Scotland, Wales and Ireland

OP, are you from the USA and thus unfamiliar with driving on the “wrong” side of the road?

You can fly from London City airport to Edinburgh, Glasgow or Dublin in less than an hour. A train to Glasgow or Edinburgh takes around 4 hours but is a nice journey. Unless there's someone or something in particular you want to see, I wouldn't recommend anywhere else in the UK if it's only a couple of days. The other cities like Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle aren't worth your time and even Glasgow is hardly worth it. I'd get on the Eurostar and go to Paris. Brits don't tend to spend our holidays in the UK if we can help it.

In Ireland, don't miss the Cliffs of Moher on the West Coast. They're fantastic.

What do you like to do?

Cotswolds/Oxford.

Would do Ireland before Wales but Ireland is tough - because Dublin isn’t worthwhile, only the countryside and western coast. But you need to drive in the country and it is no fun being on the wrong side of everything. All your instincts are constantly challenged. Makes it stressful. Perhaps Galway via public transport. Edinburgh would be another choice. Don’t bother with the other major English cities.

I also like to do cheap flights to other euro cities like Amsterdam or Prague. Amazingly cheap flights.

Northern Ireland. Belfast is banging these days.

Stratford on Avon for Shakespeare. The Cotswolds to see ye olde England.

Windsor to see The Queen and Bath for the beautiful architecture and Roman Baths.

Edinburgh to experience Scotland.

Paris or Amsterdam on the Eurostar are easy to get to and worth a visit.

R7 Bath and Stratford-upon-Avon are all do-able as day trips from London and not worth spending any more than that in. Windsor is 30 mins from central London on the train and not worthy of more than a day's visit.

What interests do you have OP?

My husband and I took a train from London to Glasgow and it was fantastic. Sipped wine and gazed at the countryside. Amazing trip. Took about 4.5 hours. We stayed in Glasgow and then Edinburgh overall for 7 days. Was blown away by the food and art scene in Glasgow. One interesting thing to note: because London is so fucking expensive, a lot of people from there - including many artists and creative types - took advantage of their UK passports and moved up to that region. This in effect helped to radically revitalize the city. I had some of the best food and cocktails in recent memory in both Glasgow and Edinburgh. Also, the gallery scene was great. Many of the artists and gallery owners I spoke to were former advertising, tech people who burnt out young and fled England for a whole new life.

The lush parks, Kelvingrove Museum, Necropolis - Fringe Fest in Edinburgh. Day trips to the highlands. Lots to do. (Though in truth, parts of Glasgow are still broke as fuck).

Anyway, we are going back next year to do the upper highlands. Can't wait!!

OP, it depends entirely on what your interests are. The other "big cities" are generally not as diverse or interesting as London, but many of the smaller towns and cities (Bath, Oxford & Canterbury spring to mind) are highly worthwhile, each is readily explored in a day trip and each will give you an entirely different experience to London.

On the other hand, the countryside and National Parks are completely different, both from one another and from the City experiences. The Scottish National Parks are amongst the most worthwhile in all of Europe and Scotland, in general, is incredibly beautiful, though perhaps better explored in a dedicated trip on its own. The British coastline is also pretty dramatic and varied, though really you would need to hire a car to make the most of it.

It's easy enough to fly or take trains to and from London and the relatively small size of the UK makes this pretty quick and painless. Don't even contemplate driving into London, incidentally!

Thanks for all the great advice so far.

As to my interests, my husband and I see a lot of theater in London and go to all the museums, small and large. We also love all the silly tourist stuff like The Tower, Buckingham Palace, 22b Baker Street, etc. And in past years we've taken great day trips to Bath, Brighton, Oxford, Cambridge and Rye.

So we're going this spring to catch a few shows but would love to explore some new nearby places.....we could probably give over 4 days to wherever. We definitely don't want to have to drive anywhere!

Agree with R10 on Edinburgh or Glasgow. Those cities are thriving right now.

