18 days in Great Britain on a 15 day Britrail pass in September. Just me and a backpack.

Lemmie know your "hidden gems" and "must sees" and any cool quaint little towns anywhere the trains go.

London and Edinburgh are locked in, but other than that what do ya'll recommend!

I'm not poor so not doing hostels or anything like that - but if you have some nice little affordable places to stay along the way, lemmie know!

Thanks in advance!

Stirling, Inverness

That sounds awesome, enjoy.

Scotland
The two above, plus
Elgin
Oban
Aberdeen - not small by Scotland standards
St. Andrews
Melrose/ Jedburgh
And most everything in between

York on way from England to Scotland. Hadrian's Wall. Cumberland Cream Ale. Enjoy.

Some Scotland fans on here I see!

Scotland isn't the easiest place to see by rail. although there are some nice rail journeys. If you are a fan of the movie Trainspotting, you might want to take the train to (or more likely, through) Rannock Moor. You could take the train all the may to Mallaig (and cross the Glennfinnian Viaduct featured in the Harry Potter films) take the ferry to the Isle of Skye, and if you can find a way to get across the Isle of Skye, then get back on the train at Kyle of Lochalsh, heading toward Inverness and Edinburgh. That's kind of the classic Highlands loop that a lot of people do by car.

If you really want to see what your options are by rail for stringing together small towns in the UK, I would recommend the Rick Steve's guide to Great Britain. He will have some ideas on how to string together a trip done soley by public transportation.

Chester is a really need medieval city. The Wirral (the peninsula between Liverpool and Northern Wales) is some great rural English charm. Conwy in Northern Wales has an incredible castle and is a neat town.

A little north of Stirling is Doune Castle. Much of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" was shot here. It's also been used in "Game of Thrones" and "Outlander".

I agree about getting a car. That would make it easier to wonder around and find things.

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Chester is a really need medieval city.

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Was about to suggest Chester as well. Was there several weeks for work back in April and really enjoyed the town. The original walls are well preserved and you can do a complete walk around up on top. The horse races there are supposedly quite a spectacle, although I missed them by a few days.

AggieRob93 said:

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Scotland
The two above, plus
Elgin
Oban
Aberdeen - not small by Scotland standards
St. Andrews
Melrose/ Jedburgh
And most everything in between

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I've been to St. Andrews on a previous golf trip!

Thinking of taking the train from Glasgow to Maalaig, ferry over to Skye, staying the night somewhere there (any suggestions??) then picking the train back up at Kyle of Lochaish and heading to Inverness for a night. Then train to Aberdeen for a night, then train to Edinburgh for 2 nights. Kinda a big loop.

See any issues?

jjeffers1 said:

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AggieRob93 said:

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Scotland
The two above, plus
Elgin
Oban
Aberdeen - not small by Scotland standards
St. Andrews
Melrose/ Jedburgh
And most everything in between

---

I've been to St. Andrews on a previous golf trip!

Thinking of taking the train from Glasgow to Maalaig, ferry over to Skye, staying the night somewhere there (any suggestions??) then picking the train back up at Kyle of Lochaish and heading to Inverness for a night. Then train to Aberdeen for a night, then train to Edinburgh for 2 nights. Kinda a big loop.

See any issues?

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I stayed in Inverness for a couple of nights. It's OK as a base for touring the region, but the town is nothing special. But, having said that, if you are making the trip by rail, you are limited to going to where the rail line goes, so that may be your best option in this neck of the woods.

On Skye, getting around without a car is an issue. There are private guides and such, but it's not easy--or at least it wasn't 10 years ago. Maybe there are more options now, but I suspect not. Skye has some of the best scenery in Scotland, and there is a highly rated restaurant and hotel or two located in remote areas, but getting there without a rental car would be the trick.

Supposed to be a couple of busses that just run up and down the main road there now. Every hour till 8 pm or so. Figured I'd just hop one of them to go to Portree. Then take it to Kyle the next day. There's lots of towns along the rail route - just thought Inverness because it was recommended.

jjeffers1 said:

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Supposed to be a couple of busses that just run up and down the main road there now. Every hour till 8 pm or so. Figured I'd just hop one of them to go to Portree. Then take it to Kyle the next day. There's lots of towns along the rail route - just thought Inverness because it was recommended.

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Busses sound good. Even better if they take you places that you want to go (perhaps like the Talisker distillery), but even if they just take you to Portree, that's not a bad option. You might miss things like the distillery, or some of the scenery on the Trotternish peninsula, but it's still worth doing if you want to see the Highlands.

I guess Inverness might have more nightlife than some of the smaller towns, but it's not exactly picturesque or interesting in and of itself. It's a transportation hub, and close to Loch Ness. If you aren't feeling the need for lots of nightlife options, you might be better off picking a small town somewhere along the way, but if it suits your needs, nothing wrong with staying there.

Cool. Thanks for the advice!

Back to getting a car. I know you want to use your Britrail pass but check out Arnold Clark. He's Scotland's biggest car dealer and renter. I used him in 2004 for my golf trip and was shocked about how reasonable the price was. Driving the back roads of Scotland is pretty easy, yeah they drive on the wrong side of the road but there aren't that many cars so it's not a big deal.

This was just posted in msn.com. Don't know if it will help but thought of your subject matter

http://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tripideas/the-most-beautiful-small-towns-in-the-uk/ss-BBEmtqS?fullscreen=true&li=BBnb7Kz

jjeffers1 said:

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18 days in Great Britain on a 15 day Britrail pass in September. Just me and a backpack.

Lemmie know your "hidden gems" and "must sees" and any cool quaint little towns anywhere the trains go.

London and Edinburgh are locked in, but other than that what do ya'll recommend!

I'm not poor so not doing hostels or anything like that - but if you have some nice little affordable places to stay along the way, lemmie know!

Thanks in advance!

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Visit the Cotswold region of England. Locals told me that it is the place the British go on "Holiday" to get away from the Americans.

Just spent ten days in Scotland. Did Edinburgh for a few days then train to Kyle of Lochalsh where we rented a car and spent around 4 days in Portree. Finished the trip in Inverness where we could fly out of. Would do it all over again. We were very fortunate and had sunny weather the whole trip, which definitely helps.

My wife lived in Scotland for a while but had never made it to Skye, said it was the best scenery she had seen there, for reference.

Pitlochry is the most amazing little Scottish town and right on the rail. York is stunning and full of history, definitely worth a visit. Basically all of Yorkshire is stunning, and the people are just the greatest.

I believe you can stay at the Macallan Estate and fly fish the Spey River with their estate guide for free if you set it up in advance. That's on my bucket list for sure...

TulaneAg said:

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I believe you can stay at the Macallan Estate and fly fish the Spey River with their estate guide for free if you set it up in advance. That's on my bucket list for sure...

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I will be researching this tomorrow!

You should drive a car and head up to Pitlochry in Perthshire. The Birks of Aberfeldy and the Falls of Bruar are GREAT spots to hike. Blair Castle is right there too. Edradour is the smallest (legal) distillery in Scotland. If you are interested in ancient history, then there is The Scottish Crannog Centre at nearby Loch Tay - amazing stuff. You can easily take a day trip to Culloden and/or Inverness too. Could also head west to Glencoe or Loch Lomand for more great scenery.