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driving out of Glasgow and into the Highlands

Hello, I am wondering if Glasgow airport is tricky to drive out of when you are not used to heavy city traffic. As a comparison, driving in Seattle is too much for me! Anyway, I am wondering if the airport is on the outskirts of town. After an overnight flight, having to drive in the city on the wrong side of the road is a concern. I have also noticed that if I flew to London and then took a flight from London to Inverness, I could greatly reduce my travel time. Has anyone ever done this? I just worry that if my plane were delayed and I booked a flight with an independent airline, I could run into a little trouble.
Thanks!

Posted by
5678 posts

Kathleen, Personally, I don't find it hard to drive in and out of the Glasgow airport, but I grew up driving in and out of O'Hare, so that's a tad different than the airport in Montana! There is no question, but that it would be easier to start your driving in Inverness. It's like driving out of Outagamie Airport near Appleton Wisconsin. ; ) I have caught flights from London to Inverness. In fact, we were flying to Kirkwall which was even further north. If you have a "legal" flight through London to Inverness, I would advise going that route. That way by the time you have to drive toward Edinburgh and Glasgow, you'll be used to the left hand drive and the round abouts. Neither of these cities is anywhere near as big and bad as London. But they are cities so start in the north if you can. Less traffic and time to get use to the roads. Pam

Posted by
2724 posts

We drove from the Glasgow airport to Oban a couple of years ago (I wasn't driving; my husband was). My recollection is that you had to make a few turns to get out of the airport and onto the highway, but it wasn't difficult and there wasn't a lot of traffic. This was on a Sunday in June -- late morning. There might be more traffice on other days of the week. We did not have to drive through the city.

Posted by
3 posts

Kathleen, I am guessing your destination is Inverness from either London or Glasgow. We are doing a smiliar journey by landing in Glasgow and taking the inter-city coach (long distance bus) from Glasgow to Inverness. We are overnighting in Glasgow and then will push on the next day. It can be done on a straight through (no change of bus) from downtown Glasgow in about 3.5 hours. The cost is very reasonable and tickets can be purchased in advance on-line. The website you need is for the company called Citylink. Google it.... Neither of us are 'drivers' and would never consider tying to drive on the other side of the road...especially when jet-lagged. Be relaxed, be safe and enjoy the view from the bus. When you think bus...don't think of our "Grayhound" type travel. These are very nice and comfy!
Janet

Posted by
3 posts

Oh...I forgot to mention-go to the Glasgow airport website for a ton of info about arrival there. CityLink is the carrier into town from the airport, so your problem maybe just a matter of taking the bus into Glasgow and changing for a bus to Inverness....
Janet

Posted by
5678 posts

Janet is right, it's very easy to get from Glasgow airport to the train station. You can purchase ticket in the airport at an info booth that is in international arrivals area. They will also point you directly to the right bus. It's very easy. I've usually been catching a train to Edinburgh and they leave about every half hour. You'll want to check with Scotrail on options for Inverness. Sometimes you have to change at Perth. I usually look on Scotrail for train schedules and cost. http://www.scotrail.co.uk/ Pam