R12 This is R11 here, If you have already spent time in England then I would absolutely 100% agree with others that you should spend your allocated 4-ish days in Scotland (and I say this as an Englishman!). The train journey is nice (if you time it so as to avoid crowded trains) although mainly only in the northern-most stretch, but personally, I would fly from City Airport (which is very central, and thus quick to get to) to Edinburgh as this will save you a fair chunk of time (each way) that you can instead spend on sightseeing.

Edinburgh is a major cultural centre, so you will find a good selection of museums, theatre and other art hubs to explore. I would suggest using it as a hub and consider taking day trips out from the city if time and inclinations allow.

Well go up to Edinburgh on the train and stop at York for the night. Explore the Rambles and The Minster. Take a day out to Glasgow for the arts. Dundee perhaps for the new V&A.

The train ride up to Edinburgh is gorgeous as is the city. Check out the National Museum of Scotland - it's free entry and you can easily spend half a day there. Nice coffee shop too.

Depending on how much time you have Newcastle and Berwick on Tweed are both stops on the way from York to Edinburgh and have some good stuff too.

From a well travelled queen, R7 said it best. I also liked York. I did like Dublin. The irish and scottish are very very nice and welcoming. London see Sir John Soanes museum, the Egyptian museum at the U of London and Charles Dickens house. Also tour one or more of the historic cemeteries. The Tower of london and crown jewels are over rated. Covent Garden is nice, stop in at the Tin Tin store. Try to see a good play, be forewarned, the theatres are ancient and the seats are miserably small if you are tall. Go yo Selfridges and as z tourist you must see Harrods even though it's kitschy and trashy. Great small museum is the Wallace collection. Cheetio!

York and up on north to Scotland.

You don’t have enough time for Wales. Plus, you need to drive or hire a car service in advance (we did). But put Northern Wales on your list of places to go next time. Not only is it physically gorgeous and full of history, but the friendly people really do speak Welsh and are eager to share it with you. It’s truly a fascinating language. Many geology terms and Lord of the Rings are based on it. The little towns have delightful B&Bs. The museum at Caernarfon Castle, Wales is incredible.

Oh dear God - Belfast banging!?! Maybe not the hell hole it once was but not worth visiting unless you have to fly through. Even Dublin is better and more exciting - and I’m not a fan of Dublin. Edinburgh, Glasgow, Paris and Amsterdam. Cotswolds/Oxford/Bath for shorter, quieter getaways.

I have to disagree with the previous post about Wales. I've found Welsh people to be inhospitable at best, mean spirited at worst. And I've lived there.

I lived in Wales back in the 90's and the Welsh were just lovely and kind. Sure there were some assholes here and there but what country doesn't have them. I lived in Cardiff and Wrexham. Both are beautiful places. Add Swansea , Newport or Llanelli as "city" destination. Snowdioa National Park is jaw dropping GORGEOUS! Go if you can.

Who is this fool ragging on Dublin. Spent a week there earlier this year and loved it. The food is fantastic and the people are friendly beyond belief. Easy-to-use public transportation, some great museums, fascinating history and some A+ attractions like Kilmainham Gaol, Phoenix Park (the wild deer are awesome), the botanic gardens and Glasnevin Cemetery.

Can’t believe anyone could speak ill of this city.

I agree with the posters who indicate that you should fly from London to Edinburgh/Glasgow. Yes, the train ride is lovely, but you lose time that you could best spend elsewhere. I spent a couple of days in York in the spring & while it is a beautiful old city, it was dirty and trash was everywhere - I was kind of disappointed. Depending on what you want from a vacation, I'd take the train from Glasgow (now that's a lovely train ride!) and explore the Highlands. Ireland should be a stand alone trip and as others have noted, I wouldn't bother with Dublin unless you're there to party (though people are very friendly)

R21 look online at customer reviews of hospitality industry businesses in Wales, then come back and tell me how lovely they are. They're also quite stingy, but that's least of the faults.

