cteno4 Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 we are headed to scotland for a vacation in early may. anyone have suggestions for interesting train rides in scotland? thanks jeff Link to comment
keiman Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 PM Lawrence he might know as he lives up there. Link to comment
Lawrence Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 we are headed to scotland for a vacation in early may. anyone have suggestions for interesting train rides in scotland? thanks jeff Define interesting Jeff and it would be useful to know what parts you are going to \ hoping to visit, will be happy to help out if I can Link to comment
cteno4 Posted January 3, 2012 Author Share Posted January 3, 2012 Lawrence, basically will be spending 2 weeks in scotland going via rental car probably. couple of friends will be joining my wife and me, so there will be 4 of us. we are all trying to throw into the hat things we want to see and do, so of course mine will involve some sort of train or boat stuff! any other suggestions of interesting things to do or see are most welcome as well! we are probably going to head off shore to an island for a couple of days, one person wants to do a day of falconry, etc. cheers, jeff Link to comment
westfalen Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 When I was there in 2010 I did the trip from Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh, I also did the far north line to Thurso and Wick but that's a long day out from Inverness. Both are single track lines operated with diesel railcars running through spectacular Scottish scenery. The Firth of Forth Bridge near Edinburgh is also a must see. Link to comment
bill937ca Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I'd ignore the new trams in Edinburgh. A real screw-up managed by social workers with no transit or railway experience. 1 Link to comment
marknewton Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Jeff, you lucky bastard! I can recommend the Bo'ness & Kinneill railway - http://www.srps.org.uk/railway/. They have a beautiful Caley 0-4-4T and period rollingstock to match. The Strathspey Railway has another magnificent Caley engine, 0-6-0 No. 828, well worth seeing - http://www.strathspeyrailway.co.uk/ (Disclaimer - I'm a big fan of the Caledonian Railway, and therefore biased!) Also the Jacobite steam excursions run by the West Coast Railway - http://www.westcoastrailways.co.uk/. The train runs over the spectactular Glenfinnan viaduct, well known to railfans - and Harry Potter devotees. The Riverside Transport Museum in Glasgow is also worth visiting - they have trams, railway locos, including a South African Railways 15F 4-8-2, and a tall ship, the 'Glenlee'. http://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/museums/our-museums/riverside-museum/highlights/Pages/default.aspx I'm sure you can find something to interest you and your fellow trvallers in that lot. All the best, Mark. Link to comment
Lawrence Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Jeff, you lucky bastard! I can recommend the Bo'ness & Kinneill railway - http://www.srps.org.uk/railway/. They have a beautiful Caley 0-4-4T and period rollingstock to match. The Strathspey Railway has another magnificent Caley engine, 0-6-0 No. 828, well worth seeing - http://www.strathspeyrailway.co.uk/ (Disclaimer - I'm a big fan of the Caledonian Railway, and therefore biased!) Also the Jacobite steam excursions run by the West Coast Railway - http://www.westcoastrailways.co.uk/. The train runs over the spectactular Glenfinnan viaduct, well known to railfans - and Harry Potter devotees. The Riverside Transport Museum in Glasgow is also worth visiting - they have trams, railway locos, including a South African Railways 15F 4-8-2, and a tall ship, the 'Glenlee'. http://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/museums/our-museums/riverside-museum/highlights/Pages/default.aspx I'm sure you can find something to interest you and your fellow trvallers in that lot. All the best, Mark. :cheesy Pretty much everything I put in my pm to Jeff, though I did add Edinburgh to North Queensferry just to do the Forth Rail bridge and get off and go and have a good look at it. And you missed this one Mark http://www.caledonianrailway.com/ Bill, I doubt the trams will be running even when Jeff gets over I have suggested the Glasgow - Fort William - Mallaig run, then ferry to the islands, doesn't get much better to be honest Link to comment
marknewton Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 I'd ignore the new trams in Edinburgh. A real screw-up managed by social workers with no transit or railway experience. Unbelievable, isn't it? Three years into the project, and SFA to show for it. Compare this to the original tramway systems in UK cities, where countless miles of track and infrastructure - not to mention large fleets of trams that were built in the UK - were up and running in months, not years. Makes you wonder, eh? Cheers, Mark. Link to comment
Claude_Dreyfus Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 I would also recommend the West Highland, especially with its steam-hauled services on the Mallaig extension. The Far North lines are very, very beautiful, but a long journey...in excess of 100 miles, which at the sorts of speeds traversed takes time. Away from the trains, try the Highland Wildlife Park at Kingussie http://www.highlandwildlifepark.org/ - more or less between Perth and Inverness - and the Glenfiddich Distillery at Dufftown on Spey http://www.glenfiddich.co.uk/distillery/index.html . Last time I was there, entrance was free and you get a sample at the end...just make sure you are not the driver that day! By the way, the Strathspey Railway is mid-way between these two attractions. For castles and stuff, check out the following: Eilean Donan: http://www.eileandonancastle.com/ Urquhart Castle, which is at the head of Loch Ness: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urquhart_Castle Cawdor Castle: http://www.cawdorcastle.com/ Glamis Castle: http://www.glamis-castle.co.uk/ Incidentally, Macbeth was the Thane of Glamis... Sticking with Loch Ness, there is 'Nessieland' at Drumnadrochit, which was quite fun if memory serves me right. This, by the way, is only a couple of miles from Urquhart castle, on the road between Fort William and Inverness. Just south from Inverness is also the site of the battlefield at Culloden...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Culloden Just a few bits, but perhaps some food for thought... Speaking of which...lots and lots of haggis and whisky! Link to comment
cteno4 Posted January 4, 2012 Author Share Posted January 4, 2012 hey guys thanks mucho this is really great stuff! starting to get the scottish up in my genes! (i guess thats ok typewritten, but didnt come out right verbally in my head!) again happy to take in suggestions for the interesting or odd things to see. im sure after a while the standard stuff will get tiring and always great to do the fun, weird stuff, we are a bit of an odd lot! ive been fed haggis before! while not my first choice in food, i can take it. hey we have our annual jrm train meeting here on matthew's birthday and we eat scrapple (sort of a cross between head cheese and haggis, then fried). thanks again, going to have to start a google map to plot out all the bits to see what sort of a route we can plot. cheers jeff ps any recommendations on good/quirky scottish movies to watch before hand? my wife always has trouble with scottish brogue (no real problem with me, but i guess its the scots in me) so she wants to practice some! Link to comment
Lawrence Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Depending on your preferences for cinema there are some suggestions at http://www.iofilm.co.uk/scots/top20a.shtml and http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/193584/top_10_scottish_films.html (I do not class Braveheart as a Scottish film however :icon_puke_r: ) Will have another think though, am trying not to point you to the touristy spots as they are generally crap! Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now