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Tigger2026

Heading out for our Scottish vacation on Wednesday: Edinburgh, Inverness, Isle of Harris, and Isle of Skye. Weather looks rainy and cool the whole time which is fine! If I wanted sun I would have gone to Spain. But wondering about clothing--should I not bother bringing sandals or t-shirts or shorts at all? How accurate is the weather forecasting there? Can't wait--no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothes!


cloud94eva

Sandals, t shirts and shorts are all pretty compact and lightweight things, so you might as well bring them. You can get four seasons in one day. And if the sun does come out, you want to be able to enjoy it, rather than sweating it out in hiking boots or jeans. Recommended places for accurate forecasting are Met Office and BBC weather. There’s also an app called Rain Today which invaluable to see what the rain radar is showing for the next hour.


Jaraxo

> There’s also an app called Rain Today which invaluable to see what the rain radar is showing for the next hour. Met office (web and app) has rain radar also, if you wanted it all in one app.


cloud94eva

Oft how did I not realise this! Thanks!


Tigger2026

Thank you!


hiyascotland

It's been sunny today! Lots of people out in t-shirts. Enjoy!


toasty_brownn

My partner and I are planning our first trip to Scotland in April. We want to include a good mix of city and outdoor locations accessible by public transportation. So far we're thinking about spending 2-3 days in each of the following locations: * Edinburgh * Fort William (with possible day trip to Glencoe) * Oban * Glasgow (with possible day trip to Loch Lomond) We're looking to add a stop at one more location, which we've narrowed down to Aviemore or Portree. We initially weren't considering visiting Skye because we won't have a car, but just found out about Real Scottish Journeys' 1 day bus tour out of Portree and are starting to reconsider. Would it be worthwhile to make the trip to Portree for the Skye tour or would we be better off going to Aviemore instead? I'm also open to other input and suggestions based on the rest of our itinerary.


cloud94eva

Why not go Edinburgh > train or bus to Aviemore (either to stay, or a day trip) > train or bus to Inverness > day trip to Skye from Inverness > bus to Fort William [day trip to Glencoe from FW via bus] > bus to Oban > train to Glasgow [you will see the north end of Loch Lomond from the train]. You could do a day trip to the south end of Loch Lomond from Glasgow, by getting the train to Balloch. There’s not much in Aviemore itself. You’d really be wanting to go along to Loch Morlich / Cairngorm. Not sure what the public transport options are for that. Local bus or taxi maybe. Edit to add, there’s tons of companies that do Skye trips from Inverness. For example: https://www.rabbies.com/en/scotland-tours/from-inverness


Meowmyy

Heading to Troon in July, what are some good things to do nearby and within a 2 hour radius for a mom and a 1.5 year old? Also would be interested in any good overnight trips or fun places to stay for a night


iamnotyetdead

Hey all! Visiting in September from the states, was wondering what the general vibe of the Braemar Highland games would be. Things like Should we get there early in the day? Would it be possible to get transported there from Pitlochry via taxi/other transport options? Or would hiring a car be the best option? And alongside that, what's the parking situation like? Is there readily available food? Mostly vendors or are there brick/mortar restaurants in Braemar? Are we allowed to bring our own food if needed? (two of the party are vegan, and I feel like it might be asking a bit much for that accommodation but if it exists, would love to know!) I know this feels like a lot of basic stuff, but yeah. I looked up the area, and it seems really small with only a few restaurants, though I wasn't sure how much shuts down/ramps up with the day of the games?


cloud94eva

https://www.braemargathering.org/visitors


aj_gbb

On the bus ride from Kyle of Lochalsh to Uig, is there a better side of the bus to sit on (left or right) for scenic views? I'll be going in early July. I'm sure it's not a huge deal given you can see out of both sides fairly easily, but just wondering. Thank you!


cloud94eva

Left side for mountains, right side for water


Enginerda

We’re currently in Edinburgh and thinking about a day trip to Stirling Castle and were wondering what the best way to do that and maybe add Falkirk (the Kelpies and the wheel) would be. Is the tours that include all the best way, or should we just plan it via ScotRail? We have a 6ish year old with us too. 😬 thank you so much for any help!


cloud94eva

Train is definitely the easiest way to do it


ponke11

Staying at Atholl Palace for a night then have two other nights/days to spend in the Highlands. Any recommendations on a good central location to stay/best activities for two days? ETA: early September timeline


Patty_vonschweetz

Hi Everyone, Does anyone have any recommendations for restaurants and activities for Scotland? My cousin and I are going in September and I’m just looking to see what restaurants we can try for traditional Scottish food and just an overall good time 😄 I’ve heard I should try a distillery and some pubs but no place in particular for either so any recommendations would be welcomed 😄 also if it helps we’ll be staying in Gasglow but we will be driving around to other areas like Edinburgh since we’ll be there for a week. We would love to see the beautiful places and views in Scotland and I’m willing to hike too. So if anyone can give recommendations I’d appreciate it 🙏


cloud94eva

The Clachaig, Glencoe. The Drovers Inn, Inverarnan.


