Trying to plan our one day trip from Edinburgh to these three places. Would you recomend going by train, or rent a car? Could all this be done in one day and enjoy it?
Posted by
New York City, NY, USA
5678 posts
You want to do all three in one day? I don't think I would recommend that . You could do two of the three. You can likely combo Dumferline with either of the other two, but if you want time to see anything I wouldn't try for all three.
You can take the train to Stirling quite easily. To get to Dumfermline though, you have to come back through to Haymarket Station near Edinburgh and change trains. At least I think you do. There are better train experts on this board than I am. It's less than an hour to Stirling, but it's a an hour and a half to get to Dunfermline. Don't forget to factor in times to get from the station up to the castle in Stirling. I don't think that the train goes all the way to St. Andrews. Again, try those train experts.
If you really want to do two of these sites in one day, I think I would rent a car. You can get one in city centre. The car would let you easily see Bannockburn, and the Wallace Monument as well as the Castle in Stirling. You could end your day at Dumfermline with a nice ride back over the bridge to Edinburgh. If you go to St. Andrews you could go to Dunfermline first and then on to St. Andrews. If you have time you could do the scenic route home via the Fife coast along the Firth of Forth.
Pam
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
You'll want to know travel times between destinations before planning day trips, here's instructions on how you do that http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/32066/bplease-read-this-before-posting-your-itinerary-questionb.html
Posted by
Tempe, AZ, USA
1266 posts
Damion - If you are going to St. Andrews, Leuchars is the closest train station(about 5 miles away). From there you'll have to take a taxi into town.
Posted by
OP
Hamburg, Germany
19 posts
Looks like we are going to rent a car.
Great deal.. 56 GBP for two days. Going to spilt our trip, St. Andrews on it's own and the other two on the next day.
Any other places to visit then the Golf course and Abby up there?
Posted by
Columbus, OH, USA
208 posts
Damion -
Dunfermline is a lovely little town. Be sure to go to the Carnegie Birthplace Museum (the caretaker once locked me in so he could close up outside. Guess I looked trustworthy!), the Glen and the Abbey. Check the closing times for the Abbey - if I remember correctly, they have some odd hours and close early.
http://www.dunfermlineabbey.co.uk/index.php
In St. Andrews - there are a lot of little antique shops, the Woolen Mill, the Cathedral, the Castle (if you're not claustrophobic, go into the Mine/Countermine - if its still allowed)
http://www.visit-standrews.co.uk/standrewscastle.cfm
Enjoy - the Fife area is one of my favorites in all of Scotland!