Visiting Scotland in January

This sounds like way too much for 8 days, especially since the first one will be decorated with jet-lag. Are you flying to Edinburgh? Non-stop? If not, you are likely to be flying through London or Paris or somewhere else. Keep that in mind, especially if you don't have your tickets yet.

With so little time, and assuming you will be starting in Edinburgh, I'd skip London and fly Edinburgh (EDI) to Paris and spend an extra night or more there. OR, I'd skip Paris and spend the extra time in London. A compromise involving a train trip might be to fly to Paris from Edinburgh, take the Eurostar back to the UK and then train it on up to Edinburgh or wherever in Scotland you want, perhaps with a stop in London enroute. I promise you that if you arrive at EDI and head immediately for a train to London, you will sleep most of the way and miss the scenery!

Use Google Flights to sort the flight part out. There are some pretty cheap flights from EDI to Paris, depending on when you want to go.

In planning my trip for May, I've been using Traveline a lot for general guidance on train and bus options in the UK. I've also used National Rail. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. One thing for sure, the sooner you book air or rail, the cheaper it will be, but you will have to have a set itinerary.

My favorite boots for travel are Ahnu Montara''s. They are comfortable, supportive and good for wet situations. I wear them with Sockwell Circulator compression socks. The two together keep my feet warm and dry and help prevent foot, leg, knee and hip pain on those long walking and standing days. I don't care if they aren't fashionable. I almost broke an ankle trying to be somewhat fashionable wearing Dansko's in Paris a few years back. Too high, too slippery on wet cobblestones and pavement. It was a cool, wet June -- not a potentially freezing January. Whatever you do, forget wearing heels of any kind. My "dressy" shoes are now Abeo SMARTsystem 3590 Mary Janes.

According to the averages, it will be very cold in Scotland. You can use the link to get to weather data for other locations.

I agree with Lo - the less travelling you do in January, the better, as the weather may cripple transport links. You certainly don't have time for 3 places. Edinburgh to London by train is 4.5 hours plus travel to/from accommodation, so that would lose you the best part of a day. London to Paris, minimum 30 minutes to get to the rail station from hotel, be there an hour before departure, 2.5 hours on train, minimum 45 minute transfer at the other end so c 5 hours. If you have to go Scotland to Paris, fly.

Clothing isn't your main issue - any decent brand of waterproof coat and boots will suffice, the problem is the weather (potential rain/snow and ice) outside city centres, which may or may not be an issue. What are you planning on doing in Scotland? You will probably be OK if you are just staying in Edinburgh. If you are hiring a car, 4WD would be best. I would recommend that with your limited time there that you do not risk going as far as Skye. Plenty to see in Edinburgh and Glasgow alone and take a day trip out to the countryside if the weather permits.

Without you stating your interests, it is difficult for others to advise. I would take a 4WD up to the Cairngorms and go bird watching, but this is probably not your thing.

Day 1 will be getting over jet lag. In January, the days are short in Scotland - only 7 hours of daylight and it's dark by 4pm. You need to take this into consideration.

I'm going to agree with the first two posters that it's too much to do both London and Paris.

As for Scotland, as Jennifer points out it gets dark quite early so be sure to plan for that. I would go to Stirling Castle. It's open from 9:30 to 5PM. You can take the train from Edinburgh and either walk up to the castle or catch a cab. I don't know if there is a bus. Some people say that if you see Edinburgh Castle that's good enough, but I like and recommend both.

Glasgow has some wonderful museums as well. The Riverside Museum, which is the old transport museum, is on the Clyde and has had wonderful reviews. I like the Tenement House Museum and the cathedral is interesting as well. Again, it can be a day trip by train from Edinburgh.

In Edinburgh itself in addition to the castle, one of my favorites is The Georgian House. The National Museum is very good. I enjoyed my visit to the Royal Yacht Britannia, but I am not sure about winter! It is open. I enjoyed my visit to Holyrood Palace. When the new Scottish Parliament opened in Holyrood, I did a tour and found it fascinating.

Lastly, if you want to get out of the city and see some of the countryside, you could do one of the day tours to the Trossachs. Or if the weather is fine and you want to just walk in the hills, you can take the train to Dunkeld in Perthshire, go for a walk and then have lunch at The Taybank before exploring the town and heading back to Edinburgh.