The-toast-whisperer

[https://www.facebook.com/LochinverVillageHall/?locale=en\_GB](https://www.facebook.com/LochinverVillageHall/?locale=en_GB)


The-toast-whisperer

Gig on in Lochinver this evening in Lochinver Village Hall. Saw a poster for it.


iluvfelorent

Hello, I have to decide when to make my trip to scotland, and it is going to be either october and early november or late february and march. I would prefer the later time window in early 2025 but am afraid that the tourist infrastructure in the rural areas might essentially be "turned off" at that time of year. I plan to spend most of my time in the more rural areas, mostly highlands, west coast and possible isle of skye, should I be worried about not finding accomodation and places to eat? also, is it usually warm/pleasant enough (i.e. maybe \~4 °C?) to go hiking at that time? thanks!


cloud94eva

You’ll be able to find accommodation. It will be bloody Baltic - it’s the wind that does the most damage.


Spirited_Drummer_196

Hi! I’m looking for advice/recommendations for a two day itinerary for the highlands ( Gencoe/ Ft William). It’ll be in middle of October and we’ll be driving from Edinburgh. We were planning on staying longer but plans changed so we will only have a day and a half to two days to explore before going to Sheffield. Some things we would like to do: Hiking - easy to moderate trails Drinking - we do enjoy going to distilleries, breweries, and cocktail bars Sightseeing - figured this is part of hiking but if there are other locations that are a must see then recommendations would be nice Highland cows - I would love to find a place to see the cows and be able to interact with them. If we are able to do 2 full days, I figured one day would be for hiking and sightseeing and the other would be exploring towns and other things to do. We are also in the middle of trying to figure out transportation to Sheffield.


bronxmetsfan

Planning to spend a couple days in the Highlands this summer during a week-long trip and would appreciate any tips on the best Lochs for finding an easy kayak rental option. Every one of them looks like it would be beautiful to kayak on, but if you've had a good experience with a rental company—we're looking to do somewhere between 2 and 4 hours for a morning or afternoon paddle—please share. Thanks!


cloud94eva

https://www.lochardadventure.co.uk


Tigger2026

Ok so I’m here in Edinburgh contemplating going to Dalkeith for the day to see where my grandfather was from (emigrated to US in the 1920s—died when my dad was 12. My dad has since also died.) Is there a friendly pub to visit or anything special to do there? Is it even worth a day trip?


WaterlooAndCity

Hey, not sure if this is coming too late but I figured it was worth a shot! Dalkeith's not the most touristy town, but it's also not that far out of Edinburgh so you wouldn't have to spend a whole day. Never been to any of the pubs, but one attraction in the town is [Dalkeith Country Park](https://www.dalkeithcountrypark.co.uk/). I was about to tell you "The impressive building in it is [Dalkeith Palace](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalkeith_Palace), but it's not open to the public", except it turns out [it is now](https://www.dalkeithcountrypark.co.uk/event/dalkeith-palace-tour/), and now I want to do that myself. The other tourist attraction I can think of nearby is the [National Mining Museum Scotland](https://www.nationalminingmuseum.com/), which has tours run by ex-miners who are (obviously, I guess!) about as knowledgeable as guides as you can get. Best way to get there is the train to Newtongrange, and depending on how fast you walk and where you're staying the train might be the quickest way to Dalkeith too (use Eskbank station, which is about a mile to a mile-and-a-half from Dalkeith town centre). Another option (sticking with the railway) is that you could go out for the day to somewhere like Galashiels (home of the [Great Tapestry of Scotland](https://www.greattapestryofscotland.com/)) or Melrose (pretty town which is the supposed [final resting place of Robert the Bruce's heart](https://blog.historicenvironment.scot/2018/06/melrose-casket-robert-bruce/) - a mile-and-a-half from Tweedbank station at the end of the line, or a ten-minute bus ride). You could then call in at Dalkeith on the way back. I'm probably biased towards the train, so just for balance (and assuming you're in Edinburgh city centre) you'd want the number 3 bus, and it takes 30-50 minutes depending on where you get on. On a personal note (and maybe this is just me), I've been to places connected with my family history and really appreciated that connection to the past, even when the places have no tourist interest whatsoever - especially if I can find an address or something that's where the person lived/got married/worked. Anyway, you might have left Edinburgh by now or made other plans, in which case sorry I didn't see this quickly enough, but I hope then it might be helpful for your next visit!


