i'm going to Scotland for 3 days.where should i go?

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A buisness trip,landing in Glasgow, and than i have free 3 days.
where should i go? what should i do?
any help will be much appreciated..

― suzzi (suzzi), Monday, 30 October 2006 17:15 (nineteen years ago)

You should contact the Glasgow mafia and get them to show you a good time.

― Lara (Lara), Monday, 30 October 2006 17:24 (nineteen years ago)

suzzi, do you have a car or will you be taking public transport?

one thing you should definately do is go to edinburgh for at least a whole day. i'm not so good on countryside though. i don't like it much.

― jed_ (jed), Monday, 30 October 2006 17:31 (nineteen years ago)

If you have a car, go up to the East Neuk of Fife and end up in St Andrews.

― Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Monday, 30 October 2006 17:34 (nineteen years ago)

I'd spend a day in Edinburgh (it's 45 mins on the train) and then if you like the countryside rest of the time on the isle of Arran, which is relatively quick to get to to and will give you lots to admire (the cliche runs that it's "Scotland in miniature").

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 30 October 2006 17:46 (nineteen years ago)

(not that you shouldn't spend a day in Glasgow either)

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 30 October 2006 17:47 (nineteen years ago)

I like the countryside. Last week I spent a cpl of days in the Trossachs w/ my sister and her family, and it was absolutely wonderful - Loch Lomond is breathtaking, esp. w/ low-lying clouds shrouding the hills. Best of all, it's only an hour or so drive from Glasgow.

― Ward Fowler (Ward Fowler), Monday, 30 October 2006 17:50 (nineteen years ago)

Definitely a day in and around the highlands (or just anywhere from Loch Lomond, Inverness, St Andrews, Aberdeen, Fort William), a day in Edinburgh and a day in Glasgow. The rest of it's beautiful too, and I'd thoroughly recommend any of it (big up Stranraer and the Rhins!) but if you've done those three, you've done pretty well all the touristy stuff.

― Andrew Munro (andyboyo), Monday, 30 October 2006 17:51 (nineteen years ago)

You could go up to Tarbet for Loch Lomond and the Arrochar Alps. Just over an hour from Glasgow

― Ed (dali), Monday, 30 October 2006 17:52 (nineteen years ago)

beautiful places in scotland

(don't go to Aberdeen)

― ailsa (ailsa), Monday, 30 October 2006 17:53 (nineteen years ago)

drink organic cider with us in mono.

― stet (stet), Monday, 30 October 2006 18:16 (nineteen years ago)

Stay in Glasgow and get slaughtered on Buckfast. Live how the natives live!

― Ally C (Ally C), Monday, 30 October 2006 18:17 (nineteen years ago)

haha, stet, I knew you (or Grimly Fiendish) would suggest that.

― ailsa (ailsa), Monday, 30 October 2006 18:18 (nineteen years ago)

i want to drink organic cider (except not really) with stet and grimly in mono.

and also get slaughtered on Buckfast.

― ken c (ken c), Monday, 30 October 2006 18:20 (nineteen years ago)

They also do organic cider in WestBeer, which has a nicer range of alternatives for people who don't like cider, and also has proper food and not yer tree-hugging, kaftan-wearing, brown-ricey pish like what you get in Mono.

Last time I witnessed Mono running out of organic cider and stet and grimly making lethal snakebites with Furstenburg and organic cider. Bleurgh. Were you not there at that time, Ken?

― ailsa (ailsa), Monday, 30 October 2006 18:25 (nineteen years ago)

That sounds like a drink in need of a bucky top.

― Ed (dali), Monday, 30 October 2006 18:27 (nineteen years ago)

Ed = PUB GENIUS!!!

