Recent Discussions — visitscotland

Ready I think!

kcfaye — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 02:27:44 +0000

Hello all we are about ready to depart for your beautiful country and can't wait to arrive. We are coming into Glasgow on the 15 June, 2017 and will be departing for home on the 26 June, 2017. We are wondering what to expect for weather while we are there. Does anyone have any sort of thought or idea? Are we forgetting anything lol. We have our passports, all reservations made, and list and list of things to see and do. You all have been wonderful answering my questions these last few months, wish I could meet you to Thank You all.

Worrying about the weather at this point, and the long flight. So EXCITED!!!!!

June 2017

kcfaye — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 02:20:37 +0000

We are about to arrive in your beautiful country and was wondering if there are any festivals or events we must try and see? Our time there is as follows: Arrive in Glasgow 15 June, 2017 and leave for home on the 25 June, 2017. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Looking forward to coming and can't wait, counting the days.

Mary King's Close

munroeko — Mon, 05 Jun 2017 19:42:44 +0000

Hello! We will be in Edinburgh this summer and wish to go to Mary King's Close. My daughter is a mostly brave almost-9 year old but someone told me Mary King's was super scary for kids. Does anyone have any opinions about the appropriate age for this?

Also, I know this tend to sell out. Any idea of how far in advance?

Thanks!
munroeKO

Tour O The Borders - 56 Mile Cycle

EdinBlogger — Mon, 05 Jun 2017 22:12:04 +0000

Hi everyone!

Last week I took part in a 56-mile cycle in the Borders. It was absolutely stunning and highly recommended if you fancy a challenge.

I'm not much of cyclist having only been out a handful of times for rides longer than 10 miles, there were some fairly challenging climbs and one hill in particular that we had to walk up, but I'm so glad I did it.

I think I've caught the cycling bug now (thanks to Scotland's beautiful landscapes), do you have any recommendations for other routes to try? Possibly a little flatter than this one!

http://tourotheborders.com/event-info

Luncarty?

munroeko — Thu, 25 May 2017 15:36:10 +0000

Hi there,

I will be in Scotland this summer. My grandmother was born in Luncarty, Perthshire so we are going to drive through that area. I have not found many mentions of things to do and see in Luncarty, aside from a football team. Any suggestions as to things to do? I realize it is a pretty small place. Thanks!

munroeKO

STICKY: Welcome to the community!

VisitScotland — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 11:20:38 +0000

Welcome to I Know Scotland Online, VisitScotland's new online community for those living in and visiting Scotland.

Please introduce yourself in this thread and let people know where you are, what your interest in Scotland is and what you're hoping to get out of your membership of the community

Edinburgh Whisky Experience

Jemy — Sun, 28 May 2017 09:58:21 +0000

Hi all,

My wife and I made Scotland our home at the start of 2016. We have had quite a few family members over from New Zealand recently and have been practicing giving people a local tour of Edinburgh as kiwis like to travel and we have had no shortage of guests.

Recently we had a group of 8 and at times it felt like herding cats. To get around this we took everyone to the Whisky experience and had the joy of handing over motivating people to stay in one group to the guide.

Granny in particular was through the moon and had a great time. I can't rate this enough for an (adult) family outing if you have people from out of the country visiting. Just put them in a barrel and give them a dram or two.

What are your favourite Scotch Whiskys? I am still branching out!

Share your epic road trip footage

VisitScotlandHeather — Fri, 05 May 2017 14:04:51 +0000

Have you just been or are planning a road trip in and around Scotland? Then we need you!

Rather than sending out a film crew, on a day with best conditions and with the fanciest production equipment, our multimedia team would love to create a road trip video using your footage from all over Scotland.

We want people out on the road to film themselves and the things they are seeing … and it doesn’t need to by on state of the art cameras – anything that shoots HD would be perfect

I’ve attached a little handy guide, detailing the types of themes we’re looking for along with a few tips on how to capture the best footage.

Once you’ve got your footage, you can email it to multimedia@visitscotland.com (with a dropbox or we transfer link if the files are large) or if it’s on youtube, simply post the link in a comment below for us all to see! You don't need to edit the footage, our team will piece it all together to make one epic video.

Happy road tripping!

Returning to Scotland after 7 years!

caitlinramsay — Tue, 30 May 2017 23:19:39 +0000

Hi everyone! My name is Caitlin. I'm originally from Edinburgh but moved to New Zealand in 2006 (age 11). The last time I was in Scotland was Christmas 2009. My Mum and I are finally returning for 7 weeks to kind of be tourists in our own country again. Late July - mid September.

For me this trip is a kind of get back in touch with my roots type thing - I feel more Kiwi than a Scot these days but my identity as a Scottish person is really important to me. I'd love to experience as much of Scotland as I can in those 7 weeks. We are hiring a car so can go anywhere.

So what's changed since 2009? We'd really like to experience a lot of the tourist attractions (can you believe I've never been to Edinburgh Castle?), and travel around Scotland - check out all the scenery. We have the Wild Guide Scotland book that we will be working from, but if anyone has any must go to places then I'd love to know about it. We'll be catching up with a lot of family so we can't do everything! Also, if anyone has any knowledge on good places to go snorkelling that would be cool!

Thanks!

Packrafting in Scotland

PatrickD — Thu, 01 Jun 2017 08:35:58 +0000

Was wondering if there are somebody in this community who is interested in packrafting?

We have been packrafting the river dee last year.

Here you can find our video:
http://www.hikeventures.com/video-packrafting-scotland-dee-2017/

What's your favourite beach in Scotland?

