General Discussion — visitscotland

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

Two year stay

JAK — Mon, 19 Jun 2017 01:28:22 +0000

Hi, I'm not sure if this is the appropriate place to post this, but here goes. I'm looking to move to Scotland for a couple of years. I love the country and really want to stay for an extended period of time. I would like to work part time to pay for some of the costs. Any suggestions on where to stay and finding a part time job would be appreciated.
Thank you!

Ghost hunting in Scotland

rick4stunts — Mon, 22 May 2017 17:17:58 +0000

I have an online magazine, and I am looking for unique places to investigate and write about in the magazine.. Thank you!

Loch Awe

Jordan — Thu, 15 Jun 2017 14:33:16 +0000

Hi, my name is Jordan and I'm from Raiford, Florida (USA). I am in 10th grade and have an assignment in my Biology class that I am hoping I can get some help with. I have to do a virtual field trip to a body of water and I have picked Loch Awe. I have (I think) figured out that the loch is not very salty because their are pike there and they are low salinity fish. But can't find anything to tell me if the loch freezes over during the winter. Also if anyone knows if there is any research on the effects of climate change to the loch. Thanks to anyone who can help me answer these questions!

Australians Driving in the UK

TheFragranceHall2017 — Thu, 15 Jun 2017 11:07:42 +0000

Hi All, if i could get some help i would appreciate it. We are from Australia and looking to see as much heritage as possible. We collect a car at Edinburgh and drive to Stirling castle, then to Hadrins wall, then on to Durham for the night. Is there much to see on this rout? would we be better to do Stirling then follow the coast to another destination then on to Hadrins wall the next day, next stop is york, we have 4 days in York so any ideas would be great. Thanks in advance

Top Tips and Hidden Scotland!

VisitScotlandChristy — Tue, 23 May 2017 09:51:37 +0000

We wanna know your top tips when visiting Scotland and where the best hidden places are! Prettiest hidden waterfall? Best pub? Most amazing views in Scotland?

Share your best hidden gems of Scotland!

First time visiting Scotland in June 2018; Planning Ahead; Need Help

AshB — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 16:48:08 +0000

Hi There,

I'm currently planning a trip to Scotland for around this time next year and I really do not know where to start. I have been looking at some places to stay on Air B'N'B but its just that; looking. I'll be travelling from NYC....a l o n e.... (yup that's right, going exploring solo) and I really would like to know what are the best places to see/stay. I'd like to see multiple places; be in the town some days and the country some others. I do not mind renting a car to drive me where I need to go and I also do not mind taking buses, trains etc. I am also open to renting an entire home or staying in B&B's. One thing that's important to be is being able to sit under the stars at night. Not camping though...because bugs...and I'm a bit of a scaredy cat:| There are so many options when it comes to visiting Scotland and although I am doing my research , I still figured it would be nice to hear from locals and others who have been there on what is best to do.

So advise away.

Thanks!

Show your trip photos! The Instagram-thread

oscjac — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 08:20:24 +0000

Earlier this year I made my first trip to Scotland. For 8 days we travelled about 1500km around the Highlands.

Visitscotland.com was a great source for finding information on pretty much Everything we needed for our trip.

Now, I have posted photos from my trip on my Instagram account, and I would like to experience your photos as well, and maybe get some recommendations for the next trip! If there are any IG-users, please share your IG-link/account in this thread.

oscarcarlmikael / instagram.com/oscarcarlmikael

Reccomendations!

fionabowdenfb — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 09:54:52 +0000

I am coming up to scotland for 4 days over the weekend in either October or November with my partner and our dog Winston. I would love some reccomendations on the best places to visit. I have been to Scotland in the past to places such as Pitlochry, Oban, Loch Lomand, Inverary and Invergowrey many years ago but can't remember much regarding the areas and things to do there so recommendations may include these areas. We would like to go somewhere by the water with a view with places to walk the dogs but also areas where there are pubs and maybe a little shopping town or harbour? Any help would be much appreciated.

Using the Community - Quick Guide

VisitScotlandIntro — Wed, 29 Jun 2016 08:38:43 +0000

Hello Community members! Welcome to the new VisitScotland Community.