― ailsa (ailsa), Monday, 30 October 2006 18:28 (nineteen years ago)

i wld also like to go drinking w/ the organic cider posse in mono again

only yesterday i had a tasty all-day veggie breakfast in Mono and a REALLY nice organic cola - the homebrewed ginger beer my friends had was v. tasty too

― Ward Fowler (Ward Fowler), Monday, 30 October 2006 18:29 (nineteen years ago)

ward, let's do it!

ken, come back and drink with us again!

ed, come with him and bring your, er, "cocktail"-making skills!

can't really add a lot to what everyone's said already about where to go etc. arran is a very good call. just be aware that absolutely everywhere that isn't the interior of a pub will be wet and blowy :(

― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Monday, 30 October 2006 18:32 (nineteen years ago)

Since the person who started this thread seems to be absent, I am going to poke my head in here to tell you that the Milkman and I will be in Glasgow in January. We're spending a couple of days in Edinburgh and then taking a train? bus? to Glasgow.

My annoying touristy question: We're in the US and need to buy train/bus tickets on the interweb so we don't get raped by high prices once we get there. Any suggestions for websites or train/bus lines?

PS It's my first time in the UK and I AM EXCITED. Even though it's winter. We live in Chicago so it's bound to be an improvement.

― The Milkmaid (82375538-A) (The Milkmaid), Monday, 30 October 2006 18:32 (nineteen years ago)

megabus.com

You won't be able to buy tickets yet, as they only sell two months in advance, but keep checking and you will get Edinburgh - Glasgow for £1 or thereabouts.

― ailsa (ailsa), Monday, 30 October 2006 18:39 (nineteen years ago)

I'm here,thanks for all your help.
i'll probably end with the Glasgow-Edinburgh-Loch Lomond route.

― suzzi (suzzi), Monday, 30 October 2006 18:39 (nineteen years ago)

We're in the US and need to buy train/bus tickets on the interweb so we don't get raped by high prices once we get there.

Good thinking, but I'm not sure it really applies if you're just travelling between Glasgow and Edinburgh. You might be able to get some £1 Megabus deal (x-post with ailsa), but with the train, there's no discount for booking in advance between the two cities, I don't think. It'll cost you about £15 return each. More if you're travelling before 9.30AM or so. Someone else will know the exact figure. www.thetrainline.com will tell you (you can also book the ticket there if you really want).

The bus is a bit less, but I'd stick with the train if I were you.

If you use buses within the actual city, good luck to you. You can get an all-day pass in Glasgow from the driver for about £2.60 (you need exact change, as with the single fares, which are about £1.35). But buses are a bit hard to get your head around really, except for the open top sightseeing buses, which I recommend for fun.

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 30 October 2006 18:44 (nineteen years ago)

Tip: taxis in Glasgow are pretty cheap, but Edinburgh ones cost a fortune.

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 30 October 2006 18:45 (nineteen years ago)

If you're getting buses (we tend to call them coaches if they travel between cities) then the main nationwide company is National Express. Megabus is the newer bargain basement competitor.

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 30 October 2006 18:47 (nineteen years ago)

Oh yeah, we've looked at megabus. I forgot to mention that. The problem is that megabus doesn't go all of the places that we wanted to go. I realize that this isn't SCOTLAND related, but we need to go from Manchester to York, and the megabus didn't have that listed among its routes.

Is there a central booking place for online train/bus tickets?

(thank you in advance for your help. I might seek it again later once we're nearer to leaving/arriving. maybe a FAP?)

― The Milkmaid (82375538-A) (The Milkmaid), Monday, 30 October 2006 18:48 (nineteen years ago)

trains: http://www.thetrainline.com (all trains)
coaches: http://www.nationalexpress.com/ (includes some non-National Express routes, I think, such as London-Oxford)

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 30 October 2006 18:51 (nineteen years ago)

National Express for bus journeys involving England, Scottish Citylink for journeys that don't. And, yeah, www.thetrainline.com if you can make sense of the impenetrable mess that is train fare pricing in the UK.

xpost

― ailsa (ailsa), Monday, 30 October 2006 18:51 (nineteen years ago)

THANK YOU X1000. That helps a lot. I'm super excited about this trip and wish it would just happen already. We finally found a room we could afford in Edinburgh for 12/30 and 12/31. I'm a little nervous about there being soooo many people in town for Hogmanay, but it'll be an adventure. I guess. If it's not a nightmare.