VisitScotlandAmanda — Mon, 10 Apr 2017 09:27:12 +0000

This weekend I took a little trip from Edinburgh (only 35 mins on the train!) to Burntisland and had the most incredible time! Not only was the weather amazing (17 degrees but felt like more) but the scenery was so picturesque as well. The water was so crystal clear and it was such a lovely and peaceful place.

What beach in Scotland should I visit next? Do you have a favourite coastal location? Show me your pics!

train schedule from Cairnryan to Glasgow?

oneillw — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 23:41:03 +0000

We're taking the ferry from Belfast to Cairnryan on a Sunday in July and need to get to Glasgow by train. How do we find the train schedule? Can anyone tell us how long it takes from Cairnryan to Glasgow? Does the train actually leave from Cairnryan or do we need to get somewhere else to catch the train?

Ferry to Mull

djalbert81 — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 15:27:53 +0000

I am planning a trip for this summer and want to include Mull. Are reservations needed for the ferry (with a car)?

ScotRail Question

Rob — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 14:31:10 +0000

Does ScotRail offer any kind of "hop on, hop off" rail pass suitable for day tripping?
If it were feasible, I thought we might take a train from Glasgow Queen St. out to Blair Atholl, and return with stops at Pitlochry and Stirling.
Would this be possible as a day trip or too ambitious?

Stonehaven Beach

Kranek — Sat, 03 Jun 2017 00:51:07 +0000

Does any one know the name of the artist who created the fancifullmetal sculptures at Stonehaven Beach?

WING IT OR NOT TO WING IT???

mcalrow — Fri, 12 May 2017 03:49:12 +0000

I have 60 days to finalize the 7 day trip. I have never been and we are driving it ourselves. Goal: great scenery for photo's, distilleries, amazing views, castles, etc

This is what I've got so far....any suggestions welcomed.

Day 1 - Arrive in Glasgow (unsure what to do exactly this day - we will be tired after flying all night).

Day 2 - We head to Oban....stopping off at Balloch Castle, Loch Lomond, Kilchurn Castle and Dunstaffnage Castle. Check out the Oban distillery. Possibly Inveraray Castle.

Day 3 - We head to Isle of Skye. To get to out hotel that evening we can drive 2 hours and 50 minutes (via ferry) or drive the longer route 3 hours 7 minutes to avoid the ferry. My question is what is the better route. For scenery? For pit stops? Good photo ops?

Day 4 - We head to Inverness. I know we want to do something with Loch Ness.

Day 5 - Head to Dundee (original plan was to stay in Perth) I changed it. Not much of driving distance coming from Inverness. What things do we pass? What is a must do between day 4 and 5.

Day 6 - We head to Edinburgh. Stirling first. We have day 6 and 7 between Edinburgh and Glasgow. What do you suggest?

Day 7 - Glasgow.

After that head to Dublin for U2 concert!

Culzean Castle, Ayrshire and its caves!

DMWScotland — Sat, 03 Jun 2017 16:00:30 +0000

If you're ever visiting the Ayrshire area of Scotland you will be totally wowed by our coastline and dramatic cliffs.

I live about 40 minutes drive from the 18th century Culzean Castle. I don't visit often enough. The castle sits high on its dramatic cliff looking out across the Firth of Clyde to Ailsa Craig and the Isle of Arran. It was designed by Robert Adam and was the home of the Kennedy family for hundreds of years.

Culzean Castle

It's now well looked after by the National Trust for Scotland. Being a paying member of the Trust allows me to get into the castle and country park free. A few weeks ago I booked a tour to explore the caves below the castle. I did have to pay extra for this £10.50 (adult) £5.50 (child). It was so worth it though for a two hour tour of the caves that are always locked. We all want to explore places that are locked, don't we? I certainly do!

The caves directly below the castle are a scheduled ancient monument and can only be explored by a guided tour. Some caves are open and free to explore as well though. The caves’ fortifications are around 15th/16th century, being much older than the present day castle we see today. There was an older tower house on top of the cliff that dates back to the same year as the caves. The new Culzean Castle was built around this.

Caves at Culzean Castle

Cave chamber 1

Cave chamber 2

Cave chamber 2

Cave chamber 3

There's lots to explore at Culzean Castle and Country Park. Beautiful trails, gardens, woodlands, beaches, adventure playground, the castle and so much more. One day is not enough to see it all. Check out the National Trust for Scotland's website for more information.

See more photos and read my story on my blog.

Dawn-Marie x

Looking for accommodation

mmm1975 — Fri, 02 Jun 2017 15:42:27 +0000

Hi everyone , just wanted to ask does anyone know of somewhere nice to stay over Xmas in Scotland we last stayed for Xmas in OBAN right on the loch however I believe they have sold all the houses for social housing except the mansion and gardener's cottage and would love to stay somewhere similar that allowed 2dogs if anyone knows of any I would be very grateful

Write a spooky Scottish story

VisitScotlandNikki — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 13:31:17 +0000

You can’t have a country filled with castles, famous legends and moody lochs (plus whisky!) without the odd spooky story.

Our historic buildings, legendary characters and eerie landscapes are the perfect ingredients for a mysterious story – which may be truth or myth. Crathes Castle has the Green Lady, Edinburgh Castle has a headless drummer and of course, Loch Ness has its monster.

Many of these tales have been whispered into ears for hundreds of years. But there’s always space for a new spooky story!

So, over to you. Write us your best spooky Scottish story in 50 words or less and see if you can terrify our community members the most!

Make sure to like your favourite too, so we can see who’s the spookiest Scotland-lover of all!

(A performance of Macbeth at Glamis Castle, Angus)