Thread: Planning a Trip to Scotland, need some help

Ok, well here is the catch I have to stay at a hilton hotel (I have points so its free) Which one of these is better?? I can split them up as well. Basically I want to see some castles, I want to do the distillery tours and sample any places such as castle forbes for shaving products. I dont know my geography well, so I am not sure how spread out things are. Also any particular time of year to come and things I need to book far ahead of time?? Im thinking sometime between the next 8 - 14 months.

Here is the list:

Scotland

Aberdeen
Hilton Aberdeen Treetops

Aviemore
Hilton Coylumbridge

Ballater
Hilton Craigendarroch

Bellshill
Hilton Strathclyde, Nr Glasgow

Dundee
Hilton Dundee

Dunkeld
Hilton Dunkeld House Hotel & Country Club

Edinburgh
Caledonian Hilton Edinburgh hotel

Hilton Edinburgh Airport

Hilton Edinburgh Grosvenor

Glasgow
Hilton Glasgow Grosvenor

Hilton Glasgow hotel



Anyway any tips, pointers, or places to go would be great thanks!!!

Josh,

I have been to Scotland once. Edinburgh, great castle and an old palace to boot.

Amazingly that is all I have to say..

Actually I would go for the Caledonian.

I knew I couldn't shut up

Edinburgh's certainly worth a visit - the castle's well worth a look, there's good night life and plenty of shopping opportunities. Eilean Donan castle, near Kyle of Lochalsh, is probably the most picturesque in Scotland (see http://www.eileandonancastle.com/) and is about 2 hours drive from Aviemore. Kyle is also at the Skye bridge so I suppose you could take a trip over to the Talisker distillery. Aviemore's not too far from the Dalwhinnie distillery either but it's more of a ski resort than anything (if there's any snow) and I suspect Dunkeld might be a better base for distillery visits.

Glasgow's very lively with good museums and architecture and isn't quite as touristy as Edinburgh - I would probably go for the Grosvenor hotel as it's right in the West End and where I tend to gravitate to when visiting. I wouldn't voluntarily go to Bellshill for a holiday, or Dundee for that matter, although I'm sure I've offended somebody with that.

As for season, I prefer Spring or Autumn as they're a bit less busy although they could be a bit cold and wet for some folk. They also have the advantage of fewer midgies which can be an issue in the West Highlands particularly.

If you're not absolutely set on Hiltons, then Orkney's a great place with plenty of historical stuff to see, 2 distilleries and a good atmosphere.

You might want to have a look here to get a good idea of distillery distribution - http://www.whisky-distilleries.info/...eMaxi_EN.shtml in case there were any whiskies you were particularly interested in (NB, don't call it Scotch when in Scotland - you'll put people's teeth on edge).

If there's anything else you wanted to ask about, let me know!

Originally Posted by stot

(NB, don't call it Scotch when in Scotland - you'll put people's teeth on edge).

If there's anything else you wanted to ask about, let me know!

Wow thanks for telling me that, I would have never known! Besides distilleries (which I plan to see) are their any castles in particular that are worth seeing. What about castle forbes products can they be purchased anywhere or do I have to actually go there, and is it worthit to see the area?

Thanks,

Josh

Apart from the 2 I mentioned, Stirling castle's impressive and, if you're a fan of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, you may recognise various parts of Doune Castle. Culzean Castle (pronounced Cullane) is more of a stately home if you prefer that sort of thing. There are loads more but I'm no expert so someone else may be able to recommend their favourite.

As to Castle Forbes, I've never seen any of their stuff for sale so I suspect you'd have to get it from the net or go there directly - it's in Aberdeenshire, somewhere I've never really been, except in transit so I don't know if there's much else to see there.

Originally Posted by stot

As for season, I prefer Spring or Autumn as they're a bit less busy although they could be a bit cold and wet for some folk. They also have the advantage of fewer midgies which can be an issue in the West Highlands particularly.

I wasn't exactly sure what a midge was in the context of Scotland, although in the USA I have heard "no-see-ums" referred to as "midges"... so I Googled to be sure. You'll find a a good reference [here].

We have no-see-ums here... but they only seem to be prevalent a couple weeks a year in the Phoenix area. On me, a bite from them itches for at least 2-weeks and always forms a scab... no matter how hard I try to resist scratching -- I must be allergic. For me, a good high-DEET content bug repellent works well for mosquitoes, but only moderate for no-see-ums.

Originally Posted by azjoe

I wasn't exactly sure what a midge was in the context of Scotland, although in the USA I have heard "no-see-ums" referred to as "midges"... so I Googled to be sure. You'll find a a good reference [here].

We have no-see-ums here... but they only seem to be prevalent a couple weeks a year in the Phoenix area. On me, a bite from them itches for at least 2-weeks and always forms a scab... no matter how hard I try to resist scratching -- I must be allergic. For me, a good high-DEET content bug repellent works well for mosquitoes, but only moderate for no-see-ums.

IT all depends if I take my wife or not (Im thinking no, just cause she would be bored at distilleries) but when I am with her all the biting bugs fo after her and I end up without a scratch on me lol