Visiting Scotland in April

[Marg]

Greetings from northern B. C.
Will be in Scotland from April 4 to 21. Will be spending time around Paisley, Isle of Harris, Edinburgh and in the area of Lauder. Any suggestions for good B&B's and general travel tips would be most welcome. We will rent a car for a week and then use public transport.

Marg

[AndrewP]

Hi Marg,

Welcome to TalkingScot.

Harris is a beautiful part of the country, but can be weather dependent. The easiest way to get there, assuming you have the hire car at that time is by the shorter ferry crossing from Uig (Skye) to Tarbet (Harris). The ferry operator is Caledonian MacBrayne.

http://www.calmac.co.uk/
http://www.calmac.co.uk/summer-harris-timetable.html

When you get there, it is worth seing if you can get a dual language map (Gaelic and English) as the place names on the road signs are mostly Gaelic. Most of them have some resemblence to the English language name (using a fair bit of imagination), others not so.

No ferries on Sundays. The Free Church prevails.

Most of the bed and breakfast places are in farm (or croft) houses. As a rule of thumb, if I am looking through a tourist guide to find a b&b in the Hebrides, I look for the "gaelic spoken" symbol. Not because I speak the language (because I don't), but that means you will get true local culture. English will be spoken too. You won't be left on the far side of a language barrier.

For Edinburgh, do not plan for using the car in the city centre. There are good bus services within the city and the Council has made the city centre difficult for the car user. I seldom take the car to the city centre these days - it is too much hassle.

All the best,

Andrew

[STUARTDALGLEISH]

Hi,

Maybe worthwhile a mail to CatrionaL, she was in Paisley last summer and I'm sure she stayed somewhere quite nice.

Scarista and Luskintyre beaches on Harris are probably the nicest you'll see anywhere in the world, problem is it's ususally minus 10 if you go in the water.

Cheers

Stuart

[Ted]

Hi Marg

You will need a car for Lauder - public transport is not up to much - only an hourly service from Edinburgh and it takes ages. Accomodation is a bit sparse - Carfraemill Hotel about 4 miles north on A68 and Lauderdale Hotel in Lauder itself are quite good. Try to fit in a visit to Thirlestane Castle whilst in Lauder - it's well worth it.

Enjoy your trip

Ted

[rdem]

If you are going from Glasgow to Edinburgh I would suggest that you take the train it's direct and very scenic.

[ellenavon]

Hello Marg

While in Harris, a visit to the "Co Leis Thu?", a resource and research centre for genealogical information regarding families in and from the Western Isles, at The Old Schoolhouse, Northton, run by Bill Lawson and his family, is well worthwhile.

"Co leis thu?" translates from Gaelic as "What people do you belong to?"

Lots of info, among others, about emigration to Canada.

Google for details.

Have a wonderful trip.

Regards

Ellen.

[Marg]

Thanks to those who posted their suggestions.
We will be staying at the Watermill Hotel in Paisley. Other than the Paisley Public Library, where else might I find info on my McCulloch family? They left there in 1842, and according to 1841 census, David was not born in the county.

Marg