Visiting Scotland-getting around

[Pleater]

If there is any chance that you might want to drink - then ensure that the hire car is on a two person driving lease, and the other person aware of your intention and prepared to abstain, as if you do have an accident or are stopped due to the police becoming suspicious, and are found to be over the drink/drive limit, then that will really spoil your holiday.

Fuel prices are high again - 1.16 pence per litre and another penny to be added in April. A litre is 35 fluid ounces, and I think there are approximately 4 to a US gallon.

It would be very useful if you can get a Sat Nav in with the hire, or even bring your own.

I know that the price for a foreign country is possibly rather high - but one person who visited me tried to download the UK when in the UK, at the local price, and the company wouldn't allow it.

I found that having the TomTom device was very useful to me when visiting my former home. Changes in the road system, parking, places to eat, it saved me time everywhere we went. We have a postcode system of letters and numbers which the Sat Nav should understand and get you very close to where you want to be. In a strange city not having to read and understand the signs but be guided straight to a car park close to where I needed to be made the whole trip much less fraught. I used it for both driving and walking - made finding the way back to the car possible.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[cessna152towser]

If you don't mind driving on the left Alan, car hire is your best option as it will let you cover more ground. Our nearest railway station to Hawick is Gretna Green which is forty miles away. Looking forward to meeting you while you are here.

[CameronCat]

A very humorous look at driving in Europe (and by extension, UK, but on the other side from that shown) can be found at this animated link: http://www.animationarcade.com/animation/yesandno.html

Fairly old, but one of my favorites.

Side note: sound track is a bit loud...turn the spkrs down.

[Alan H]

Thank you everybody. I fully expect that I will be solo for this trip, though it's possible that Joan will come along. I would honestly prefer to walk everywhere and take public transport when I had more than seven or eight miles to cover...and if I had ten weeks to do it, I would. It's more likely that I'll have two weeks and a few days.

If I drink more than two drams, my nose runs horribly so I won't be driving drunk. The discomfort isn't worth it!

Hire a car, then.

[sfb]

You'll have a great time here, I'm sure. I never get tired of the scenery and I've had 46 years of it.

I'd definitely underline Forrester Modern's point about making sure there's plenty of fuel in your tank, if you're touring about. I do a fair bit of hillwalking, so I'm all over the place regularly and there's a few areas - even when you're on the "main" road in a popular touristy kind of place - where filling stations are few and far between. Scotland's not a big country, but the way the roads in the north are laid out you sometimes have to travel a long circuitous route to get to somewhere that's not far away as the crow flies!

And some of the wee independent filling stations have a habit of shutting for lunch, church (if they open on Sundays in the first place!), early on Wednesdays etc etc. Not that I've ever been caught out like that, of course, with all my local expertise.

[Seanmhair]

Don't try to see everything in one trip. Pick out a few places important to you and really do that area for a few days.

If you rent a car do get an automatic (From flatland and even though I have driven a standard for 40 years, hills give me the willies) and fill up often. Don't plan long trips on Sundays!

Definitely stay in B&Bs. Besides meeting interesting people, we asked for oatmeal at the B&Bs, ordering it the night before (as many begin cooking it the night before) It was always perfectly cooked steel-cut oats in generous portions and as we also requested not getting the heavy fried breakfasts, we got almost a quarter off our bill, totally unexpected, but true every B&B we stayed in.

Take your time and expect the unexpected. Our two favorite finds were Castle Doune where Monty Python was filmed (had 2 teens with us) which was just going to be one more castle after going to Sterling, ended up spending several hours there just watching them! and the little stone circle at Lochbuie on Mull, mystical place and only one other couple there the hour or so we were there and I only happened to find it on one map!

Food was incredible everywhere we went.

Enjoy your trip!

[ForresterModern]

Fuel prices are high again - 1.16 pence per litre and another penny to be added in April. A litre is 35 fluid ounces, and I think there are approximately 4 to a US gallon.

It would be very useful if you can get a Sat Nav in with the hire, or even bring your own.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

RE: gas prices. 1.16gbp/L x 3.8L per gallon x 15gallon tank x $1.5/gbp =$100 to fill the typical small car tank in Scotland compared to the same vehicle in the US at $3/gallon (and that is probably high in most places) x 15gallons = $45 to fill the same tank here in the states.

So petrol expenses will be about twice or a little more than similar here. As said elsewhere, most roads are not straight as the crow flies so what looks like a short drive may actually be significantly longer in both distance and time. Also you will enjoy the country more if you stop frequently to shop or see things instead of blowing by them on the main roads trying to cover more ground in a short time.

If you have an iPhone or other smart phone see if you want to activate it for use in the UK while you are there, and if the phone has GPS (my iPhone does) see if it functions there as well, and that might save you a bit on Sat Nav GPS issues.

jeff

[Noel Christian Riddell]

I hired a little silver Vauxhall hatchback when my brother and I were in Scotland. That car got the most amazing gas mileage ever!

My rental (from a place at Waverly Station, Edinburgh) came with a 'return car with EMPTY fuel tank' tagged on the contract. Made things easier.

Driving on the left side of the road wasn't too hard except for our yankee tendency to look a certain direction before pulling into traffic. The hardest part was learning to ship a standard transmission with my left hand. After a day or two I was a pro.

Hope you have a great trip.

[thanmuwa]

..............
remembering LEFT turn on red if available
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jeff

Just a small point. In the States you can turn right at a crossroads traffic light if it is red but there is no traffic about, is that right?
In the UK (and Ireland and AFAIK the rest of Europe for that matter), driving through a red light is never allowed no matter how empty the road is. It is a small thing, but if you do it with a police car behind you, you might have some explaining to do!

[sydnie7]

My sister (~20 trips) and mother have found driving in the UK somewhat easier as they are left-handed. As a rightie, I've logged many miles on the left (5 trips) but echo all the advice above. Never used a GPS but it sounds like a wonderful idea, only caution is some stories I've read about lorry drivers being directed into streets where their truck wouldn't fit! So GPS + common sense seems the way to go. The Michelin map book (Amazon link below) is the best printed map we've found, and would be worthwhile for the big picture even if you have GPS for the turn-by-turn detail.

Michelin map book on Amazon

If you have any doubts about your US car insurance and/or credit card company's insurance coverage of the rental, there are some alternatives to the criminally high cost of insurance from the rental company itself. AmEx has a "premium" package you can purchase, and there are some other third-party companies that offer coverage.

Make sure your U.S. passport is good for at least 6 months AFTER your return from UK, otherwise they won't let you in! There are other great tips at a site called Slow Travel. Although it is aimed at those taking longer trips, and covers all of Europe, you will still find great info on the site and forum.

Have fun and show us lots of pics when you get back!