We have approx. 4 ½ days to split between Edinburgh & Glasgow. We would love to see Stirling, primarily for its history, but time would need to come from our 4.5 total. Many posters seem to prefer Sterling to Edinburgh. RS guide states Stirling is less crowded but also “a far less characteristic version of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile” and the castle interiors “ pretty empty and new feeling”. Your thoughts?
Possibilities: Instead of taking the short train direct from Edinburgh to Glasgow, take 2 trains and see Stirling between.
More specific: Our current plan is to arrive in Edinburgh approx. 14:00 on a Sunday (via train or bus). Remaining of Sunday and all of Monday would be in Edinburgh. On Tuesday, take late morning train to Stirling , and either stay overnight in Stirling, or move on to Glasgow early evening. We then have 2 days left for Glasgow.
OR. We arrive Edinburgh Sunday afternoon. All of Monday and all of Tues. in Edinburgh. Early train to Stirling on Wed. Leave Stirling late afternoon to Glasgow. Then we have only one full day (and 2 nights) in Glasgow. We actually have another night in Glasgow, but the day will be spent on a full-day Rabbies tour of the Highlands.
OR Skip Sterling and have a more relaxed time in E & G.
Yes I know you can spend much more time in all of Scotland’s wonderful cities, but that’s all we have, so I’m trying to divide the time well.