Hi all, and thank you in advance for your thoughts and knowledge.
My husband and I will be spending a week in the highlands in mid September. Is it necessary, or a good idea, to make reservations ahead of time for various castles etc. we already have our lodgings booked.
Again, thank you !
You probably need to check individual websites. I will be visiting places in July and some are not open (grounds only) and some ask for tickets to be purchased online (even if not far in advance). There isn’t a generic answer that I can find for this year - and previous years’ experience may not be applicable.
Based on my recent experience, it seems that the sites prefer that visitors reserve a time to visit. Even on Iona, where there were few visitors the day we visited, staff asked if we had reserved a time.
We were just there a few weeks ago, and we did reserve time slots for Edinburgh and Stirling Castles, Rosslyn Chapel, and Iona.
As our outbound flight was cancelled, and we arrived a day later than planned, we had to reschedule the first three at the last minute. Edinburgh Castle was the only one that had some time slots that were already full two days in advance, but we were still able to get into all three. We booked Iona a few weeks in advance when we bought the 3 Island Tour package, just in case, but it wasn't very crowded.
For Dunvegan Castle and Urquhart Castle, we just did walk-up, since Dunvegan was spur of the moment (we were looking for something to do during a torrential downpour) and we weren't sure if we would actually have time to stop at Urquhart, since we were driving from Skye to Inverness and were planning on a few stops. There was no problem getting into either one of them, but if you know what time you'll be headed to a specific location, it's not a bad idea to book ahead.
Thanks to everyone, your answers helped a lot.
I just got back from Scotland and we reserved sometimes (and also lost out by not reserving). Definitely reserve for the biggies - Edinburgh Castle, Iona, Maeshowe, etc but if your plans are set, reserve for the others as well. We missed out on seeing Roslyn Chapel and I checked on making reservations two days before. We bought the Historic Scotland pass (which seriously pays for itself) and there was no prepayment at reservation so we could cancel if our schedule changed. Europe is going to be nutty this summer and preparation will be key in my opinion.
Just returned from Scotland. We like to visit the "romantically ruined" castles and abbeys, so we bought an Historic Scotland pass. Most of these sites were closed. The grounds are open but the castles are barricaded behind high metal fences. This is supposedly due to worries about the ancient masonry, but we were also told it was due to financial shortfalls.
We just returned from Scotland as well. I made reservations for Edinburgh Castle two days before hand and the time slots were quite limited. We did not make reservations for Stirling Castle but as we walked up, staff advised us that it was cheaper to buy tickets online than from the ticket desk. So, I stood outside of the gate and ordered tickets online. I did have to go up to the ticket desk to pay for parking, but I believe it was more of an on-your-honor system.
We just returned from Scotland. I noticed when we exited the Edinburgh Castle that it was sold out for the day. That was definitely the busiest location on our adventures. We did pre-book.
In planning my trip for later this year, most places recommend reserving ahead of time.
Just went (June '22) to castles on Loch Ness, Stirling, Edinburgh. Even tho I am a historian, 3 castles were too many. Lots of empty stone, authentic sites, but essentially charmless. Palaces do not draw me in either--unless they hold and display Renaissance art. ab
