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ArcticRick
| Joined: | Thu Apr 5th, 2012 |
| Location: | Wasilla , Alaska USA |
| Posts: | 121 |
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Glasgow in August, thats the plan for my 40th birthday ...I know some of you are in the UK and Scotland ..Tips , info would be great . My wife lived there before BUT , that was in 05 . Scotland tourism site is broken , which is nice ....we want reservations to be booked in may ..anyone feel like helping me with info ?
Rick
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jk
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I'm sure there are others that can give you good advice Rick.
What I would recommend is that you go to some of the Edinburgh Fringe events during August. It runs from 1st August to 25th August. It is very busy in Edinburgh then so accommodation is at premium prices.
Book early.
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Robert
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jk wrote:
Book early.
In Edinburgh, book last year and use somebody else's CC! 
Stirling or Calendar aren't far away and are closer to the 'real' Scotland. I will fink up some suggestions, although I suspect Judith may have some good ideas, being a native.
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Iain
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In-between the two there is Falkirk and the Falkirk wheel is wort a look at.
Here's a link http://www.thefalkirkwheel.co.uk.
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Robert
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Try:
http://www.thefalkirkwheel.co.uk
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Judith
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I lived in Edinburgh for 23 years and was born in Falkirk! Falkirk itself is nothing to write home about but it is halfway between Glasgow and Edinburgh with great rail links to both cities and I'm guessing accommodation would be inexpensive compared to the cities. Edinburgh is THE place to visit during August because of the festival - it is fantastic but Glasgow has some interesting places as well. It´s a much bigger city and not as nice as Edinburgh imho. The visitscotland site would be your best port of call for accommodation as I don´t know anything. But any general questions re Scotland...ask away. 
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Judith
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You can register on the festival fringe website to get info when on the programme when it is released - usually around April.
https://www.edfringe.com/
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jk
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Thanks Judith.
I knew you would be able to provide best info when you saw the thread.
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Iain
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Judith wrote:
Falkirk itself is nothing to write home about
You are right, my wife was born there and still has family living in Larbert.
I like the Falkirk wheel, the architecture is quite interesting.
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ArcticRick
| Joined: | Thu Apr 5th, 2012 |
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Things are progressing , Seems we might (in order for accomidations to be easier) land IN Edinburgh on 27Aug , and stay there , take trips down to hadrians wall and other places, travel up to Aberdeen for a few days and to glasgow for a few to stay with friends etc. BUT for right now the wife said she is much happier to stay in or near edinburgh and rail lines etc ...This might be awesome ..general scotland questions ..Can I smoke my tobacco pipe there or is that taboo as it is here ? exchanging cash etc isnt an issue and visa is accepted everywhere I imagine
So far places we are looking at staying are so far ..
Original Rosslyn Hotel
Kildonan Lodge Hotel
We are trying to find places close to rail and bus services etc..Also the idea of trying to get a cab or something from the airport to an inn or hotel is scary ..I guess Im not use to european style small hotels and inns. ANY suggestions on accommodations would be excellent
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jk
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As long as you have the address of the hotel then you can show it to a cab driver at the airport and they will take you to the hotel that is the easiest and best way to do it.
Once you are at the hotel then use bus, taxi or rail to get around. The central part of Edinburgh is not large so you can walk safely in most places.
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MaxSouthOz
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No Taliban, then? 
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jk
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Not when I was last there but there is all sorts of ruffians or urban guerrillas led by a guy called Alex Salmond. He wants to set up his own kingdom with somebody elses money!
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Judith
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ArcticRick wrote:
Things are progressing , Seems we might (in order for accomidations to be easier) land IN Edinburgh on 27Aug , and stay there , take trips down to hadrians wall and other places, travel up to Aberdeen for a few days and to glasgow for a few to stay with friends etc. BUT for right now the wife said she is much happier to stay in or near edinburgh and rail lines etc ...This might be awesome ..general scotland questions ..Can I smoke my tobacco pipe there or is that taboo as it is here ? exchanging cash etc isnt an issue and visa is accepted everywhere I imagine
So far places we are looking at staying are so far ..
Original Rosslyn Hotel
Kildonan Lodge Hotel
We are trying to find places close to rail and bus services etc..Also the idea of trying to get a cab or something from the airport to an inn or hotel is scary ..I guess Im not use to european style small hotels and inns. ANY suggestions on accommodations would be excellent
Re accommodation - get somewhere in Edinburgh rather than outside it. Public transport isn't great to the villages. Roslin is a small town a fair bit outside Edinburgh. Can't remember exactly but at least half an hour on a bus or more depending on the traffic. Try for somewhere in the city centre - there are 1000s of hotels and guest houses. The centre of Edinburgh, as jk said, is not big. You can walk everywhere, just about, that you'd want to visit and buses within the city are good.
