Ola Travis amigos,
Hope you're all good!
I am writing to ask for your advice, Scotish mates, as I'm planning a holiday in august in Scotland for the first time, we're taking Clyde with us! We want to spend a few days, 6 max, so what would you suggest we visit?
thanks a lot for your helpxxx
sophie
I've always preferred Glasgow (as I'm a West Coaster) but Edinburgh is much more tourist friendly, both the Castle and the Zoo will take a up a full day each, oh and Edinburgh is built on hills so sensible shoes as you'll be doing a fair bit of walking. I'm guessing Clyde would love the Zoo, there's a penguin parade everyday where the penguins come out of their enclosure and walk around the visitors, There are tons of animals from Polar Bears to Wolves to the Monkey House where there are little perspex tunnels above your head and the lemurs (or whatever small monkeys they are) run from enclosure to enclosure. I took a then girlfriend about 10 years ago and she absolutely loved it.
Take a good jacket, even in the height of summer it can be bloody freezin'. Glasgow and Edinburgh are only about 50/60 miles apart so you could go through (and Clyde could see the river), The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is a must if you do visit Glasgow also try to squeeze in the Museum of Transport.
My sister lives near Edinburgh and I half know Glasgow so let me know closer to the time and I'll find out about good food places, etc. for you.
Great, thanks for your help Dubz, yeap we indeed want to visit around the Clyde valley! But also fancy going to Loch ness (Rob does) and I'd love to go to the Highlands...but i think it might be too much driving around in 6 days all that...what you reckon? And are you going to be over perhaps in august, in which case let's meet up!
Loch Lomond is about 20miles 30mins drive from Glasgow City Centre, if you drive up the side of it and keep going to Fort William (2 and a half hours all in) which is a the foot of Ben Nevis (the highest mountain in the UK @ 4,500ft) you can drive up most of it and take the chairlift to the summit. you'll see a good bit of the Highlands including Glencoe, Ballahullish, and Rannoch Moor.
If you come back the same day I'd come down the same route until the top of Loch Lommond and then head down towards Callander then through the Trossachs.
If you stay in Fort William you could then travel along the Caladonian Canal (less a canal and more a series of Lochs) up to Inverness at the end of Loch Ness (home of the monster) and then travel down to Edinburgh through the Cairngorms (now a national park), Pitlochry (where there is a Salmon Ladder), Perth and across the Forth Road Bridge into Edinburgh. That whole route has about 7 hours driving but if you were to split it over 2 or even 3 days it's more than managable.
If you are in Glasgow and you want to do the whole Clyde thing I'd drive down the M77 down to Ayr (about an hour), where you can start at the Firth of Clyde and then drive back up the coast, you'd see Arran (and the Mull of Kintyre behind it), Troon, Ardrossan, Largs (you must stop for Ice Cream here), Bute, the Holy Loch and round into Gourock and Greenock and up the River Clyde back to Glasgow. (it's about 3 hours driving easily done in a day if stops for chips & ice cream and wee walks). You could always reverse it if you think Clyde may find it a bit too much you can always cut it short and head back to Glasgow pleanty of routes.
thank you SOOOO SOOO much Dubs, all that sounds so perfect and lovely. I'v just read it over to Rob and we both love your itinerary, we're going to print it and we'll do that, and we'll take photos and share with you! If you know of any bed and breakfast/hotels do let me know. Thank you again, sounds brilliant!!
That's only suggestions, check it out on Google Maps and change it to suit yourselves, it is a wonderful country. I'd stick to B&Bs are they are so much easier, you can just turn up and book in, where as if you go for hotels you kinda have to book in advance or pay more. In saying that I notice hotels are doing all sorts of deals at the moment so maybe you could find something than suits you guys better.
There's a good guide book called "Scotland the Best" by Peter Irvine, may be worth seeing if it's available on the web someplace.
I just had a look at some pictures I took 20 (!!) years ago on our round trip to Scotland (my husband has a cousin near Inverness). We had a lovely B&B in Balloch at the east end of Loch Lomond, it seemed like a nice village at the time. Heaven knows what it's like now…
Just outside Glasgow there are Hill House (if you're interested in Charles Rennie Mackintosh) and Burrell collection (" work by major artists including Rodin, Degas and Cézanne, to important examples of late medieval art, Chinese and Islamic art, Ancient Civilizations and more.")
Dubz, hope you're good. We ordered the guide book, will let u know how it is when i get it. Have a good weekendxx
Thanks Soph, Hope you guys have a great weekend too,
Mili's on the button too the Burrell collection is quite impressive including a bronze version of Rodin's The Thinker.
Dubz
Hello Dubz,
Hope you're well. Just to let you know, we didn't go to Scotland in the end, too much stuff to do down south...
What are you up to these days?
take care
sof
Dubz, hope you're good. We ordered the guide book, will let u know how it is when i get it. Have a good weekendxx
Thanks Soph, Hope you guys have a great weekend too,
Mili's on the button too the Burrell collection is quite impressive including a bronze version of Rodin's The Thinker.
Dubz
Hello Dubz,
Hope you're well. Just to let you know, we didn't go to Scotland in the end, too much stuff to do down south...
What are you up to these days?
take care
sof
Hiya, Don't worry Scotland is still there and will be whenever you get the chance to visit, hope you guys had a great time.
I'm good, working in a fancy hotel sorting stuff, not too much pressure so I'm happy enough.
Hello Dubz,
Hope you're well. Just to let you know, we didn't go to Scotland in the end, too much stuff to do down south...
What are you up to these days?
take care
sof [/quote]
Hiya, Don't worry Scotland is still there and will be whenever you get the chance to visit, hope you guys had a great time.
I'm good, working in a fancy hotel sorting stuff, not too much pressure so I'm happy enough.
Keep in touch.
Dubz [/quote]
Cool about the job.
I'm now unemployed and enjoying it, in fact I needed it and now I enjoy it. Just since August so only starting to get used to the new routine based on 'i have the time to do stuff' and it's brilliant!
take care and keep in touch indeedyx