I'm not a fan of Wales or Dublin, both places I wouldnt rush back to.

Big shout out to the person suggesting taking the West Highland line from Glasgow up to Fort William. It is simply stunning. You can even go up to Mallaig on the Harry Potter train if you want.

r20 / R24, ENOUGH!

Okay, we get it! Welsh men don't want to fuck you. Move on and get some sleep, hon. Sheeeeeesh!

Where's the best place? Glasgow? Edinburgh? Dublin? Some quaint town in Wales? The English countryside?

Edinburgh is beautiful and has a lot to see in it (including the phenomenal National Museum of Scotland, Holyrood House, and Edinburgh castle) . Glasgow is very nineteenth-century and is a broken-down industrial city---if you like that sort of thing, it's very charming, but usually the people who like it best are people interested in 19th-c. history. Its #1 tourist attraction, the Mackintosh-designed Glasgow School of Art, just burned down for the second time, and it will be years before it is restored.

Dublin is thriving and bustling, but for some people its too corded and actually too unexpectedly cosmopolitan. It has tons of stuff that's interesting if you're into Irish history and fiction, however, and great museums.

I think the best parts of both Scotland and Ireland are the countrysides. The area in Scotland around Loch Ness is particularly beautiful, but the whole nation is gorgeous. Same with Ireland--it is so lush and green and beautiful. I particularly recommend in Ireland the town of Sligo and environs (which is often called yeats Country, because he spend beloved vacations around their as a child and wrote about it constantly) and also the Dingle Peninsula. I highly recommend the beautiful small city of Cork, though there's not much to do there; the university city of Galway is not terribly interesting, but you can visit a lot of things in Western Ireland from there is you use it as your base of operations.

Northern Ireland also has beautiful countryside, and the area up by the Giant's Causeway is spectacular. I like Belfast quite a bit and they have quite a bit to see there (including a great museum about the Titanic), but it's a very Edwardian city and not to all tastes.

Half of the population of North Wales are from Liverpool (Scousers), it is very rundown. It would also take longer to get there than to Edinburgh because of the neglected transport infrastructure.

South Wales is generally fairly nice and quite easy to get to from London.

[quote]Where's the best place? Glasgow? Edinburgh? Dublin? Some quaint town in Wales? The English countryside?

Pick one of these, maybe two at most. You can’t do London and the equivalent of 3 other countries in 9 days.

Everyone I know who has been to Ediinburgh has always raved about it. Probably best in summer I imagine. This thread is making me want to go.

I did a 2+ week trip that started in Dublin for 3 days (where I got around by bike and public transport), then Belfast for a day by train, the Edinburgh by flight, several days touring Scotland by car, then to London by car. In London I ditched the car and got around via tube, then train and ferry back to Dublin for my return flight to the US.

Dublin by bike and mostly streetcar was more than fine, and the train to Belfast was a nice view. Scotland by car was awesome--we did our own version of a castle tour (you can get passes for multiple castles but you have to be careful because they all work for different castles--some are privately owned and others by the government), and we covered a good portion of the lowlands. Also Scots are incredibly patient drivers and there are practically no streetlights anywhere because it's so sparse, so it's a great place to practice opposite side driving. I was able to master it in about a day, and by the time we got to London I was very comfortable. Getting used to the roundabouts is tough though, even for someone who used to live in DC and is well familiar with traffic circles. We drove through the gorgeous Lake District to get to London and a bit out of our way to see Bath and other sites. The tube was more than sufficient to get around London, and the train and ferry back to Dublin was a gorgeous ride. Also, there are great speedboat rides on the Thames in London that were lots of fun.

We also blew a flat near Loch Ness and had to be towed 4 hours back to where we were staying in Edinburgh. Great conversation with the nicest lorry driver who was very much pro-independence and PISSED that it didn't happen. This was long before Brexit, so I'd love to hear what he has to say now.

R30, I loved every inch of Scotland that I saw.

My boyfriend lives in Edinburgh and so I visit most weeks. It's a great city, full of great museums and restaurants.

