Get Around Scotland

Lonely Planet Finds The Best In Scotland

2009-05-21T09:19:00.003+01:00

Lonely Planet's latest Guide To Great Britain, published today, finds many reasons to commend Scotland as a vacation destination, describing Edinburgh as "one of the most beautiful cities in Europe" with a "superlative" Festival.

Glasgow is hailed as "a loud, witty and wisecracking contrast" (to Edinburgh) with "a new sense of optimism and pride". Other highlights receiving credit include "increasingly sophisticated" Inverness, the "scenic jewel" Isle Of Arran, Glasgow's "colossal" Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum and Scotland's "magical wilderness".

Include any or all of these locations in your tour request from Get Around Scotland and discover them for yourself.

Homecoming Scotland Comes To USA

2009-05-11T21:30:00.002+01:00

An Edinburgh man intends to bring the Homecoming Scotland celebrations to the USA by playing his bagpipes all the way across the States. Rob Calder (32) will spend six weeks busking from coast to coast, starting in New York on June 9th and ending in San Francisco on July 22nd. On his journey he hopes to be able to rely on the kindness of expatriate Scots and Americans of Scots descent to help him complete his mission, allowing any money generated by the trip to go to charity. So to see a real Scotsman and his kilt, go to his site and see if he'll pass through your town. See more at www.bagpipebusker.com

Charles Rennie Mackintosh - Tour For Art Lovers

2009-05-11T20:57:00.004+01:00

This summer in Glasgow will see the introduction of a special bus tour celebrating the work of the city's famous artist and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The Mackintosh Experience circular tour will run 5 times per day, visiting 9 locations around the city linked to CRM, with an audio commentary provided by the Mackintosh Heritage Group. Tickets are valid for two days, allowing visitors to hop on and off the pink tour bus as they wish. For more information see the news page at http://www.crmsociety.com/

Scotland Tops With Golf Digest

2009-04-14T15:03:00.002+01:00

Scotland comes out as the top golf tourist destination, through having no less than 17 of the Top 100 Courses Outside The USA, according to this month's Golf Digest.

And of the 17, five are all in the St Andrews area - what better excuse to put Fife on your Scotland tour route ?

MTB Heaven At Glentress

2009-04-14T14:18:00.003+01:00

Scotland's world-class mountain biking centre at Glentress never looked so stunning as it did on Saturday. The fine Easter sunshine showed off the forest trails at their best as my son & I tackled the 15km Blue course, one of four signposted routes at Glentress, near Peebles. Long climbs and thrilling descents through the pine trees, and all for nothing more than a few pounds for the car park.

Like ski runs, the routes are pitched at all levels of riders, from Green (5km and near flat) to Black (30km of hair-raising up and down). With the wonderful Hub cafe, MTB shop and showers on site, and bike hire available (limited - phone ahead), this really is a fantastic day out.

Scottish Golf Holiday Offer To Chinese

2009-04-10T09:54:00.002+01:00

The new Scottish Prestige Golf Club has been announced by First Minister Alex Salmond during a visit to China, in a move to attract China's 1 million players to Scotland's premier golf courses.

A tour from GetAroundScotland can build in as many rounds of golf as you want (or as your wife will allow). Just ask about it on the enquiry form !!

Museum Of Flight Opens New Exhibitions

2009-04-10T09:30:00.003+01:00

Scotland's National Museum Of Flight outside Edinburgh has opened two new visitor attractions this week.

"Fantastic Flight" explores the science and the technology of how planes fly and challenges visitors to use simulators and models to test their skills.

"Fortunes Of War" recalls the Museum site's days as a military airfield, with displays of uniforms and equipment, film footage and a chance to pilot an airship on search patrol.

Add these to the permanent displays of civil and military aircraft, including the Concorde G-BOAA, and you have a perfect day out for any plane enthusiast.

Road To The Isles Improved

2009-04-10T09:21:00.002+01:00

The last single track section of the famous A830 Road To The Isles has been upgraded to two lanes, offering safer driving and fewer delays on the journey from Fort William to Mallaig. The road is one of Scotland's classic scenic drives, as well as a popular route for visitors travelling to Skye.

The Open Championship - Turnberry 2009

2009-04-07T11:27:00.002+01:00

Scotland hosts golf's biggest tournament at Turnberry on the Ayrshire coast, back at this course after 15 years. The world's greats will play for the Claret Jug at the Ailsa Course over 4 days on July 16-19. Remarkably, of the current top 50, only 7 have ever played Turnberry competitively.
See www.opengolf.com

Exhange Rates Good News For Visitors

2009-04-07T11:22:00.004+01:00

The recent swings in exchange rates now make holidays in Scotland even more attractive.

The US Dollar has strengthened 40% against the Pound, buying 70p now instead of only a fraction over 50p a year ago, whilst 1 Euro is now very close to 1 Pound, making a visit to Scotland much more affordable for visitors from the Eurozone.

Even for UK based visitors, the days of budget flights and cheap shopping abroad have gone, making the stay at home option a better deal for your finances.

So wherever you come from, a holiday in Scotland offers more value for money than ever before.

Scotland - Belgium Ferry Service Returns

2009-04-07T11:20:00.001+01:00

Norfolk Lines have announced they will begin a direct ferry service between Zeebrugge in Belgium and Rosyth (near Edinburgh) in May. The overnight ferry will depart Zeebrugge on Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week, with return sailings from Rosyth on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

World's Favourite Train Journey

2009-04-07T11:15:00.002+01:00

Readers of Wanderlust travel magazine have voted Scotland's West Highland Line their favourite train journey in the world.

The line, which runs for 164 miles from Glasgow to Mallaig, travels along the side of Loch Lomond, across Rannoch Moor stopping at Corrour, a station otherwise accessible only on foot or mountain bike, past Ben Nevis to Fort WIlliam, then west over the Glenfinnan Viaduct, made famous in the Harry Potter films, to the Sands of Morar and Mallaig.

In the summer months, take a day of your Scotland holiday to travel the Fort William-Mallaig on the Jacobite steam train.

Homecoming Scotland 2009

2009-04-07T11:08:00.002+01:00

Base your tour of Scotland around Homecoming Scotland.

This year is the 250th anniversary of the birth of Scotland's national poet Robert Burns, and Homecoming Scotland 2009 aims to motivate people of Scottish descent and those who love Scotland to do just that - come home.

From Burns Night (Jan 25th) to St Andrew's Day (Nov 30th) a country-wide programme of exciting and inspirational events and activites will celebrate the rich culture and heritage of the ancestral home of millions of people worldwide, alongside some of Scotland's great contributions to the world: Burns, Whisky, Golf and its Great Minds & Innovations.

To see the full programme, go to www.homecomingscotland2009.com

Welcome!

2009-04-03T14:54:00.001+01:00

Now redesigned for 2009, Get Around Scotland aims to provide useful, unbiased suggestions and information - whilst still leaving the choices for your holiday up to you, the traveller. We don't offer any kind of booking arrangements, partly because that's not what we're about, but also because we believe that part of the holiday tour experience is having that flexibility to alter your plans as you want to. If you enjoy a place, stay longer - if it's not to your taste, move on.

It's likely that most visitors will choose to drive around Scotland, but there are plenty of options to travel by train or bus, as well as a great cycle network. We can offer tour routes for all these holidays - just put all the details on the form. Tell us what sort of holiday you're looking for and we'll plan accordingly, whether that be cramming as much as possible into one week, a long distance cycle, or taking a more relaxed trip around the quieter backroads. Wherever possible the suggestions we make are derived from personal experience, though we do also draw on other trusted sources. Nobody pays us for recommendations.