PS -- Is Hogmanay a nightmare?

― The Milkmaid (82375538-A) (The Milkmaid), Monday, 30 October 2006 18:55 (nineteen years ago)

As a general rule, coaches are quite a bit cheaper than trains, but a lot less comfortable and get you there slower.

As another general rule, train journeys over about an hour and a half in duration tend to be cheaper to book in advance. If on the trainline.com, the cheapest ticket offered is called a Saver Return, then there's probably no point booking it in advance. You can get Saver Returns on the day of travel.

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 30 October 2006 18:56 (nineteen years ago)

You need tickets for Edinburgh's Hogmanay. I've never done it but here's the website: http://www.edinburghshogmanay.org/

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 30 October 2006 18:58 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, I put myself on the mailing list so I would be able to decide whether or not we wanted to shell out the cash for tickets. I'm thinking probably not. Honestly, a night in the pub is just as exciting, since we've never been there before.

― The Milkmaid (82375538-A) (The Milkmaid), Monday, 30 October 2006 19:00 (nineteen years ago)

Sounds like a good plan to me.

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 30 October 2006 19:01 (nineteen years ago)

Needless to say transport services are likely to be a curtailed/non-existent on New Year's Day, but should be back to normal by 3rd (and 2nd on most major routes).

― Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Monday, 30 October 2006 19:04 (nineteen years ago)

forget all the rest and go here:

http://static.flickr.com/118/279423740_dd7a5dde6c.jpg

and get a boat to one of the islands - mull is 45 mins away for example

ps that place is oban, 3.5 hrs from glasgow on the train. its the gateway to the highlands and the islands, and glencoe, ben nevis arent more than 1 hr away.

― ambrose (ambrose), Monday, 30 October 2006 19:18 (nineteen years ago)

Most pubs and restaurants are shut in Edinburgh on the 1st. On 31st pubs usually shut at about 10.

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Monday, 30 October 2006 19:29 (nineteen years ago)

But you could go to the Holyrood Tavern, as it's always empty. There is a top class heavy metal jukebox too.

― KeefW (kmw), Monday, 30 October 2006 19:31 (nineteen years ago)

Eep, there's something I didn't know. I guess we'll have to wing it once we get there. What I really want to do is to spend a holiday in an empty tavern with a heavy metal jukebox, so the Holyrood sounds delightful. : /

― The Milkmaid (82375538-A) (The Milkmaid), Monday, 30 October 2006 19:47 (nineteen years ago)

Are the pubs ticketed on New Years Eve, a few down our way are that night?

― Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Monday, 30 October 2006 19:49 (nineteen years ago)

An empty tavern it is, then!

― The Milkmaid (82375538-A) (The Milkmaid), Monday, 30 October 2006 19:50 (nineteen years ago)

Billy, I don't know, as 1997 or so, was the last time I actually went out here on that day. I normally escape to Glasgow. I bet the Canny mans is.

― KeefW (kmw), Monday, 30 October 2006 20:23 (nineteen years ago)

What I really want to do is to spend a holiday in an empty tavern with a heavy metal jukebox, so the Holyrood sounds delightful

no, really, that sounds ACE. i mean, given that last year i was sober, dressed as vince vega, at mrs fiendish's cousin's party ... no, it's too painful to even think about.

― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Monday, 30 October 2006 20:31 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, I was only partially kidding. It doesn't sound that bad at all. I'm wondering if we made a mistake in our itinerary being in Edinburgh on NYE though. Part of the trouble is that this is the only time of year that we have time off work to travel. (I'm a teacher.)

― The Milkmaid (82375538-A) (The Milkmaid), Monday, 30 October 2006 20:38 (nineteen years ago)

If it's me saying I try to get out that's putting you off, don't let it... Most people have a great time, it just gets a bit tiring and feels as though the city you live in is telling you to f**k off for a day or two so that tourists can enjoy themselves.