Wales? Huge thick uncut cocks.

[Quote] Wales? Huge thick uncut cocks.

Absolutely!

R30 winter is pretty great there too. Princes Street Gardens decked out in lights and Ferris wheel and skating rink, the fireworks over the castle, the Hogmanay street party... fantastic. They have a thing called Winterfest, lots of street markets and music.

R26 I've been fucked by plenty of Welsh men while I lived there, they're deficient in that regard as well.

r37,

Brighton is fantastic..as is Ireland...Dublin. Galway and Kilarney are amazing...Cheers...

R38 sure Jan all you want, doesn't change the facts.

[Quote] doesn't change the facts.

Yes we know you're a bi polar mental case. Anything else, hon?

Yes, one more thing r41 you Welsh human skin tag, bathe and use deodorant daily, I know that's not de rigueur in Wales, but try it, you might just come to like smelling like a civilized human being.

I find Wales disappointing and unfriendly.

I stayed at a B&B in Cardiff years ago, and my train was severely delayed because of bad weather, so I called the establishment to explain I would be checking in late. "We'll be closed by 10pm" came the reply. Very inhospitable.

I just found the landscape was ok, nothing outstanding. The amenities were acceptable. It was just ok.

Scotland has the wow factor. England too. Northern Ireland with the Giant's Causeway and history of 'The Troubles' is fascinating. But Wales I would give it a miss.

Thanks again to everyone who posted.

It looks like we will probably fly into Scotland, spend 3 days there and train down to London, stopping for a night in York. We'll spend 4 days in London. Would anyone care to recommend hotels or B&Bs in York or Edinburgh? We can afford to stay somewhere nice!

Try The Witchery By The Castle r44. We had the best dinner ever there. The rooms are unique.

The pub at the Lamb & Lion Inn in York is great, but I wouldn't stay there again.

I'm heading to EDI for a wk in the summer. Any recommendations for lodging (other than Balmoral)?

My boyfriend lives in Edinburgh, I was there last week, so I know the city pretty well.

R45 makes a great recommendation. My boyf loves eating at The Witchery.

Have a Royal day and do The Royal Mile, The Palace of Hollyrood House and take the bus to Ocean Terminal and see The Royal Yacht. Stop off for a bite at Valvona's and see where The Queen does her shopping.

I also own racehorses, which are stabled in Yorkshire, so I know York a little too.

The train journey from Edinburgh to York is about 3 hours, so set off early. York is a great place to walk around. Go to The Shambles and walk around the small shops. York Minster is the Cathedral there which goes back to the 600s, but the building was started in the mid 1300s. You celebrate Haloween, but we celebrate Bonfire Night on 5th November, when Guy Fawkes tried to blow up The Houses of Parliament and King James 1 in 1605. You can stay at his house. Its a hotel.

Any questions OP. Ask away.

R47 Are you going for the Edinburgh Festival in August?

Try to avoid going through Midsomer. It's England's equivalent of Cabot Cove.

Thanks for your post, r49.

If we're determined to take a train from Edinburgh to London, do you think York is the best town to do a day/overnight on the way? Is there a better stopover?

Any other opinions also welcomed!

R52 Your choices really are:

Newcastle Durham York

If you like the arts then The Baltic Centre in Newcastle will be of interest to you. Newcastle is a lovely city. The natives are called Geordies. They have cute accents. The young women of the city are noted for wearing the least amount of evening wear in the most harshest of weathers.

If you wanted to consider going directly from Scotland to London, a berth in the Caledonian Sleeper is supposed to be a pleasant experience (see Youtube for reviews).

Geordie women in the evening. And yes that is snow.

The Caledonian Sleeper is also a a great way to get there overnight.

Welsh, Scottish or British men. Who are best in bed?

There was an Englishman, Scotsman, Welshman and a Northern Irishman....

ha ha!

The problem with the Caledonian Sleeper is that it takes so long and you miss the great scenery.

