Scotland the ultimate Travel guide

Hello and welcome to my Scotland Ultimate travel guide page I will be including lots of hints and tips on Scotland related travel in this section. Including places to stay, things to do, what to pack and lots useful hints and tips.

Scotland is a truly beautiful country, I was born there and might therefore be just a bit biased. Its located on a group of Islands known as the British Isles in Europe. It is one of four countries that make up the United Kingdom the others being England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

There are 8 major cities in Scotland Aberdeen, Dunfermline, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Perth, and Stirling. Dunfermline gained city status in 2022. In 1996 Scotland was divided into 32 local authorities areas. These are known as council areas which act as local government bodies for their designated area. Glasgow City council is the largest by population, with the Highlands being the largest by geographical area.

GETTING THERE

There are 5 major international airports serving Scotland theses are Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow , Glasgow Prestwick (formally it was just known as Prestwick), and Inverness Airports.

As well as international airports there are also Highland and Islands airports who operate eleven airports across the highlands, the Western Isles, and Orkney and Shetland. These are mostly used for short flights between the islands and the mainland. With Inverness being the exception it also operates several national and international flights throughout the UK and mainland Europe.

However many visitors coming in in recent years have come by cruise ship from around the world. As well as on ferries from Northern Ireland. There also ferries between the many islands and the mainland that make up Scotland . There are no longer any ferries between mainland Europe and Scotland these stopped in 2010. However there are still ferries from Hull in north of England to and from Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Or from Newcastle to and from Amsterdam also in the Netherlands. You can then travel by train, bus or car to various destinations in Scotland. Travel to Edinburgh takes around 2 and half hours by car. The ferries go over night and have lots of facilities on board including restaurants, bars and entertainment. Cruise ships dock at various location near many major cities including Glasgow (Greenock) and Edinburgh (Rosyth or Leith).

You can also travel by train from mainland Europe quite easily by getting the Eurostar to London St Pancras international. Then you can get onwards journeys from Euston and Kings cross stations to various locations all over Scotland. This includes the borders, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Inverness and Edinburgh. With journeys to Edinburgh and Glasgow taking as little as 4 hours on some journeys.

GETTING AROUND

Buses, Trains and Ferries

Scotland is a small country and so it’s easy to travel around even without a car. There are buses and coaches that connect between most major cities and towns. Megabus.co.uk and Citylink.co.uk are the two main ones for travelling across the country. With first group, McGills, lothian and stagecoach being the main bus operators for most local areas depending on where you are.

There is also an extensive rail network throughout the county. Scotrail run the trains in Scotland and you can find all time tables, ticket prices and information about discounts on their website. National rail enquiries is the site to visit to find out about possible and actual delays and it gives live up to the minute information. I was once on a train and the train staff couldn’t give any information on why the train was delayed and sitting just outside a station waiting. I looked up the national rail enquiries site and there was train in front of us had broken down. Caledonian MacBrayne, calmac for short are the ferry company who run many of ferry routes around Scotland. Including Arran, Dunoon, Millport, Rothesay Isle of bute, Mull to name just a few places.

Taxis, cabs, mini cabs private hire

In Scotland, there are different types of cabs/taxis. The first type is hackney style cabs (London black cabs although they can be any colour), taxis that look like most other vehicles on the road but have a taxi sign on the roof they will also display taxi license plate on the vehicle and will have a number on the passenger window that identifies the taxi that you are in. Both can be hailed on the street (if light is illuminated), you can pick one up at taxi rank or book it on company app or by phoning.

Then there are the private hire cabs also known as mini cabs. Mini cabs just look like normal everyday vehicles and dont have a taxi sign on the roof. They will still display a sign or sticker on the window which is how the vehicle or driver can be identified if need be later usually a number and there will be a taxi license plate on the vehicle. These types of vehicles cannot be hailed in the street nor can you pick them up from a rank. I cannot stress this enough these vehicles must be pre-booked through the company booking office either by phone, app or in person. If you do not pre book not only are you breaking the law but if the vehicle is involved in an accident your not insured.

The term private hire applies to any vehicle that has been pre booked in advance not just cabs it can also in can include mini buses and limos up to 8 seats. It includes companies such as uber, Bolt, Ola etc. These companies are usually cheaper than taxis. They must be booked in advance or your not insured if the vehicle has an accident and its against the law.

BEST TIMES TO VISIT SCOTLAND

This is hard one as Scotland is a great place to visit at anytime. It really depends on you as an individual. For me personally I like April to June best when the weather is getting warmer. The days are also getting longer and the flowers and nature are in bloom. There are also less tourists in April and May with the summer months of June, July and August being a lot busier. Edinburgh is particularly busy during the month of August as this is the month of the festivals and is great time to visit but places to stay are a lot more expensive. Also the city will be very busy so if you don’t like crowds this is probably not the best time to go.

Also I like September and October when autumn is just beginning but remember many sites are only open until mid October.

During the winter months days can be very short and it can be dark by as early as 3pm.

USEFUL INFORMATION

Weather

Weather in Scotland can be variable no matter what time of year. When locals say we get 4 seasons in one day they are not joking. You should be prepared for wet weather no matter the time of year as it rains even in the summer.

Averages Scottish Temperatures

Spring: 7°C (45°F) to 13 °C (55°F)
Summer: 15°C (59°F) to 25°C (77°F)
Autumn/Fall: 8°C (46°F) to 14°C (57°F)
Winter: -5°C (23°F) to 11 °C (51.8°F)

Currency

Scotland like the rest of the UK uses pounds Sterling or GBP. They also print there own bank notes. Bank of Scotland, Royal bank of Scotland and Clydesdale bank notes are all currently in circulation. They have the exact same value as Bank of England bank notes. However you may have difficulty using Scottish money outside of Scotland even in other parts of the UK as some people either don’t know what they are as they never seen one before or they don’t realise its ok to accept them. I advise changing any notes back into your own country currency or for English notes before you leave Scotland to avoid issues.

Language

The main language of Scotland is English. Scottish Gaelic is a recognised language. Scots is spoken in some parts. Although recognised languages these are only spoken by a small minority of people now although both have been making a comeback in recent years. Most people speak English with varying degrees of accent depending on where they are from.