Hello,
I have been avidly reading the posts and tips on this forum for the last couple months and it has been a great help in planning, thank you to everyone who contributes!
I will be traveling to Scotland at the end of May (2025) with my active 79yr old mother, 38yr old brother and 12yr old son. This is the first time to Scotland for all of us. I wish we had more time! We have the majority of our trip settled with the exception of our final day and a half. I would appreciate any advice you have to give regarding what to do with that time. We aren't planning to rent a car therefore primarily staying close to areas able to be reached by public transportation and taxis. Here are the details of our trip:
May 24th - Land in Edinburgh mid-day. Check in to accommodation and check off some sites that afternoon. We are booked for 3 nights in Edinburgh. Some of the things on our list are the National Gallery, Holyrood Palace, walk the Royal Mile, Leith Walk, St. Giles, The Writer's Museum, maybe The Royal Britannica.
May 25th - more sightseeing, we have an afternoon reservation for tea at Collonnades at the Signet Library.
May 26th - day trip to Glasgow (this could be changed if there are other day trip recommendations.)
May 27th - see any remaining Edinburgh sites that morning, travel to Galashiels to stay for two nights.
May 28th - My brother and son have a guided salmon fishing trip booked for the day. My mother and I plan to go to Abbotsford House, Melrose Abbey and maybe a castle in the nearby borders region. Open to suggestions!
May 29th - This is the time, Thursday to Friday afternoon, I still need to plan. I thought it might be nice to travel to Dundee and spend the night. Or alternatively train travel to Pitlochry/Perthshire area to see some of the Northern Highlands area. Spend the night there. We have been researching our Scottish ancestry and many came from the Perthshire area but also Renfrew and Lanark near Glasgow.
May 30th - Open day until traveling back (mid afternoon?) to Edinburgh to stay (Holiday Inn Express City West) that night (Friday) before flying out the next morning.
Thank you so much to the forum for taking the time to read my post. Any tips and itinerary advice will be greatly appreciated!