Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Europe Wife is dragging me to Scotland in May!

Good haggis is a wonderful thing, bad haggis will gag a maggot.
On occasion one can get smoke cod rather than kippers; just absolutely fantastic.

I am not dragging my clubs to Scotland. Sorry

Blasphemous!

About 8 of us are planning a guys-only, golf-your-brains-out trip in June, 2013. The organizer is a former Scot who grew up in that neighborhood.

We may do some fishing when we're there, too.

I've heard that fishing on the better "beats" costs about as much as 2 African safaris and you have to wear a necktie with your new tweed jacket! Also heard from a guy who did a golf tour that they had to put on a jacket and tie to eat lunch in the club house.
Regarding the smoked cod: not sure about the cod but you usually can get smoked haddock. Also, there is a famous type of smoked herring made in the town of Arbroath called Arbroath Smokies. Speaking about Arbroath, look up the Declaration of Arbroath. Written in about 1320 it is supposed to have been an inspiration for some of the American Declaration of Independence. It'd be a good motto for the Campfire.
If you order a hot kipper for breakfast, be prepared for your wife to refuse to sit close to you. Some delicate folks seem to regard the wonderful aroma of hot smoked herring too much at breakfast time.

I would squeeze one outing after roebuck anyway. Late May you could go out, shoot buck and be back in bed before she's up.

I'd go to Scotland in a heart beat...Haven't been there since 1966...when my dad was stationed in England in the AF..

I loved going to Scotland, loved the place.. the people, the way they speak, everything about it.. the Highlands etc...

of course having tons of Scottish blood in me didn't help motivate that love for Scotland either..

Dennis,

The National Trust for Scotland has a lot of beautiful places to visit. You can look them over on their website when your planning your trip. Back in 1985 I was over there for the summer and saw Culzean castle, Inverewe Gardens and the Culloden battlefield. Culzean castle was where Eisenhower planned the D-day operation of WWII, that's where his office/war room was located.

http://www.nts.org.uk/Home/

Have a wonderful vacation.

I got hammered out of my mind one night in Inverness. Very neat town but up in the N portion of the country. If you are really open to ideas, Cape Wrath (the very Northern part of the island) is about the most laid back place I have ever been. Lots of random castle ruins and red stag running around the highlands.

Scotland is on my bucket list, alonG with Japan.

that is roe buck season there by the way

Pitlochry is nice, and Blair Castle located there is a good one. Edinburgh is a must see. Driving there is part of the experience, so don't shy away from it. I enjoyed some of the small villages the most. We stayed outside Aberfeldy on Maj. Neal Ramsey's estate, and stalked red stags on properties located from Gleneagles clear up toward Inverness. Pitmain Estate up near Inverness ended up being my favorite, though I also had a couple great days stalking on an estate (the name of which escapes me at the moment) that bordered Balmoral. We did manage to see the queen and Prince Charles stalking stags from near the border of the two estates.

My wife and I got married in Scotland six years ago, then toured the country for our honeymoon. We went back a couple of years ago for a get together at her clan's ancestoral home, Selkirk.

First off, forget the train, they don't run anywhere you really want to go. It's not like the rest of europe where you can take a train anywhere. Get a rental car and start driving, it's not a big deal to drive on the wrong side of the road, you'll pick it up pretty quick. The roads are good and not very crowded, I was suprised at how rural most of Scotland is, it doesn't have nearly the population density as England hence the lack of trains. You can get to Edinburgh by train but beyond that forget it. Edinburgh's great but the real beauty of scotland can only be found by car.

