Scotland For Dummies® (Dummies Travel) - Softcover

Shelby, Barry

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0470385146 ISBN 13: 9780470385142

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 2009

Synopsis

Enjoy sightseeing and shopping in bustling Edinburgh and Glasgow or explore unspoiled scenery and welcoming towns in the Hebridean Islands, Southern Scotland, Tayside, and the Northeast. Go from the Highlands to the Lowlands. Hike, canoe, or just relax at Loch Lomand. This friendly guide gives you the scoop on: Edinburgh Old Town, with its intriguing winding alleyways Accommodations that range from sumptuous 17th century hotel furnished with Gothic antiques to a secluded seaside escape, and from a 17th century laird’s house to a sleek, modern and minimalist hotel Enjoying a pint of lager in a rustic pub where the barmen wear kilts and you don’t tip or touring distinctive distilleries Cathedrals, castles and historic sites like the Calanais Standing Stones (the "Scottish Stonehenge"), Edinburgh Castle that holds the historic Stone of Destiny and Scotland’s crown jewels, Doune Castle, made famous by the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and Glasgow Cathedral Storied golf courses such as Muirfield, Royal Troon, and St. Andrews in the country credited with developing the sport Touring Sir Walter Scott’s mansion, Abbotsford, with it’s incredible library, relics, and mementos, or paying homage to poet Robert Burns at numerous sites Shopping for everything from fine wool knits to Caithness glass paper weights to Edinburgh Crystal to tartans and kilts to Highland Stoneware Like every For Dummies travel guide, Scotland For Dummies, 5 th Edition includes: Down–to–earth trip–planning advice What you shouldn’t miss — and what you can skip The best hotels and restaurants for every budget Whether you’re looking for fun nightlife or the legendary Loch Ness monster…whether you want to explore art galleries and museums or walk craggy seacoasts, this guide gives you the flavor of Scotland so enchantingly you can almost hear the bagpipes.

About this title

From the Back Cover

With tips and recommendations from the experts at Frommers See the best of Scotland the fun and easy way Scotland has something for everyone, from historic Edinburgh and bustling Glasgow to the unspoiled scenery of the Hebrides. Whether you′re into cathedrals or castles, art galleries or golf courses, historic sites or cozy pubs, this friendly guide gives you the scoop on everything except a sure way to spot the Loch Ness Monster. Open the book and find: Down–to–earth trip–planning advice What you shouldn′t miss and what you can skip The best hotels and restaurants for every budget Lots of detailed maps

From the Inside Flap

Scotland for Dummies

With tips and recommendations from the experts at Frommers

5th edition

Barry Shelby

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Scotland For Dummies

By Barry Shelby

John Wiley & Sons

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-470-38514-2

Chapter One

Discovering the Best of Scotland

In This Chapter

* Staying in the top hotels and dining in the best restaurants

* Discovering the best castles and museums

* Drinking in the best pubs and bars

To start things off, let's begin with the highlights: some of the best that Scotland has to offer travelers, from unforgettable experiences and attractions to excellent hotels and top-rated restaurants; from first-class castles and museums to a selection of world-renowned golf courses, friendly pubs, and more. Entries in this chapter - as well as listings later in the book - are ordered alphabetically, under each main heading, not by preference. Keep your eyes open for the "Best of the Best" icons throughout Scotland For Dummies.

The Best Travel Experiences

  Ardnamurchan Peninsula: One of the more easily reached but seemingly remote areas of the Western Highlands, and isolated enough to feel like an island, this neck of land stretching toward the Inner Hebridean Islands is the most westerly point of the entire British mainland. See Chapter 18.

  Edinburgh's Old Town: This district of the capital is probably the most visited location in all of Scotland - and not without good reason. Running along the spine of a hill and extending from the ancient castle to the history-filled Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh's Old Town is a delight to wander through. Make sure you take time to explore the alleyways. See Chapter 11.

  Glasgow's City Centre: The thriving heart of a modern European city, the core of Glasgow - Scotland's largest metropolis - offers some of the finest examples of monumental Victorian architecture in the world. The streets here follow a strict grid pattern, so you don't need to worry about getting lost. See Chapter 12.