As we now have more and more members joining, we thought we'd create a new thread with a little guidance on how to use the Community and get the most out of it. Please ask any questions you might have about the forum software in this thread and we'll do the best we can to answer them. In the meantime, here's a quick guide to the main site features.

Main navigation
The navigation at the top of the page is specific to the Community.

Home will take you back to the main forum index
Discussions will show new recent posts
Activity will show actions that you and other Community members have recently taken (like commenting on a thread or uploading a picture)
Best Of will show you threads, pictures and comments that have been liked by other members or promoted by the moderators
The Search box allows you to search the whole Community for specific things. You can search for combinations of words, or for specific phrases by putting your search term inside quotes, i.e. "Isle of Lewis"

Category list
The main way you will be able to find new threads and comments is to browse our main category listing. You will see this as soon as you enter the Community. You can select the title of the category to view that category, or jump straight to the latest post for each category on the right.

On the right of the main list you can see more navigation, including discussions that you have contributed to, draft posts you may have saved,
unanswered questions and popular tags.

Threads
A thread or discussion is where most of the interesting things in the Community happen. It's a conversation between members of the Community and you can jump right in and start commenting.

You can also post three different kinds of thread - a general post, a question (which allows you to mark responses as good answers) or a poll. Just click the arrow on the New Post button to choose the kind of content you would like to post.

Posting in a thread
To add a contribution to a thread, scroll to the bottom and use the comment window.

This is similar to a word processor, with simple controls. You can bold, italicise or add strikethrough text. You can also add bulleted or numbered lists, add emojis and left, right or centred text. If you need more space, you can use the 'Fullscreen' button on the right of your editing window to let the editor take over your whole screen. You can also quickly preview or save a draft of your post, or just post it straight away.

See below for adding files, images and links.

Adding images
There are two ways to add images. The simplest way is to simply drag an image from your desktop onto the comment window. The image will appear wherever your cursor was located. You will also see a small thumbnail of the image at the bottom of your post. If you want to move the image to a different position, click the 'X' next to the thumbnail, click to move your cursor to the new position, then click the thumbnail to reattach it.

The second way is to use the file/image upload button on your toolbar:

This allows you to drag a file or image, select it from your computer's file system, or link directly to an image on a hosting service such as Flickr, Imgur or 500px. Please don't link directly to images which don't belong to you.

Making links
To create a link, highlight the text you would like to make into a link, then click the Link symbol in your toolbar. Type or paste the URL you would like to link to and click OK to create your link.

Videos
To add a video to your post or comment, just paste in a URL from Youtube or Vimeo. It will be automatically converted into a video player. Click 'Preview' to check that your video is working before you post. Unfortunately we don't allow member's own videos to be directly uploaded to the Community as the file sizes are generally too large. But Youtube and Vimeo accounts are free to register, so feel free to share your videos of Scotland with us!

Responding to other users
To mention another user, you can use the @ symbol. Just type '@' and begin typing their username, then select the right one from the list. This will send them a notification to let them know you have mentioned them.

Managing your profile and favourites
Finally, don't forget you can upload a picture of yourself to help other member's identify you, as well as adding a signature to your posts, checking your bookmarked 'favourite' threads or just seeing what's new on the threads you've commented on. Use the menu in the top right of the screen to access your personal profile, favourites and more.

Top Ten Jacobite Novels

VisitScotlandChristy — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 10:38:35 +0000

Bonnie Charlies Greatest Hits - Top Ten Jacobite Novels!

With so much fascinating history revolving around the Jacobites and with it being the year of History, Heritage and Archaeology, we caught up with Donald Smith from Storytelling Centre & TRACS who shares his top ten Jacobite novels.

We also want to know what your favourite Jacobite novels are!

What's on your ULTIMATE Scotland travel bucket-list?

VisitScotlandAmanda — Fri, 28 Apr 2017 14:03:12 +0000

Question of the day: What are the ULTIMATE not-to-be-missed experiences in Scotland that everyone should see/do/experience at least once in their life?

Do you have a Scotland bucket-list (either your recommendations or the things you're dying to do!)

Share the things that would make your list in the comments below!

