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Scotland and England Itinerary

Posted by (Clarkston, MI ) on

I worked out this itinerary with Lisa Friend from the Rick Steves organization. I would like your input on the Scottish portion ( I assume I will get input for the England portion through the England forum). I am particularly interested in your experience with places to stay and things to see. My husband cannot walk long distances so we are trying to make sure we stay centrally located so he expends his energy on the sightseeing and not getting there. We will have a car from Edinburgh airport beginning September 8th.

If anyone could estimate the drive times from Edinburgh to Blair Atholl and in between, that would be helpful. I can see it's not far, but never having driven in Scotland, I'm not sure how slow the roads are.

September 4 morning arrive in Edinburgh.
Edinburgh--4 nights Places to stay?
September 8--rent car and drive to Perthshire. 2 nights Stay near Blair Castle or in Pitlochry (my husband's distant family are in this area) places to stay?
September 10 stay in Dunkeld-- 1 night ( to see old family graves)
September 11 drive to St. Andrews --2 nights

September 13-drive to Keswick via Stirling Castle and Rosslyn Chapel--2 nights ( realize Keswick is in England)
September 15-drive to York via Hadrian's Wall. Drop car in York
We will then be in England until September 26th.

Thank you for whatever help you can offer.

Nancy

Posted by
3123 posts

It looks like your Scotland itinerary is doable and you are focused on the areas with family history connections -- good for you!

We have the same "can't walk long distances" limitation and were very happy in Edinburgh staying at the Inverleith Hotel, which is on a quiet street near the Botanic Garden, around the corner from a bus stop. We found the innkeepers to be extremely helpful, anticipating questions we might have and giving good advice. There are at least a couple of casual restaurants within a few blocks (not up or down steep hills) as well as a coin laundry and an ATM. The hotel does not have a lift, but we requested and got a room on the 1st floor (i.e., 1 flight up from the ground floor).

When you pick up your rental car, ask the rental agent (the guy out in the parking lot who puts you into your car) which signs to follow at the roundabouts to get onto the Motorway headed for Blair Atholl. The signage may not be self-explanatory to someone who's not familiar with local geography because they tend not to use N-S-E-W directions, but rather the names of certain towns and cities.

Posted by
31 posts

Thanks, I will check on the Inverleith Hotel for sure.

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