To be honest, if you have no family or other connections with Aberdeen, don't waste your time! It isn't a touristy city and there is nothing there of great interest. There are far better places you could visit. If you want to go north, go up to Inverness and have an overnight stay there. The train ride there from Edinburgh through the Highlands is beautiful.
I'm at work so will try and think of some other useful info for you later. Yes, visa is accepted everywhere. No, you can't smoke anywhere in a public place, including your hotel so pray for good weather so you can smoke outside!! lol
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jk
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I'd certainly agree with Judith about Aberdeen. It is not a scenic place to visit.
Inverness is much more pleasant and the trip there by rail/car is full of wonderful scenery. If you are driving then you will miss some of the views as you need to concentrate on the driving (wrong side of the road and all that).
When you are in Glasgow you can take coach trips out to Glencoe. Fantastic photo opportunities snow, rain, wind or shine!!
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highlander
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Aberdeen is, unless you are fascinated by drug induced poverty or oil industry induced riches, a waste of time. When I have to go, I go in, do what I need, and get out again. Inverness is nicer and you can fly in, spend a couple of days exploring the proper highlands and west coast, then fly out again.
I live around 15 minutes from Inverness and could be available for any advice or assurance
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highlander
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If you make Inverness for 16th August you can visit the Nairn Highland Games. Nairn is a seaside town close to .inverness with very good accommodation and is evidently the 2nd best place to be rediscovered in the world according to Lonely Planet.
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Judith
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There you go, Rick, a local guide at your disposal! Though, I'd recommend the train ride to Inverness rather than flying - it's only about 3.5 hours and very pretty. I agree with you, Jan, about Aberdeen. I only really pass through it en route to my mum's or go there for shopping.
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ArcticRick
| Joined: | Thu Apr 5th, 2012 |
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we are looking now at 1 sept since we would save an average of 25 pounds per night for rooms . we also found a place right on the royal mile that we can stay at for the 2 weeks we are there. My wife has friends in the country and we bascially are telling them ..You want to see us you come to edinburgh so that way we can alternate between chartered tours and exploring on our own. Also made contact with the edinburgh pipe club and will be meeting up with them..Now for the important question ..Keep in mind im not trying to be disrespectfull....Scotland is partially governed by england so when i land in heathrow do i clear customs there or in scotland ? heathrow seems to be a pain for everything so if i have to clear customs there i would rather pay extra and avoid that nasty airport all together .
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Eric
| Joined: | Thu Apr 19th, 2012 |
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ArcticRick wrote:
we are looking now at 1 sept since we would save an average of 25 pounds per night for rooms . we also found a place right on the royal mile that we can stay at for the 2 weeks we are there. My wife has friends in the country and we bascially are telling them ..You want to see us you come to edinburgh so that way we can alternate between chartered tours and exploring on our own. Also made contact with the edinburgh pipe club and will be meeting up with them..Now for the important question ..Keep in mind im not trying to be disrespectfull....Scotland is partially governed by england so when i land in heathrow do i clear customs there or in scotland ? heathrow seems to be a pain for everything so if i have to clear customs there i would rather pay extra and avoid that nasty airport all together .
For the moment we are still the United Kingdom ...one customs to clear wherever.
Of course if you drive through Yorkshire on your way North there may be a surcharge.
Why dont you fly direct to Scotland?
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ArcticRick
| Joined: | Thu Apr 5th, 2012 |
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ok , thinking then that 1 hour will not be enough to clear customs at heathrow and get to flight to edinburgh so we will be looking at tieing our flight directly to edinburgh ..international travel is so exhausting to plan. When I was in the military someone else always did it for me
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Eric
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ArcticRick wrote:
ok , thinking then that 1 hour will not be enough to clear customs at heathrow and get to flight to edinburgh so we will be looking at tieing our flight directly to edinburgh ..international travel is so exhausting to plan. When I was in the military someone else always did it for me
Fly straight into Edinburgh if you can arrange it. :thumbsup:
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Judith
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Lol. Rick, we are still all one country so only one lot of customs wherever you land but you would be much better to fly to Glasgow and hop on a train to Edinburgh (is only a 50min train ride from Glasgow). I don't know if you can fly direct from the US to Edinburgh. I've only ever flown from Glasgow which is a bigger airport.
A hotel on the Royal Mile would be absolutely perfect. You will be able to walk to most places and there are loads of tours on offer - you don't need to book before you arrive and may get a better price by waiting till you get here. It's a shame you'll miss the Fringe but, as you say, the hotel prices will be much better in September.
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jk
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Definitely agree with Judith's suggestion.
You can fly from Newark or JFK to Glasgow (Prestwick).
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richw
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Customs depends on weather you need to come out of the terminal you land in, probably I would guess, but Heathrow is not that bad, you should try landing in Aus or NZ.
