Frommer's Scotland 8Th Edition
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Scotland 8th Edition by Darwin Porter & Danforth Prince Here’s what the critics say about Frommer’s: “Amazingly easy to use. Very portable, very complete.” —Booklist “Detailed, accurate, and easy-to-read information for all price ranges.” —Glamour Magazine “Hotel information is close to encyclopedic.” —Des Moines Sunday Register “Frommer’s Guides have a way of giving you a real feel for a place.” —Knight Ridder Newspapers About the Authors Darwin Porter has covered Scotland since the beginning of his travel-writing career as author of Frommer’s England & Scotland. Since 1982, he has been joined in his efforts by Danforth Prince, formerly of the Paris Bureau of the New York Times. Together, they’ve written numerous best-selling Frommer’s guides—notably to England, France, and Italy. Published by: Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5744 Copyright © 2004 Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval sys- tem or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photo- copying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978/750-8400, fax 978/646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for per- mission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, 317/572-3447, fax 317/572-4447, E-Mail: [email protected]. Wiley and the Wiley Publishing logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates. Frommer’s is a trademark or registered trademark of Arthur Frommer. Used under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. ISBN 0-7645-4126-9 Editor: Jennifer Moore Production Editor: Ian Skinnari Cartographer: Elizabeth Puhl Photo Editor: Richard Fox Production by Wiley Indianapolis Composition Services Front cover photo: Eilean Donan Castle in Dornie Back cover photo: Standing Stones of Callanish on the Isle of Lewis For information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800/762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317/572-3993 or fax 317/572-4002. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic formats. Manufactured in the United States of America 54321 Contents List of Maps vii What’s New in Scotland 1 1 The Best of Scotland 3 1 The Best Travel Experiences . .3 9 The Best Ruins . .13 2 The Best Golf . .7 10 The Best Museums . .14 3 The Best Fishing . .7 11 The Best Luxury Hotels . .14 4 The Best Countryside Drives . .8 12 The Best Moderately Priced 5 The Best Bike Rides . .9 Hotels . .16 6 The Best Hikes . .10 13 The Best Restaurants . .17 7 The Best Castles & Palaces . .11 14 The Best Pubs . .17 8 The Best Cathedrals . .12 15 The Best Shopping . .18 2 Planning Your Trip to Scotland 20 1 The Regions in Brief . .20 9 Planning Your Trip Online . .38 2 Visitor Information . .23 Frommers.com: The Complete 3 Entry Requirements & Travel Resource . .39 Customs . .24 10 The 21st-Century Traveler . .39 4 Money . .26 Online Traveler’s Toolbox . .41 5 When to Go . .28 11 Getting There . .42 Scotland Calendar of Events . .29 12 Getting Around Scotland . .46 6 Travel Insurance . .32 Getting Your VAT Refund . .50 7 Health & Safety . .33 13 Recommended Books . .52 8 Specialized Travel Resources . .34 Fast Facts: Scotland . .54 3 The Active Vacation Planner 59 1 Teeing Off: Golfing in Scotland . .59 3 Biking, Walking & Other 2 Fishing . .64 Outdoor Pursuits . .65 4 Edinburgh & the Lothian Region 70 1 Essentials . .70 3 Where to Stay . .76 The Neighborhoods in Brief . .72 Family-Friendly Hotels . .85 Finding an Address . .73 4 Where to Dine . .88 2 Getting Around . .74 Family-Friendly Restaurants . .92 Fast Facts: Edinburgh . .75 5 Exploring the City . .95 iv CONTENTS Frommer’s Favorite Edinburgh 7 Spectator Sports & Experiences . .99 Outdoor Pursuits . .110 The Father of Dr. Jekyll & 8 Shopping . .111 Mr. Hyde . .104 Tracing Your Ancestral Roots . .115 Britannia: The People’s 9 Edinburgh After Dark . .116 Yacht . .105 10 Side Trips from Edinburgh: The 6 Special Events & Festivals . .109 Best of the Lothian Region . .119 5 The Borders & Galloway Regions 126 1 Jedburgh: Gateway to Sir Walter Scott: Master of the Borders . .128 Romance . .142 2 Kelso: Abbey Ruins & 5 Peebles . .143 Adam Architecture . .132 6 Moffat . .147 Robert Adam: Architect to 7 Dumfries: An Ode to Burns . .150 the King . .134 8 Castle Douglas . .154 3 Melrose . .137 9 Kirkcudbright: An Artists’ A Walk Along the Borders . .139 Colony . .157 4 Selkirk: At the Heart of 10 Portpatrick: Where the Southern Scott Country . .141 Upland Way Begins . .159 6 Glasgow & the Strathclyde Region 161 1 Essentials . .162 Frommer’s Favorite Glasgow The Neighborhoods in Brief . .165 Experiences . .190 2 Getting Around . .166 6 Special Events . .191 Fast Facts: Glasgow . .168 7 Shopping . .193 3 Where to Stay . .169 8 Glasgow After Dark . .196 Family-Friendly Hotels . .173 9 Side Trips from Glasgow: The Best of the Strathclyde 4 Where to Dine . .177 Region . .199 Family-Friendly Restaurants . .179 Robert Burns: National Poet & 5 Seeing the Sights . .183 Penniless Genius . .204 A Man Ahead of His Time: Charles Rennie Mackintosh . .188 7 Argyll & the Southern Hebrides 210 1 The Isle of Arran: Scotland in 5 The Isle of Jura: Deer Island . .226 Miniature . .210 6 Inveraray . .227 2 The Kintyre Peninsula . .217 Hiking in Argyll Forest Park . .228 3 The Isle of Gigha & Scotland’s 7 Loch Awe: Scotland’s Finest Gardens . .221 Longest Loch . .230 4 The Isle of Islay: Queen of 8 Oban: Gateway to Mull & the Hebrides . .222 the Inner Hebrides . .232 CONTENTS v 8 Fife & the Central Highlands 239 1 Dunfermline & Its Great The True Story of Braveheart . .260 Abbey . .239 5 Dunblane & Its Grand 2 East Neuk’s Scenic Cathedral . .264 Fishing Villages . .244 6 Callander & a Trio of Lochs . .266 3 St. Andrews: The Birthplace 7 Aberfoyle: Gateway to of Golf . .249 the Trossachs . .269 A Princely Attraction . .249 8 On the Bonnie, Bonnie Banks of 4 Stirling . .257 Loch Lomond . .271 9 Aberdeen & the Tayside & Grampian Regions 275 1 Aberdeen: The Castle 6 Pitlochry . .298 Country . .275 7 Dundee & Glamis Castle . .302 2 Perth: Gateway to the Highlands In Search of Peter Pan . .306 & Scone Palace . .287 8 Ballater & Balmoral Castle . .307 3 Gleneagles: Hitting the Links . .293 9 Braemar . .310 4 Crieff & Drummond Castle 10 Speyside & the Malt Gardens . .294 Whisky Trail . .312 5 Dunkeld . .296 10 Inverness & the West Highlands 321 1 Around Loch Linnhe & Spotting Nessie . .335 Loch Leven . .322 6 Inverness: Capital of 2 Fort William: Gateway to the Highlands . .337 Ben Nevis . .325 7 Nairn & Cawdor Castle . .346 Climbing Britain’s Tallest 8 The Black Isle Peninsula . .349 Mountain . .327 9 Sutherland: The Gem of 3 Invergarry . .330 Scotland . .352 4 Aviemore . .331 10 Caithness: Unspoiled 5 Along Loch Ness . .334 Country . .355 11 The Hebridean Islands 361 1 The Inner & Outer Hebrides: The Young Pretender . .371 An Overview . .361 4 Rhum (Rum) . .374 2 Kyle of Lochalsh: Gateway to 5 Eigg & Muck . .375 the Isle of Skye . .364 6 Coll & Tyree . .377 3 The Isle of Skye: Star of 7 Mull . .379 the Hebrides . .365 Sailing the Hebrides . .365 8 Iona & Staffa: An Abbey & a Musical Cave . .385 Crafts on Skye . .368 vi CONTENTS Staying at Iona Abbey . .386 12 North & South Uist . .394 9 Colonsay . .388 13 Barra: Garden of 10 Lewis: Island of Heather . .388 the Hebrides . .398 11 Harris . .392 12 The Orkney & Shetland Islands 400 1 The Orkney Islands: An 3 The Shetland Islands: A Land of Archaeological Garden . .400 Stark Beauty . .417 2 Fair Isle . .416 Up Helly Aa! . .422 Appendix: Scotland in Depth 431 1 History 101 . .431 How the Scots Say It . .442 Dateline . .431 Garb o’ the Gods . .444 The Stone of Destiny, 3 A Taste of Scotland . .444 Home at Last . .438 2 A Portrait of the Scots . .440 Index 448 List of Maps Scotland 4 The Kingdom of Fife 241 Scotland’s Best Golf Courses 60 Stirling, Loch Lomond & Greater Edinburgh 71 the Trossachs 259 Edinburgh Accommodations & The Tayside & Grampian Dining 78 Regions 277 Edinburgh Attractions 96 Aberdeen 279 Side Trips from Edinburgh 121 Speyside & The Malt Whisky Trail 313 The Borders & Galloway Regions 127 The West Highlands 323 Greater Glasgow 163 Inverness 339 Glasgow Accommodations & The Far North 351 Dining 170 The Hebrides 363 Glasgow Attractions 184 The Isle of Skye 367 Side Trips from Glasgow 201 The Orkney Islands 401 Argyll & the Southern The Shetland Islands 419 Hebrides 211 The Isle of Arran & the Kintyre Peninsula 213 An Invitation to the Reader In researching this book, we discovered many wonderful places—hotels, restaurants, shops, and more. We’re sure you’ll find others. Please tell us about them, so we can share the information with your fellow travelers in upcoming editions. If you were disappointed with a recommendation, we’d love to know that, too. Please write to: Frommer’s Scotland, 8th Edition Wiley Publishing, Inc. • 111 River St. • Hoboken, NJ 07030-5744 An Additional Note Please be advised that travel information is subject to change at any time—and this is especially true of prices.