Recomendations for places to visit close to the NC5OO

IANPICS — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 13:06:45 +0000

Hi All
Just joined and introducing myself to the community.
I am an extreme sports photographer and I'm looking at doing a couple of trips this year in Scotland
The first one will be the NC500 (anti clockwise)
I have been to other areas regularly but wanted to extend the range and experiences.
So
I know a few people close by to this route who do some sports or activities but for the first time in a long time I will be wanting to 'have a go' myself and I will be carrying kayaks (sit on), bikes (mtb), kites (power) and a kite buggy (if there's enough room) as well as fishing gear (sea). - ANY good places for any of this including trails, empty beaches, MTB trails, surf locations or boat trips / fishing locations
I was also wondering if people could recommend any outstanding spots to visit that will enhance the trip.
Could be historic, cultural, food / drink (definitely a distillery or two or three ;-) ) or walking spots.
As said I'm a photographer so would like to grab a few selfies or nice pics along the way for my blogs.

Thanks

Ian

5 days in May

melissad — Sun, 09 Apr 2017 18:32:22 +0000

Hello community of Visit Scotland!

My boyfriend and I are planning a 5 day trip to Scotland in May. We're planning to take the train from London to Edinburgh and renting a car from there. We want to see the beautiful landscape, go for hikes/rambles, check out some castles, visit a distillery or two, and just enjoy ourselves in the country.

What are your recommendations for towns and areas to head to? We welcome any suggestions as we are in the beginning planning stages of the trip.

Thank you so much! We are really excited.
Best,
Melissa

Street Art in Glasgow

laurentjacquet — Mon, 12 Jun 2017 11:02:55 +0000

Hi there,
I've just published a Glasgow Street art Guide and interactive map.
You'll find Districts to visit, local artists, artworks photos, ...
Hope it will help you .
https://streetart360.net/2017/06/12/glasgow-street-art-guide-and-interactive-map/

History of Scotland in 25 Objects

VisitScotlandChristy — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 14:27:51 +0000

I'm sure everyone loves exploring Scotland and finding out more about the history of Scotland as it is the year of History, Heritage & Archaeology!

The history of Scotland is extremely fascinating to find out about!

Did you know Dolly the Sheep, the first animal to be cloned from an adult cell was created in Roslin Institute outside of Edinburgh?

Or Scotland holds one of the worlds oldest footballs that was discovered in Mary Queen of Scots Chamber in 1981 which was made from pigs bladder and covered in cow leather (lovely!) It can be found at the Smith Art Gallery and Museum in Stirling.

Check out our E-Book on the History of Scotland in 25 Objects!

What objects do you think should be in there?

First trip to Scotland- Please help with Itinerary

CarlottaValdez — Fri, 28 Apr 2017 01:12:19 +0000

Hello there,

I am from Canada and it is my first time on this board and first time visiting Scotland in mid-May. I have 6 days. Help me make it a memorable trip!

I am landing in Gatwick on Friday late at night. From there here is what I plan to do:

Saturday morning early train Gatwick to Edinburgh, visit Edinburgh, stay overnight
Sunday morning early leave Edinburgh by rented car to Inverness
Sunday afternoon arrive in Inverness, visit, stay overnight
Monday morning early leave for Inverness, drive to Skye via Lochness (visit Lochness on the way) and then visit Skye, stay overnight
Tuesday morning visit Skye and surroundings (is it worth a full day of visiting?)
Wednesday morning early go from Skye to Glencoe via Glenfinnan (visit Glenfinnan viaduct on the way), stay overnight in Glencoe
Thursday morning, visit Glencoe, leave at noon to drive to Edinburgh to catch the train back to Gatwick to go back home.

Any suggestions or advice you can give me is greatly appreciated. I like scenery, castles, mountains, history. I live cities but I prefer the countryside.

Recommendations around Drumnadrochit

LauraJayneAdam — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 20:34:36 +0000

Looking for recommendations of places to visit/ places to eat. Visiting Drumnadrochit with 2 kids plus grandparents. Thanks!

Scotland in October

pittypat — Fri, 05 May 2017 06:48:36 +0000

Hi I am hoping to come back to Scotland in mid September to late October. I am planning on going to Lewis/Harris, Skye and Orkney plus whatever else I can fit in. I will be by myself and driving a hire car. What I need to know is do the castles etc. close down in October?

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!