My son (14) and I are going to Scotland for 12 days mid-July (guy trip), probably van camping. Dates and flights arranged, detailed plans in flux (ever planned a trip with a 14 yr. old?). Any must-sees, don’t-sees, tips, etc. welcomed. We will probably be in Glasgow and north. Any suggestions? Either PM me or on the forum. Thanks.

If you are going into the countryside, bug repellant (penethrin based) and barrier nets (mozzie head net. The midges have to be seen to be believed. I was rock climbing just outside of Fort William in July. Had hiking trousers on, bloused onto boots for the approach. Stopped for a break. Looked down and the bottom of my trousers where green with midges.

The Scot's like Americans so you should have a good time.

There is also a very good whiskey shop in Fort William. Try the Loch Dhu (Black Whiskey.) Forget the Laphrag. Tastes like cats pi........

MARDUK..
it's been some years since i was over to see family
in Glasgow but i would suggest that you try and get to the
islands off the west coast..

I envy you. Get lots of pics. I'd like to take a trip over to the UK sometime in the future....

I cant argue with your holiday venue, Scotland is God's country. If you are heading North from Glasgow, you are heading for the best bits. The roads get a bit emotional at that time of year though. Castles and historical sites are ten a penny and you will never see them all. I recommend you visit Eileen Donnan castle, you will recognise it as soon as you see it. (Watch "Highlander" for about 10 minutes.)

There are plenty of hills and mountains, anything over 3000ft is called a "Munro" There are some easy ones, and some right buggers.

If you need anything there are a few Scotsmen on the board, give us a shout if you need anything researched further.




edited to sort munro height. Doh.

Re Trip to Scotland

Scotland has some nice scenery and lots of history. The view from the top of Schiehallion (The Fairy Mountain) is quite nice. Its a an reasonably easy climb, lots of boulders at the top to give it a 'real' mountain feel. On a nice sunny day makes a great backdrop for a 'tourist' picture as you can see right across the whole of Scotland.




The 'Queens View of Loch Tummel' is quite nice, with Schiehallion in the background. (Actually the whole area Glen Lyon, Loch Earn and Loch Tay is quite nice, typical Perthshire Scenery)



As is Glen Affric - The Land that time forgot but with no dinosaurs except for the one at Loch Ness (A bit out of the way but worth a visit if you go Nessie Monster Hunting at Loch Ness)



Glencoe can be a little more rugged and brooding viewed here with some more typical weather.



As for Castles, if you like that kind of thing, the Eileen Donnan castle is very picturesque. Some other notable castles would be Edinburgh Castle and Princess Street Gardens, Stirling Castle, Scone Palace outside Perth,

Glamis Castle in Angus.

There actually to is many to list.
If you like Golf you'll think you have died and gone to heaven as the Open Championship is being held at Carnoustie Championship Golf Course during mid July. St Andrews is not to far away either. North of Edinburgh we have the equivalent of the San Fransisco Golden Gate Bridge called the Forth Railway Bridge. The Equivalent of the Eiffel Tower in Paris but a bit more useful.


As for searching for mythical creatures, Loch Ness is worth a visit, but stay away from Ben Macdui as it is haunted by a Big Grey Man!!.

If you need any specific info there are a few Scottish members on the Forum who can answer any of your questions.

Head West Young Man!

There are stacks of places to go, once you get North of Glasgow.

Even the main "A"roads are pretty scenic, but watch where you are going, Tourists can and DO drive into the Lochs or into Roadside Cliffs, with monotonous regularity!

A Couple of corrections:

1. Munroe's are Mountains that are over 3000 ft (914.4 M) and are mostly Serious undertakings, so if you intend doing any, make sure you know what you are about!

http://www.sol.co.uk/d/dickwall/munroes.htm

2. Laphroaig does not "taste like Cat's P***" it is the Nectar of the God's!

My mistake, whats a thousand feet between friends.

What are the odds of playing Saint Andrews?

Re: Trip to Scotland

Home to fine whisky.

The finer Scotch Whiskies are referred to as Single Malt Whiskies, then lower in the pecking order there are the blended whiskies which has lower quality grain Whisky mixed with some Malt whisky. At the very bottom is the grain Whisky.

In General the finest Malts are then classified into which area they are from, as the ingredients used (especially the water used) to make the whisky will leave some very distinctive flavours. I'm afraid there is a lot of snobbery when it comes to finest malts just as there is in fine wines. The Malt whiskies are marketed by the brewing companies for their exclusivity much like designer perfumes hence a lot of the finest whiskies are extremely expensive.

The two main famous types of malt whisky are made in Speyside and in Islay. Laphroaig is an Islay malt and has an acquired taste because of the 'peaty' flavour. 'Peaty' overtones are quite common for the Islay malts.

The Speyside malts are generally cleaner and lighter in flavour, some may say more bland, some may say more subtle but again that is subjective.

Of course there are many more areas in Scotland where Whisky is distilled. There are highland and lowland malts. There are some really nice Whiskies out there. But don't fall into the trap of thinking if it is more expensive then the better it will be. Probably the reason for the 'Cats P***' comment.

If I was to recommend a malt, it would be for a Speyside Malt for the beginner.