  Glen Coe: Glen Coe is such a spectacular valley (Scotland's Yosemite) that it's hard to reconcile its natural beauty with its bloody history. The visitor center near Glencoe village is an award-winner, with details on hiking, geology, and the clan battles that occurred here. See Chapter 18.

  Loch Lomond: Located near Glasgow, this loch is the largest inland body of water in all of Great Britain. It's only about a 30- to 45-minute drive or train ride from the Glasgow city limits. When you reach the loch, you can hike, canoe, or just relax. See Chapter 16.

  Loch Ness: This loch is mysterious and legendary - if somewhat overrated in my mind. In addition to looking out for Nessie, the elusive and mythical monster, you should seek out other local attractions, such as Urquhart (pronounced ir-ket) Castle, and travel around the surrounding countryside. See Chapter 18.

  Mull or Skye: These two islands of the Inner Hebrides are the easiest and most impressive ones to reach. However accessible, they still provide some real scenery and a true taste of life on the many isles that cover the western shores of Scotland. See Chapter 19.

  Outer Hebrides: From Lewis, with its standing stones and wind-swept cliffs, to the tip of Harris (famous for wool tweed), and then farther south to more stony hills and white sand beaches, and finally to Barra, the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles) are unequalled in Scotland for a maritime and island experience. See Chapter 19.

  Sands of Morar: North of the quiet port of Arisaig in the Western Highlands, the Sands of Morar offer beautiful bleached beaches set against postcard-pretty seas. You can almost reach out and touch the islands of Rhum and Eigg from here; or catch a ferry to mountainous Skye from nearby Mallaig. See Chapter 18.

  Sandwood Bay: An environmentally protected area near Blairmore in the Northwest Highlands has a beach that, by most accounts, is the most beautiful and unsullied in all of Great Britain's mainland sandy shorelines. See Chapter 18.

The Best Accommodations in Edinburgh and Glasgow

Edinburgh

  Best Boutique Hotel: The Bonham. In an upscale, western New Town neighborhood of the Scottish capital, the Bonham offers some of the most alluring accommodations in a city filled with fine hotels. See Chapter 11.

  Best Traditional Hotel: Balmoral Hotel. With a Michelin-star restaurant, attentive doormen dressed in kilts, and a romantic pile to rival any others, the Balmoral is legendary, and it's located smack in the heart of the capital. See Chapter 11.

  Best Rooms near the Castle: The Witchery by the Castle. As its list of celebrity guests testifies, The Witchery offers opulence and individuality in a manner not seen anywhere else in Old Town. See Chapter 11.

  Best Hotel in Leith: Malmaison. At the port of Leith, Malmaison is about a 15-minute ride north of Edinburgh's center. Named after Josphine's mansion outside Paris, the hotel celebrates the Auld Alliance of France and Scotland, and occupies a Victorian building built in 1900. See Chapter 11.

  Best Hotel Health Spa: Sheraton Grand Hotel. Near the city's conference center, the Sheraton Grand has wonderful facilities in an adjoining building. Especially noteworthy is the roof-top indoor/ outdoor pool. See Chapter 11.

Glasgow

  Best Boutique Hotel: Hotel du Vin at One Devonshire Gardens. In a West End neighborhood filled with sandstone-fronted town houses, this hotel at the well-known address stands out. It's a recreation of a high-bourgeois, very proper Scottish home from the early 1900s, boasting antique furnishings and discreetly concealed modern comforts. See Chapter 12.

  Best Hip Hotel: Brunswick Hotel. With only 18 rooms, the Brunswick exudes cool in the city's hip Merchant City district of the City Centre. The design is modern and minimalist, but is executed with character and class. See Chapter 12.

  Best in the Commercial Centre: Malmaison. Linked to the hotel with the same name in Edinburgh (see listing in previous section), this Malmaison is in a building that dates from the 1800s. It welcomes visitors with Scottish hospitality and houses them with quite a bit of style. See Chapter 12.

