Money in Ireland, Scotland, England

Scotland and England use the British Pound. Ireland uses the Euro.

Scotland does print it's own money, however, since it's not accepted everywhere, only accept British pounds.

Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom and uses the British Pound. I've never been but this must be true. The country of Ireland uses the Euro.

Odd. I've left Scotland with their notes and blithely spent them all over the UK without anyone raising an eyebrow. Not sure what Steve's link meant by "not spending them abroad". Does that imply tha Bank of England bucks are acceptable tender in France?

Ed: It's pretty well known over here that Scottish notes can be problematic at foreign bureau de change. If you take Scottish notes to an exchange counter abroad (i.e. outside the UK) sometimes they are not accepted or sometimes you will get a lower exchange rate - of course sometimes there is no problem at all but there's no way to predict what will happen until you are there. I assume that's what Steve's link meant. (In fact the link specifically mentions "exchange" not "spend".)

Okay, I get it now. I seldom exchange currencies, just stick the leftovers in a back pocket for next time. Thought the idea was that folks in Kent wouldn't take bills from Scotland. Just about split my pea brain trying to visualize a string of change booths along Hadrian's wall. Thanks.

Well, some places in England do refuse Scottish notes. Most places accept them and the problem is overstated by a lot of guide books but it is something that happens. I think most Scots just use an ATM owned by an English bank, rather than physically swapping notes though.

Also some Northern Irish banks issue their own notes. I've never even seen one of these and, apparently, they are more likely to be refused in England (or outside the UK) than Scottish ones.

I went to scotland 1st then liverpool then london and i tell ya i had the hardest time getting rid of my scotish money. My hotel didn't even want to take it. Crazy! have a wonderful trip! i love it over there!

Peter is correct. I have been to Northern Ireland and their banks do issue their own bills which are very often refused once you are in England. Exchange for British bills before you leave Northern Ireland. There is no charge for the exchange.

Just FYI, Northern Irish notes are British. It's Bank of England notes you want for 100% problem free spending.

Just wondering, if I go to Scotland next summer and then fly home through Dublin or Shannon airports, will I need to have Euros to buy food in the airport, or can I use pounds? I wasn't planning on getting euros this trip.
Thanks.

You will need Euros in the RoI.

When we were in Scotland a couple of years ago the ATMs offered a choice of British or Scotish pounds. Don't know if that is still common practice or not. That was the only time we ever saw dual currency ATMs.

To correct the terminology, there are no "Scottish pounds" there are notes denominated in pounds issued by Scottish banks but they are still the same money.

I assume the choice Frank speaks of is not the choice between "Scottish Pounds" and "British Pounds" but the choice of notes issued by one of the Scottish banks and notes issued by the Bank of England. No matter who prints the note they are all the same currency.

To answer Gretchen's question: it's been a while since I flew through Dublin but as I remember it was the same as most international airports in Europe in that the bigger shops accepted the usual mixture of international currency inc. pounds and USD. Failing that everywhere will let you pay by card. I've never had the pleasure of Shannon but I'd be surprised if it was any different.