Driving in Scotland

This is one reason we don't drive in the UK- or even in Europe- at all. I don't want to have to deal with single lane roads (yes, many of Scotland's "wee" roads are still single track), shifting gears, driving on the "other" side, etc. We love the trains, and are will to work our schedule around them. Now to your "important" qustions. You sone will love Scotland- lots of good castles and ruins- Urquart, Elliean Donnan, Edinburgh, Sterling, etc, etc.... Scotch- I love the Speyside whiskies- Ballvinnie 12 year double wood, Dahlwhinnie, ... Lots of good, heathery, honey scented, single malts. If you like a heavier peated scotch, try the coastal whiskies... At a good pub the barman can arrange a whisky tasting- he'll give you several different whiskies and let you taste while he explains .

I drive all over the place and wouldn't have it any other way. The clutch is still a left foot operation, so there will be no difference. It takes between three and four seconds for your left hand to learn how to shift. Driving on the left is completely undaunting.

My only problem has been walking -- you have to really look to the right when stepping of a curb.

We have done several driving trips in Scotland: my husband, who is left-handed, drives the stick-shift car, and I navigate using the AA road atlas and the orange Michelin Scotland map. The car is usually something mid-size, not a really tiny compact.(You can get both maps from Amazon.) We both love driving there.

The B roads are not usually cliff-huggers, but in the very remote areas they might be single-lane with frequent passing places. (Oban to Inverness is not a remote area.) The only road that the natives consistently describe as a nail-biter is the mountain road to Applecross.

You can get cliff top roads if you get into the ones shown on the map as uncolored lines--they are often referred to as "unnamed" or "unclassified." But if this is your first trip, you probably won't be using that type of road. Sometimes the little roads will have an obstinate cow standing in the middle who refuses to move or a flock of sheep having a nap. While annoying at the time, they make for good story-telling later.

Masonic sites---I think Roslin chapel has associations. Castles---Urquhart is lovely, Doune is fun and has the Monty Python associations, Eileen Donan is very photogenic although most guide books say to skip going inside. Use the undiscoveredscotland.com web-site a lot.

The "driving thought" that helps me in the UK is that the driver should always be to the center of the road.

We were in Scotland last year - including the drive from Oban to Inverness - and found it not difficult at all.

By the way, the pedal arrangement is the same in a right-hand drive car as it is here.

There seems to be a love affair with passenger rail travel on this site (BTW I work for a railroad and appreciate the expanse and efficiency of the European passenger rail network). Anyway I have driven thousands of miles in the UK and all over the Highlands. DRIVING is the only way to go. You simply cannot EFFICIENTLY get to where you want to go. My son and I have done a ton of hiking in Glen Coe, Kintail, Skye and elsewhere and do not know how in the world we could have done what we did via rail or post bus.

Driving in Scotland is a breeze. Try Devon and Cornwall. Driving there on the back roads can be a little nerve wracking. St. Ives and Mousehole (both in Cornwall) are graduate level driving courses. You have to be a pretty confident driver to be comfortable. I did have to drive once on the sidewalk in St. Ives due to a truck unloading. I am truly in awe of the truck and bus drivers in the UK-they would give "Ice Road Truckers" a run for their money.

Amen, Jeff.

My husband and I drove for a week last September and we wouldn't do it any other way since we prefer to explore off the beaten path and take spontaneous side trips. We specified an automatic when we rented for a few reasons: one less thing to deal with while driving on the opposite side(as per your thoughts above), the cost difference was negligible when we reserved 3 months out(less than $10 more for the week compared to a standard), also you stand a very good chance of being upgraded at no charge. We got a diesel Volvo for the price of a Vauxhall because it was the only automatic available the day we picked it up and we have had that happy scenario happen several times over the years. Are you both planning on driving? If not, make sure you're only charged for one driver (it's usually more for multiple drivers) as the other can navigate. Take a GPS with you updated with the latest UK maps in addition to conventional maps.

We really enjoyed Eilean Donan inside and out so I disagree with some guidebooks. Another thing your son might like is the RIB (rigid inflatable fast boat)trips on Loch Ness. (www.cruiselochness.com/ness-express.php)

We took a small pair of binoculars and spotted seals while driving along the north east coast and otters at Kyleakin on Skye. (www.eileanban.org has info on Gavin Maxwell, author of The Ring of Bright Water)

We stayed at Castle Stuart near Inverness - it was our big splurge of the trip. (www.castlestuart.com) They might be able to accomodate you for dinner or afternoon tea if you can't manage an overnight stay.

Have a great trip!

I was wondering if there was a great cost difference between an automatic & a manuel transmission? Also, do they charge you alot to rent a car in one place & drop it off in another like they do here?

My observation is that an automatic is more than Karen says -- but it's an observation only. I get manual because it's cheaper and may have just noticed something odd.

Usually there is a slight different-point drop-off fee in the UK, but it's not as bad as here.

Fiddle with a couple of dummy runs on something like kayak.com and see what happens.

We are renting from Hertz this summer--2weeks, pick-up York, drop Edinburgh airport. Drop fee is $40.00--a lot cheaper than an extra night driving it back to York or some other arrangement to avoid a drop -off fee.