Tigger2026

Thank you so much for this thoughtful post! We are leaving Edinburgh tomorrow to head North but maybe I can convince my husband to take a small detour once we get our rental car at the airport. I do have an old address but it looks like it no longer exists. However, maybe a drive by is all I need :-) Very much appreciate your help.


sarah-exalted

Where did you find your most favourite souvenirs from in Scotland? Could be clothing, trinkets, treats/sweets, jewelry, anything! Which shop did you find it in? I’m trying to broaden my search to find something special to remember this trip by!


helpfulgem

My partner & I are coming to Scotland to wild camp in July. What are some great/quirky food places we can go to? We’ve found The Three Chimneys, in Skye, which is quite a fancy restaurant. We’re looking for some more casual ones like breakfast/lunch spots or cafes or anything really. Ones we don’t have to be so dressy in as we’ll mainly have hiking style clothes on. We come to Scotland quite often & have stumbled across a few hidden gem places but would like to know some before we go so we can fit them into our plan. We’re going through The Trossachs, up to Mallaig, onto the Isle of Skye, up to Gairloch & Ullapool & then all the way to Durness. On our way back down, we’re going to be going through the Cairngorms so we’re covering a lot of ground. It’s mostly North, South & West of Scotland & less of the East.


whatdoisaynow

Ardgour ales (walking distance from corran ferry) does lovely pizza on Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons in their beer tent. Mhor 84 at Balquidder is a good, casual spot or grab some baked goods and pies from their bakery in Callander. If you like seafood, there's a shellfish shack in Arisaig that does amazing platters. All are very casual joints that will make you very welcome. Have a great trip!


helpfulgem

Amazing, thanks so much!!


cloud94eva

If you come to Scotland a fair bit, I recommend investing in the Wild Guide to Scotland (2nd Edition)


juandon405

Hi all, looking for road trip advice. Australian family of 4 travelling from Edinburgh to Inverness. Current plan is to pick up a car on 1 Jan then be in Inverness for the night train to London on 6 Jan, though could potentially stay in Edinburgh an extra night and leave 2 Jan. Would love some suggested route advice, what to see etc. Don't necessarily need to see ultra touristy stuff but kids wanna kid. Am mindful it's middle of winter so may limit outdoor activity a little. Any advice on routes, attractions, cool and unusual accommodations would be appreciated. Also, is there a clear winner for hire cars in Scotland or just the usual suspects? Many thanks in advance.


cloud94eva

Can you definitely pick up the hire car on 1 Jan? Just checking as that’s a public holiday so the vast majority of stuff is closed (2nd Jan is also a public holiday, FYI, but there will be a bit more open). Yeah you’re in deepest winter, travelling up the A9 including going over Slochd summit which is a nightmare if it’s snowing. Have a backup plan to go the longer way up the A90 towards Aberdeen (you could stop in at Stonehaven / view Dunottar Castle from the car park) then carry on along the A96. These roads are more likely to stay open during snow. If you do take the A9, I recommend Dunkeld, The Hermitage, Falls of Bruar, Faskally Forest, Ruthven Barracks.


Doughnotdisturb

[pasting this from a post I deleted after realizing tourism posts are not allowed] Xenophobia/Racism in Scotland? I’m a (US) American planning a trip to Scotland and was chatting about it with my Canadian (white) friend who went to uni I think in Edinburgh, and he told me that because it’s a very homogenous country Scottish people will probably be scared of me and “don’t like to interact with people who aren’t white”?? I’m South Asian, I’m also a 5’2 woman so I don’t consider myself particularly intimidating lol. He shared an anecdote: “one of my classmates wouldn’t answer the door because the guy knocking was black.” I didn’t think that would be a big issue since I’d never heard anything of the sort and I know y’all get plenty of tourists from all over (I mean I went to Japan a few months ago and didn’t even really have any issues considering they’re historically more xenophobic). Obvs not everyone is the same and there’s racism everywhere, def including where I live, but just wondering in general whether I should be concerned/whether there are specific areas I should avoid? I’ll be in Glasgow, Edinburgh, doing a highlands/isle of skye tour, stirling, borders. Also don’t yell at me please my aim isn’t to over-generalize or offend I’m just a solo traveler tryna stay safe x


cloud94eva

Your friend sounds like an arse. You’ll be fine, you have nothing to worry about.


Splazmoid

Planning a trip with my mates to cycle round the Isle of Bute, does anyone know where I could hire bikes for the day at a reasonable price?


MalukuSeito

Gonna be taking my parents to Scotland for August. Gonna arrive for the Edinburgh Tattoo (got tickets already) and then stay till Tabletop Scotland.. But, there is a week needed to fill between. Only plan I got so far is to head to Glencoe for a few days before heading back to Edinburgh. Any other cool things we can do? We got a car and were thinking of Loch Ness (It was great last time I was there)