― KeefW (kmw), Monday, 30 October 2006 20:52 (nineteen years ago)

Well, not necessarily. I think we'll probably stick with Edinburgh but we're not really, I dunno, "SHOW ME YOUR TITS" type people. If Edinburgh becomes New Orleans for a night, I think we'd just as soon hole up with the heavy metal jukebox.

― The Milkmaid (82375538-A) (The Milkmaid), Monday, 30 October 2006 20:55 (nineteen years ago)

I'd be surprised if it is that way... Unless Japanese tourists shout that a lot. Not that I really know, since as I say, it's been about ten years since I've gone out on New Year's Eve.

― KeefW (kmw), Monday, 30 October 2006 20:57 (nineteen years ago)

SHOW ME YOUR TITS KEITH

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 30 October 2006 21:41 (nineteen years ago)

Ha!

I didn't see that coming.

― KeefW (kmw), Monday, 30 October 2006 21:45 (nineteen years ago)

Lack of public transport on New Year's Day is worrying me since I have to get to Celtic Park. Bastarding SPL :-/

You will not get to Glasgow on the 1st January on public transport, and you may struggle on the 2nd January since that's a public holiday in Scotland too. You might want to hire a car or book another night's accomodation in Edinburgh.

Do not take taxis anywhere at New Year as the prices go up massively due to lack of any other available tranport.

― ailsa (ailsa), Monday, 30 October 2006 22:21 (nineteen years ago)

It might be OK on New Year's Day... I've done it a few times before in the other direction. The central station train runs a few times, at least in the other direction, which means it goes back, too.

― KeefW (kmw), Monday, 30 October 2006 22:26 (nineteen years ago)

I think the 2nd is usually a Sunday service.

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 30 October 2006 22:27 (nineteen years ago)

Details for last year. Don't know about buses.

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 30 October 2006 22:28 (nineteen years ago)

I just know I got abandoned in Hamilton a few years back and couldn't get home to Paisley on New Year's Day thanks to bugger all in the way of public transport. Perhaps major routes are better.

Also one horrible year my boss made me work on the 2nd January and I had to take the car in because there were no buses round my way, though as Alba said, that may have been because they were running a Sunday service.

― ailsa (ailsa), Monday, 30 October 2006 22:33 (nineteen years ago)

It's worth noting that Edinburgh cancelled Hogmanay a couple of years ago due to high winds and lots of people had to go back home/to their hotels and were grumpy about it.

― Mädchen (Madchen), Tuesday, 31 October 2006 11:46 (nineteen years ago)

One of the best new years I ever had was spent at the clachaig inn in Glencoe, camping just down the road.

― Ed (dali), Tuesday, 31 October 2006 11:48 (nineteen years ago)

missing caption to ambrose's lovely photo of oban: "(rain has been photoshopped out)"

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Tuesday, 31 October 2006 11:51 (nineteen years ago)

Edinburgh didn't actually cancel Hogmanay, just the organised street party. They don't hate fun THAT much :-)

I was in watching telly that night and it was very funny as we were all drunk and toasty warm and everyone on the telly was super-grumpy because they were all actually quite happy to stand out in the pishing rain drinking and having fun and Edinburgh City Council wouldn't let them.

― ailsa (ailsa), Tuesday, 31 October 2006 12:11 (nineteen years ago)

no rain! pure bright beautiful skies! this in no way guarantees that there wouldnt be rain there now!

― ambrose (ambrose), Tuesday, 31 October 2006 21:36 (nineteen years ago)

The Holyrood Tavern is a great pub, although not as great as it was before it changed hands a few years ago. It used to be my local.

I remember that Hogmanay! I had a great time, with some goth friends in a cemetary.

― Forest Pines (ForestPines), Tuesday, 31 October 2006 22:44 (nineteen years ago)

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