2017 @ 04:23 PM
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I appreciate everyone taking the time out to help in gathering intel on this trip. When I was still playing Golf, a fella from Edinburgh came and visited and brought some Edinburgh crystal as a gift, then We played Golf for a few days and drove up to Virginia Beach from Flori-Duh to play in a Golf tournament.

I was thinking of getting a Gore-Tex suit to combat the elements; comfort and because of the waterproof properties. I don't really need much to entertain myself and am easily amused.

Again I appreciate everyone's input on this...

Stay Hydrated...



posted on Jan, 20 2017 @ 04:57 PM
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a reply to: JimNasium
Routes through the Highlands are limited in number, so you may get the best out of it by planning a circular trip. You would probably want to enter by Loch Lomond or Callendar or the Tay valley and head for destinations like Inverness, Fort William, and Oban on the further edges.



posted on Jan, 20 2017 @ 05:55 PM
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Rain gear. Very good advice. I bought a nice green Columbia raincoat just for the trip and ended up wearing it everyday.



posted on Jan, 20 2017 @ 09:25 PM
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I took a trip there back in late July of 2014 and did a lot of castle-seeing. I can't help you with the transportation side of things as my sister was working in Aberdeen at the time and took time off to drive me around, but I can tell you that I didn't go to a castle that I didn't enjoy seeing!

Dunnottar Castle (near Aberdeen) is awesome. It's banged up pretty good, but it sits on this cliff that gives it spectacular views of the North Sea.

Urquhart Castle (southwest of Inverness) sits right on Loch Ness. It's another ruined castle, but is more touristy than Dunnottar since it is on the loch. They have a little café and gift shop and such.

Doune Castle (near Stirling) is a fun place to stop if you're a Monty Python fan. Not much to see there otherwise though...

Stirling and Edinburgh Castles are rad since they are rather large and intact.

There's also William Wallace's monument near Stirling, which I didn't go see but sounded cool.


It rained everyday I was there, but it wasn't like the rain we get here in Colorado (huge, cold drops). It was more of a constant drizzle and really didn't bother me at all. I just wore my leather jacket the whole time and was fine.

Have fun!



posted on Jan, 21 2017 @ 04:46 AM
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I know it's the castles that you're predominantly interested in but, if you're going in early September, you might want to consider experiencing a Highland Games. There's info re. dates and locations here:
www.shga.co.uk...

I think it would be a shame to visit Scotland without dropping in on Edinburgh. The castle is fabulous and they have the Scott Monument - a tower with well over 200 stairs which you can climb to the top of. You need to be a bit fit and steady on your feet - the stone spiral staircase gets very narrow:
www.edinburghmuseums.org.uk...

Coming from Florida probably means you will feel the cold quite keenly so don't forget your thermal socks. And definitely something rainproof. I don't know how you feel about ex-army ponchos but I love mine. It's roomy, has a hood and rolls up neatly. Lightweight, too.

Definitely hire a car. I got stuck at Loch Ness (with nothing to do) once with a roughly five hour wait for a bus back to Inverness. No sign of Nessie to break the tedium, either.

I hope you both enjoy yourselves, Scotland is a very beautiful country.



posted on Jan, 21 2017 @ 06:40 AM
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What fun! That's one of the (many) trips I have on my bucket list!

Make sure you take lots of pics and share them with us?

I would especially like to see the Lee Castle, near Lanark. Though it is privately owned and they do not allow tours inside. I grew up being told my family came from that clan (though honestly I am not sure if that was confirmed, the same name could have many different branches...). Still looks lovely though.


I hope you both have a wonderful time!!!
edit on 21-1-2017 by Bluesma because: (no reason given)



posted on Jan, 21 2017 @ 10:34 AM
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a reply to: JimNasium

Wow I hope you have a great time!

I visited Scotland in 2000, and we used the train to get everywhere. It is highly effective. To get to the islands sometimes they use buses instead. Definitely go to Stirling, and check out the Wallace Tower!

We also went up to Loch Shiel (Highlander/Glenfinnan) which has historical significance, a fantastic peat bog to navigate, more memorial sites, etc. Gorgeous.

But I think my fave was Mallaig, after staying at Fort William. As for castle visits: we saw Brougham Castle (ruins), Doune Castle (Monty Python Holy Grail Castle), Edinburgh Castle, etc. And on the route back south we stopped in Rob Roy territory (Balquhidder) which is my ancestral homeland on my mom's paternal side.
It is so fascinating....have fun!!

edit on 1/21/2017 by BuzzyWigs because: (no reason given)



posted on Dec, 24 2018 @ 11:43 AM
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a reply to: JimNasium

loch lomond is less than 1 hour from glasgow, ticks all the boxes.
if you got dough, cameron house, although it had a fire recently lol
if you got serious dough loch lomond golf course facilities.
other than that theres log cabins, camp sites and hotels scattered all around it.

there castle ruins everywhere in scotland btw
even in my town
en.wikipedia.org...


edit on 24-12-2018 by ManyMasks because: (no reason given)



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