The Best Small and Country House Hotels

  An Lochan, Tighnabruaich, Argyll: Formerly the Royal, this hotel dates to the mid-19th century, but today it's fully modernized inside, with plush rooms that overlook the sea and the hotel's own moorings. Great fish and seafood, too. See Chapter 15.

  Ardanaiseig Hotel, Kilchrenan, Argyll: This stone Scottish baronial mansion, built in the 1830s, offers a good bit of luxury in an out-of-the-way corner of Argyllshire, on the way toward the Western Highlands. See Chapter 15.

  Argyll Hotel, Iona, the Hebrides: This charming, traditional hotel, in the village of Iona, is comfortable and environmentally conscious, with its own organic vegetable garden and an ethos of not disturbing the fragile island ecology. See Chapter 19.

  Ballachulish House, Ballachulish, the Highlands: This 17th-century laird's house includes a history said to be the inspiration for key passages in Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped. See Chapter 18.

  Darroch Learg, Ballater, the Northeast: This hotel is one of the more highly regarded inns in the Royal Deeside region, near the Queen's estate at Balmoral, several historic castles, and the Speyside whisky trail. See Chapter 17.

  Glenapp Castle, Ballantrae, South Ayrshire: Glenapp is a beautifully decorated pile close to Stranraer, with Victorian baronial splendor and antiques, oil paintings, and elegant touches. See Chapter 14.

  Knockinaam Lodge, near Portpatrick, Dumfries, and Galloway: With a Michelin-star restaurant, Knockinaam combines exquisite meals with a secluded seaside setting on the Rhinns of Galloway. See Chapter 14.

  Prestonfield, Edinburgh: Although it's within the city, this hotel rises from the meadows in Jacobean splendor, amid gardens, pastures, and woodlands, below Arthur's Seat on the south side of the Scottish capital. See Chapter 11.

The Best Dining in Edinburgh and Glasgow

Edinburgh

  Best Cafe: Spoon. In the heart of Old Town, Spoon forks out some of the best soups, salads, and sandwiches in Edinburgh - and the freshly made cakes and other sweet stuff are perhaps even better. See Chapter 11.

  Best Fine-Dining Restaurant: Restaurant Martin Wishart. With one of the city's precious Michelin stars and its most talented chef/owner, Restaurant Martin Wishart is where the leading out-of-town chefs dine when they visit Edinburgh. See Chapter 11.

  Best Italian Restaurant: Santini. Although many of the more established Italian restaurants in town don't like hearing it, Santini usually gets the rave reviews and sets the highest standards. See Chapter 11.

  Best Modern Scottish Restaurant: Atrium. Owned by Andrew and Lisa Radford, Atrium offers dishes prepared with flair and imagination, but not excessive amounts of fuss or over-fancy presentation. See Chapter 11.

  Best Restaurant Views: Oloroso or Forth Floor Restaurant. This category is a dead heat between Oloroso and Forth Floor at Harvey Nichols department store. Both offer well-conceived preparations of fresh Scottish produce to go with those scenic vistas. See Chapter 11.

Glasgow

  Best Bistro: Cafe Gandolfi. This landmark in the Merchant City district offers straightforward and delicious dishes, whether you choose a bowl of Cullen skink (smoked haddock chowder) or a sirloin steak sandwich. See Chapter 12.

  Best Seafood Restaurant: Gamba. This Commercial Centre basement restaurant celebrated its tenth year in 2008. Over the preceding decade, it proved to be the most consistent place for excellent fish and shellfish meals. See Chapter 12.

  Best Indian Restaurants: The Dhabba or Mother India. Glasgow loves its Indian cuisine, but these two restaurants offer something better than the norm, favoring dishes that are more subtle, in surroundings that are less clichd than the typical curry houses. See Chapter 12.

  Best Pub Food: Stravaigin Caf Bar. With an award-winning restaurant in the basement, the ground-floor pub Stravaigin offers similarly top-notch quality food - at a fraction of the restaurant price. See Chapter 12.

  Best on a Budget: Wee Curry Shop. A brief stroll from the shopping precincts of Sauchiehall Street, the Wee Curry Shop is a tiny gem of a restaurant, serving freshly prepared Indian cuisine at bargain prices. See Chapter 12.