The London-Edinburgh train route is gorgeous and takes you through some of the most 'important' British cities. The Sleeper, while an interesting 'experience', is very much the lesser compared to the day train.

Do everyday men in Scotland wear kilts on a daily basis?

R59 is correct. You pass some great scenery travelling up to and down from Edinburgh, particularly through Northumberland.

The night sleeper gives you a nights accomodation though, whilst you're travelling, so it just depends on what is more important.

The Caledonian Sleeper is great for Fort William and Inverness, where you travel through great scenery in the morning. Because it arrives early at Edinburgh you wont see that.

Dublin's a snooze. Edinburg is far more interesting. The Highlands of Scotland are gorgeous but roads are few and far between, very narrow and travelling is very slow.

Go to Oxford instead.

R63 Oxford is a day trip from London at the very most. I really wish more people would actually look at a map of the UK before making these idiotic recommendations. ONLY American tourists have ever spent a night in any of those English cities. Anyone in the UK goes there for a day and no more.

R60 My experience is that the further north you go in Scotland, the more often you see men in kilts on a day to day basis.

Edinburgh you'll see 2-3 a day. But yes you will see men in kilts.

The place I most love in the UK is the Isle of Skye. You take the ferry over from Eilean Donan a fascinating old castle. On Isle of Skye you see whales in the bay, otters in the rivers, seals on the beach. It's hilly and when you drive the little roads, the road suddenly disappears from view, dips, and it's like you've reached the end of the world. Then you discover a bunch of sheep in the middle of the road. Gorgeous knitwear there. But no way is it a day trip from London. Several days at the least.

R56 Welsh and Scottish are British. The island of Great Britain is where the countries of England, Scotland and Wales are located. These nations are British. Northern Ireland is part of the UK along with the 3 countries located on Great Britain. So in summary; 3 countries are British, 4 make up the United Kingdom.

Of all of these, Scotland is the most beautiful in my opinion.

To the person asking about kilts - no-one apart from the Royal Family wears them on a daily basis. People of Scottish (and some Irish) descent wear them to weddings or other formal occasions but absolutely no-one wears them out and about.

A friend of mine who is Scottish through and through has worn a kilt once in his life, and that was on his wedding day in his mid-thirties.

Kilts

Question...best tour service to get to Highclere Castle from London and any tips?

I am NOT going to drive...Americsn tourist here, have been to Scotland and Ireland twice and London 10 or 11 times, so I know the city and those awful tours that leave Victoria. Better alternatives?

Fly to Dublin then to Edinburgh, then train to Liverpool then train to Cambridge, down to Windsor, Oxford, Bath, Stonehenge and then to London.

R70 You're a Downton Abbey fan?

Why not just take the train out to Newbury and grab a taxi from there to Highclere?

Newbury is a lovely old coaching town.

Drop the tourist information an email and ask them if a local firm runs tours.

Train £27 return after 9:30am Taxi £28/30 return Entry ticket £23 Total £70

R68 the character Duncan (played by Hamish Clark) off BBC soap drama MONARCH OF THE GLEN wore a kilt as his uniform to work. Are you telling us that was pure fantasy, fiction, lies & deception?

You do occasionally see people wearing kilts, just not a huge amount. They are very much on view at rugby matches, seems like everyone wears one around Murrayfield stadium on match days.

Scots only wear kilts to get married or to go to Burns Night. Sometimes there are parties on St. Andrew's and you can wear a kilt to that. Otherwise, you look like an idiot.

[quote]On Isle of Skye you see whales in the bay, otters in the rivers, seals on the beach.

Bears at the gloryholes?

Go to Crawley to see the grave of Lord Alfred Douglas.

And just how many inches was that piece of Scotland?

R76 never been to a rugby match obviously.

bumping for a fellow traveler

R74 I've got the boxset of Monarch of the Glen. I love that programme. I stayed near Glenbogle a few years ago.