There are castles everywhere so get a guide book and take your pick. The Borders region is cool, stop in Selkirk for some tweed and see Sir Walter Scott's house Abbotsford. Definitely see Edinburgh and the castle there, and walk the royal mile, take in Rosslyn chapel. Hit Stirling and it's castle as you go north, and go to St. Andrews just to say you've walked on the Old Course. St. Andrews is a neat college town also so it's a nice place to spend a day. If you can find some going on hit some real highland games, we found one in the town of Ceres that had been going on annually for almost 700 years, it was originally chartered by Robert the Bruce. Hit Balmoral (the queen's highland manor), and Glamis castle where the queen mother was born. They have a thing called the whisky trail where you drive the route between a bunch of distilleries. We only hit one but it's a treat. Of course see Loch Ness and Urquhart castle, and Culloden battlefield. Read up on the Jacobite rebellion before you go so it'll make sense. Cawdor castle (Macbeth) is nearby also and interesting. The town of Inverness doesn't have much going on, but is a good place to overnite.

The west coast is very pretty, but we didn't make it to the Isle of Skye or the other Hebrides but people say it's the prettiest part of Scotland. It's on our list for next time.

Rent a car, get a decent guide book and start driving. Hit the big attractions then just wander after that, you'll find neat stuff at every turn. Eat in pubs but don't expect wonderful food, it's basic comfort food but not a lot of michelin rated stuff. The best advice I can give is to stay in some Bed & Breakfasts, there are a bunch of wonderful ones throughout the country and the owners really take pride in them. You'll only pay about half the price of a hotel and get to meet people you wouldn't normally get to meet, plus most of the B&B's are really nice. The Scots are famous for their hospitality.

You'll have a great time I'm sure.

Make sure that you take a Goretex jacket and a good fleece. Scotland isn't as rainy as legend says, but it does rain. Temperatures in the Highlands in May can range from the upper 30's to the 60's.
Edinburgh Castle is great. Make sure you stop by the Scottish War Memorial. Stirling Castle should also be seen. Ft William is one of my favorite places in the world. If you have a full day, climb Ben Nevis, the highest peak in the UK. Rannoch Moor is also beautiful. Part of it is on the family estate of Ian Fleming (James Bond). If you like old military forts, Ft George near Inverness and Culloden is imposing.

Golf is for people who don't have anything better to do...

I mean, com'n - putting a projectile into a tiny target way out there is much more easily, quickly, and more funner done with a gun...

I'm just saying you get more bang for your buck - probably cheaper too- depending on just how crazy you are.

I wouldn't consider myself being "dragged to Scotland".... I was dragged to Italy for 10 days after all, but would go back there in a heartbeat. But this time, it would be my choices- I'm done with the touristy thing in Italy ... but saw some potentials in the passing.

Loch Morlich is real pretty -- better than Loch Ness, IMHO. Banff, MacDuff, Peterhead etc, on the North Sea are pretty as well. Fivey Castle, Balmoral (Queen's summer home) all very nice. See William Wallace's monument in Aberdeen. Lots to see there. Enjoy.

Inverness is a really neat town IMO. I took a train though the highlands one time and got a big kick out of it. We went though a national park and I got to see some wild red stags. I'm a huge foodie, and the best meal I ate there was food cooked by a local old lady at some hole in the wall airport. I was probably flying ryan air, so it would have been out in the sticks. I bought some smoked salmon from her that her husband had caught and smoked. I chatted her up as she was quite nice and got her number. Climbing Ben Nevis was neat too.

The next time I went though, I called her up, mentioned who I was, and asked if her husband could take me salmon fishing. I figured I'd just tag along. I don't remember many of the details, as this guy's buddies got a kick out of me, and got me pretty snookered up on different types of scotch at a pub before we went out. I didn't catch anything, but it was really cool, and didn't cost anything but a bottle of decent American whiskey.

I didn't catch anything, but it was really cool, and didn't cost anything but a bottle of decent American whiskey. [/quote]

???

I would enjoy the heck out of that. I'm part of the Mac Murray clan, have the family crest and coat of arms. Of course that's like being a "Smith" over here. Enjoy and bring back pics.

Tour the Royal yacht Britannia in Edinburgh

I forgot about that. Being from Michigan, I was amazed to see a framed picture on the wall from 1959 showing the Britannia going under the Mackinac Bridge.