The Best Rural Restaurants

  Applecross Inn, Applecross, the Western Highlands: The inn may not be the easiest place in Scotland to reach, but many visitors agree that the twists and turns of the road to Applecross are well worth the journey for a meal here. See Chapter 18.

  Braidwoods, Dalry, North Ayrshire: One of the standout restaurants in Ayrshire and holder of a Michelin star and other accolades, Braidwoods is expensive but worth the price. See Chapter 15.

  Creagan House, Strathyre, the Trossachs: Run by Cherry and Gordon Gunn, the restaurant is part of an unassuming but charming inn in a 17th-century farmhouse. See Chapter 16.

  Mhor, near Balquhidder, the Trossachs: Just up the road a bit from the Creagan, this loch-side restaurant is a perennial favorite of travelers who love food and are passing through the Trossach mountains. See Chapter 16.

  Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder, Perthshire: It may be the finest dining experience in the country, and chef Fairlie is arguably the most talented cook in Scotland. See Chapter 16.

  Seafood Cabin, Skipness, Argyll: I love this place on a sunny summer day, when you can nosh on fresh seafood and take in the view, from picnic benches, of a castle and Isle of Arran. See Chapter 15.

  Three Chimneys Restaurant, Colbost, Isle of Skye: Probably the most popular and most famous restaurant in the Hebridean Islands, the Three Chimneys serves superb Scottish cuisine paired with produce from Skye, its island home. See Chapter 19.

The Best Castles

  Blair Castle, Blair, Perthshire: Blair is chock-full o' stuff: art, armor, flags, stag horns, and more goodies not typically found on the standard furniture-and-portrait castle tour. See Chapter 17.

  Caerlaverock Castle, near Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway: Once a target of English armies, the impressive ruins of Caerlaverock (pronounced ka-liver-ick) remain one of Scotland's more classic Medieval castles, and its magnificent moat is still intact. See Chapter 14.

  Castle Tioram, Blain, Ardnamurchan: The ruins of this small fortress sit along the picturesque shores of Loch Moidart. You can enjoy some good hiking trails near the castle, too. See Chapter 18.

  Doune Castle, near Stirling: Fans of the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail may recognize Doune. Thanks to its limited restoration, visitors get a good idea of what living here in the 14th century was like. See Chapter 16.

  Duart Castle, Craignure, Isle of Mull: Duart was abandoned in 1751, but thanks to the efforts of Fitzroy Maclean, it was restored from ruins in 1911. It's worth making your way up the narrow, twisting stairs, because you can walk outside on the parapet at the top of the castle. See Chapter 19.

  Eilean Donan Castle, Dornie, the Highlands: This is probably the most photographed stone pile in Scotland (after Edinburgh Castle, that is). On an islet in Loch Duich, Eilean Donan is a quintessential castle. See Chapter 18.

  Stirling Castle, Stirling: This castle was the residence of Mary Queen of Scots, her son James VI of Scotland (and later James I of England), and other Stuart monarchs. One section, the Great Hall, stands out for miles thanks to the creamy, almost yellow exterior that apparently replicates its original color. See Chapter 16.

  Threave Castle, near Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Galloway: Threave is a massive 14th-century tower house on an island in the middle of Loch Ken (a boatman ferries visitors across). See Chapter 14.

The Best Cathedrals, Churches, and Abbeys

  Dunfermline Abbey and Palace, Dunfermline, Fife: This abbey is on the site of a Celtic church and an 11th-century house of worship dedicated to the Holy Trinity; traces of this history are visible beneath gratings in the floor of the old nave. See Chapter 16.

  Glasgow Cathedral, Glasgow: This cathedral is also known as the cathedral of St. Kentigern or St. Mungo's, and it dates to the 13th century. The edifice is mainland Scotland's only complete medieval cathedral. See Chapter 12.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Scotland For Dummiesby Barry Shelby Copyright © 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Edition details

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0470385146
• ISBN 13: 9780470385142
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 5
• Number of pages: 456