As has been said, men don't regularly wear kilts, but you'll see 2 to 3 a day in Edinburgh. Mainly bagpipers on Princes Street collecting the odd quid here or there. Rugby matches at Murrayfield attract loads too.

Rugby matches don't count. People paint their faces too - doesn't mean that's part of 'normal kilt-wearing'. Weddings and Burns Night are.

What the fuck do you mean rugby matches don’t count? Men wearing kilts was the subject. Men wear kilts at rugby matches. Grow the fuck up.

My kilt is hanging up in my wardrobe now. I've worn it out and about in Edinburgh before. Nice Arran jumper and a day sporran.

I think men look very elegant in them. This guy is kitted out in posh day wear. For weddings you'd go posher with an Argyle or a Prince Charlie jacket and full on sporran.

You wont see many, but you'll see the odd piper in town, or hotel staff or people heading off to weddings in them. Not many, just 1 or 2.

What do Scotsmen keep in their sporrans?

My money and keys

Except for dancing and weddings, I never wore mine. Ceremonial events.

R66 agree with you about the Isle of Skye being a magical place....but when were you last there? There's been a bridge to the mainland for a long time now.

I’d like to respectfully remind the rugby supporter that football fans also wear kilts.

Forgot to mention my favorite tidbit about visiting the isles. Sheep EVERYWHERE in Scotland and England. Way more sheep than people. The only place I didn't see sheep was in London. The funniest sheep experience was driving on an expressway (called motorways there) in England from I think Bath to London. Just like with US expressways, the road sometimes divides with a patch of grass/green between the different directions. Going past one such divide, there was a huge flock of sheep grazing on the grass, totally calm, seemingly not bothered at all by the traffic and noise. We couldn't stop staring, wondering how the fuck did they get there?!

The only time you'll see sheep in London R91 is when a celebrity is made a Freeman of the City of London and they hire in a few.

One of the priviledges is being able to take a flock of sheep over London Bridge.

Apart from that, sheep rearing in a urban setting is generally frowned upon. Here we see Dame Barbara Windsor exercising her right as a Freeman.

Classic Cuisine

^^^Just a list of London cafes. Nothing that reflects all of the UK.

R93 making me peckish there.

Do remember that in Edinburgh you'll have haggis, full scottish breakfast, cullen skink, kippers, bridies, scotch pies, etc as alternatives. As we don't tend to eat that rubbish down here.

I agree with R3, the Cliffs of Moher are spectacular.

Also see Galway, Waterville (Charlie Chaplin's favorite vacation spot), Connemara, and the National Stud in Kildare, if you're into horses.

R92, I wasn't expecting to see sheep in London. My point was they are so ubiquitous on the Isles that London was the only place I didn't see them.

give me some "bangers and mash" LOL

R97 There’s a part of the M8 (the highway between Edinburgh and Glasgow) where there is a massive earth sculpture of pyramids and the farmer who owns the land dyes his sheep various colors and lets them loose to graze on the pyramids. It’s quite a surprise as you drive along. The M8 is lined with artworks, it makes a humdrum highway a lot more interesting.

R89 years ago - there was no bridge then, just a ferry. Very romantic.

Take the train. When you count getting to one of London's far flung airports, then getting through security, the flight time, etc., It likely works out the same time wise.

What about Finn and Haddie?

Very smart advice about the train, r101.

Also with the train you get to see the countryside, get up to stretch your legs, have ample seat room etc. Much more comfortable in every way.

Do they still have fish and chip shops, or is that long gone?

No, we still have chippys everywhere.

Bloody good they are too!

If you plan to visit Scotland, break up the journey with a few days in Yorkshire. York itself is always worth a visit, but I recommend a few days in the country, especially Settle and Ribble. And definitely take a train journey on the Settle-Carlisle line, some of the most spectacular scenery in Britain.

Settle-Carlisle is pretty enough but for jaw dropping spectacular grandeur the West Highland Railway is the journey to take. It encompasses fjords, waterfalls, palm trees, silvery bays, mountains... lovely.