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Eric
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If you ever get to Glasgow and have some time to spare....
Portavadie Marina was built for workers building Oil Rigs and after spending 20 million pound it was moth balled, never to be used due to the currents in Loch that were to strong to float the rigs safely out!!
Polphail, the ghost village at Portavadie, Argyll - Urban Glasgow
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ArcticRick
| Joined: | Thu Apr 5th, 2012 |
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we are thinking if the train is really only under an hour we could make glasgow a day trip. I really want to experience a "football" match ..I think being some place I should experience the culture and past times
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jk
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You need to check if there are any football matches as August is out of season. You might be able to catch a pre-season game.
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Judith
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The major teams in Glasgow for football are Rangers and Celtic. In Edinburgh, they are Hibs (Hibernian FC) and Hearts (Heart of Midlothian). Google their websites to see if there are any out of season matches organised for September.
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Judith
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Wow! New visitor attraction at Falkirk...
Attachment: kelpies.jpg (Downloaded 34 times)
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jk
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Nice picture Judith.
No wonder Alex Salmond wants to break away if they are breeding horses like that north of the border
Mind you the hills will soon be decimated with their gazing or do they eat politicians. I am sure that the whole UK parliament could be fed to them as the current parliamentary occupants talk a load of horse sh!t.
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Eric
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Judith wrote:
Wow! New visitor attraction at Falkirk...
Double WOW.
what an amazing piece of work and beautifully captured Judith.
Got to go and see them! Magnificent Kelpies.
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Judith
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Oops! Not my photo lol. I nicked it from the Kelpies' facebook page, just for the tourism info on this thread. I haven't seen them yet in the "steel" but I definitely will next time I head to Falkirk to visit the rellies. Will get some of my own piccies then. I think there is some kind of nightly light show planned for them. Some lovely photos on the facebook page. The new park where they live opens mid-April. The sculptures are a tribute to the traditional heavy horse breeds like the Clydesdale in Scotland.
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Eric
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Judith wrote:
Oops! Not my photo lol. I nicked it from the Kelpies' facebook page, just for the tourism info on this thread. I haven't seen them yet in the "steel" but I definitely will next time I head to Falkirk to visit the rellies. Will get some of my own piccies then. I think there is some kind of nightly light show planned for them. Some lovely photos on the facebook page. The new park where they live opens mid-April. The sculptures are a tribute to the traditional heavy horse breeds like the Clydesdale in Scotland.
No matter...you picked one of the best!
They are certainly on my list to see ....in a few months, but before I need a passport to go there.
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highlander
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Judith wrote:
The major teams in Glasgow for football are Rangers and Celtic. In Edinburgh, they are Hibs (Hibernian FC) and Hearts (Heart of Midlothian). Google their websites to see if there are any out of season matches organised for September.
You forget Partick Thistle; now that would be an education
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jk
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highlander wrote: Judith wrote:
The major teams in Glasgow for football are Rangers and Celtic. In Edinburgh, they are Hibs (Hibernian FC) and Hearts (Heart of Midlothian). Google their websites to see if there are any out of season matches organised for September.
You forget Partick Thistle; now that would be an education
Jan maybe they need to show the rugby team how to play as they seem to have lost their way!
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ArcticRick
| Joined: | Thu Apr 5th, 2012 |
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Sorry ive been super super busy at work with contract negotiations. I think i need more memory cards . Going to spend a few days in Glasgow and noticed Scottish parliament isn't far from where we are staying in edinburgh so I want to see that especially on the eve of the vote for independence. I want to see local stuff off the beaten path. Someone suggested Surgeons Hall museum in edinburgh also for interesting stuff
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amazing50
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Haven't been following this independence thing too closely but does it mean that if independence is granted Charles will be the new King of Scotland?
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Judith
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Of interest at the Parliament when you're there is an exhibition of the Great Tapestry of Scotland (think it will be there till mid-September - google it). Embroiderers from all over Scotland contributed to it to make a Bayeux-style tapestry that tells the history of Scotland from the ice age to the present day. You won't be short of things to do in Edinburgh - just take yourself to the tourist office beside Waverley station in Princes St when you arrive. The Burrell Collection in Glasgow is interesting if you are into art. :)
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jk
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amazing50 wrote:
Haven't been following this independence thing too closely but does it mean that if independence is granted Charles will be the new King of Scotland?
No I think that it would probably be a republic.
If there was to be a monarch someone such as a relative of Bonnie Prince Charlie would need to be traced.
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amazing50
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jk wrote:
No I think that it would probably be a republic.
If there was to be a monarch someone such as a relative of Bonnie Prince Charlie would need to be traced.
Seem to recall that "Boy George " was the 5th cousin once removed from Bonnie Prince Charlie.
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