Some recommendations for Malts- Glenmorangie, Cardhu, Glenlivet, Miltonduff, Highland Park and Laphroaig (acquired taste for advanced drinkers)

Some recommendations for Blended - Grants.

I have also tried 'Tesco's Value Brand' Whisky (not sure if it is a blended or simple grain whisky) which is about a quarter the price of other well known single malts available in local supermarkets and found it surprisingly agreeable. I was expecting it to taste like the finest Cuban Whisky (which is pretty awful).

Also for the Ladies there are Whisky Liqueurs such as Drambuie and Glayva (my favorite). If you come a across a bottle of Glayva, the lady in your life will appreciate the gift.

There are at last count, seven courses in St Andrews. The old course is pretty busy.

http://www.standrews.org.uk/welcome/st_andrews_links_trust/interactive_links_map.html

This lists the main 6.

you can book online from the main page.

This link lists some courses in FIFE all within about 25 miles of St A's

http://www.standrews.org.uk/your_visit/golf_courses_in_fife/index.html

If this doesnt take your fancy there is always Carnoustie, another Open venue, about 15 miles away.

You will never be short of a round of golf in this part of the world.

Cant stand the game myself though.

Re Norad - Odds of playing St Andrews.

There are currently 6 golf courses at St Andrews. The most famous course is called the Old course.



The old course is very popular

For full booking information click here

To get a round on the old course is a bit of a lottery as 50% of all the rounds played each day are allocated from a hat with the results being published publically around St Andrews town for the next day. The other 50% is allocated to pre bookings which I think is now has a waiting list time around 2 years. Also to qualify for a round the player must have a handicap of 24 for men and 36 for women. It is not impossible to get a round on the old course especially earlier and later on in the season but the months June, July and August are pretty difficult to get a round depending on your luck of course. If you play singly then a few rounds are available very early on in the morning. You will have to enquire very early on in the morning with the starter.
Golf is not played on a Sunday on the old course.
The old course is managed by the St Andrews Links Trust and is actually publicly owned land. The Residents of St Andrews still have certain rights such as they can still hang out clothes washing on the land although this is not generally done nowadays.
The general public has the right to walk the course on Sundays.
The old course is a bit ancient and old fashioned and expensive to play. Last time I looked up the cost it was from £80 for a round. Way to expensive in my opinion - Average cost for a round would be £20-30 at so called lesser courses in the area. But I suppose you have go to say you played the old course just once in your life.

If you wanted to play a more demanding course then Carnoustie Championship course would be a better bet. This course is quite probably one of the most difficult in the world. Again there are three courses at Carnoustie.

There is probably the highest number of links golf courses anywhere in the world in such a small area. Other notable courses would be Muirfield (Outside Edinburgh) , Panmuir (near Carnoustie) , Kingsbarns (near St Andrews), Elie (South of St Andrews)

Here is a Link showing the golf courses within about 30-40 miles of where I live.

I'm pleasantly surprised! From the sounds of it the Old Course is relatively inexpensive. Difficult to get on maybe but not impossible. I don't consider myself much of a golfer but I play when I can. If I ever visited I'd love to shoot a round at such a historic course.

Ordinarily I wouldn't but this would be sort of a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Plus, believe it or not, that's a lot less expensive than some of the high-end courses here in the States.

Re Norad45 - Did I mention there was a castle five minutes walk away from the old course in St Andrews. Those Castles just seem to pop up all over the place in Scotland.


Re NightHiker - If you think the golf is expensive, then you are going to fall over when you find out the price for a US Gallon of petrol (Gas). It is now currently $6.69 / US Gallon in the United Kingdom.

That's some spectaular scenery!

Ben, you forget the strangley named Golf Course Number 7, not yet finished and the Dukes course on the way to Craigton Park.

Then of course there is Drumoig, which has a St Andrews address and the two Courses (Torrence and Devlin) at the St Andrews Bay Hotel. I guess that makes 11 golf courses in total. Also on the TV news this evening there was an American with a strange hair cut wanting to build another 4 golf courses at the links north of Aberdeen. Apparently he wants to spend $1000,000,000 to make them the 4 greatest golf courses in the world. No thats completely insane - in Aberdeen. Apparently he is referred to in America as The Donald!!



Anyway I have this theory that most political and business psychopaths ultimate aim is to own their own golf course because of the sheer frustration and of the lack of control the wee white ball can cause in these individuals when they play. If they can't master the golf they have to own it. This guy wants to own 4.

Wow. You have posted such beautiful photos on this thread. What ever drove you to post that one? It would be nice if I could go one day without seeing his face. Too much to ask for I suppose. Next time crop out about 50% from the left.

Thanks, Bentirran, for making me feel even worse that I'm missing my long-time friend's wedding in Scotland April 1st!

I'm hoping to visit her eventually, when money isn't so tight, and your lovely photos are only hardening my resolve. It is no wonder my friend fell in love with the country (of course her husband-to-be played no small part in this) and couldn't wait to become an ex-pat!

You and Aloha, with his pics of Hawaii, are two very lucky guys.

Well then I suppose then we better count the leuchars course as well so that makes 12. Suffice to say there are more than a few courses in this little part of the world.
Enough about golf, visit the country.