Ireland or Scotland Anyone?

taquitos43 · #1 10-10-2009, 07:56 AM

I'm planning a trip to Ireland and Scotland for next year. I know there are several members here that are from those countries and I'm sure there are several whom have visited. I don't plan to take a canned trip through a travel agency because I want the freedom to keep my own schedule. I plan to rent a car and just go play some golf and sight see. I do have a couple of questions though. When is the best time of the year regarding decent weather to visit. Also, knowing that there are a lot of sights to see and experience, what do y'all think are the can't miss area's. I'd really like to stay away from the touristy area's for the most part but not entirely. I understand touristy area's are that way for a reason but I also think that there are many cool places and things to do other than those places. Any thought's or suggestions are welcome! Thanks!!

link wray · #2 10-10-2009, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taquitos43

When is the best time of the year regarding decent weather to visit.

februari 29th. It only rains once every 4 years on that day in Ireland.

WRBass · #3 10-10-2009, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taquitos43

I'm planning a trip to Ireland and Scotland for next year. I know there are several members here that are from those countries and I'm sure there are several whom have visited. I don't plan to take a canned trip through a travel agency because I want the freedom to keep my own schedule. I plan to rent a car and just go play some golf and sight see. I do have a couple of questions though. When is the best time of the year regarding decent weather to visit. Also, knowing that there are a lot of sights to see and experience, what do y'all think are the can't miss area's. I'd really like to stay away from the touristy area's for the most part but not entirely. I understand touristy area's are that way for a reason but I also think that there are many cool places and things to do other than those places. Any thought's or suggestions are welcome! Thanks!!

Do you play golf? If so, you have to play the Old Course at St. Andrews, the oldest golf course in the world.
http://www.standrews.org.uk/

taquitos43 · #4 10-10-2009, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by link wray

februari 29th. It only rains once every 4 years on that day in Ireland.

Dang, that means I'll have to wait till 2102 to get there and experience the rain...

taquitos43 · #5 10-10-2009, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WRBass

Do you play golf? If so, you have to play the Old Course at St. Andrews, the oldest golf course in the world.
http://www.standrews.org.uk/

It would be great to play the oldest course but I bet it's way crowded. I don't need to play the oldest, I would just like to play in both countries. It doesn't have to be a great course since I'm basically a novice golfer. Just want to have fun.

WRBass · #6 10-10-2009, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taquitos43

It would be great to play the oldest course but I bet it's way crowded. I don't need to play the oldest, I would just like to play in both countries. It doesn't have to be a great course since I'm basically a novice golfer. Just want to have fun.

Well, you should at least take look at it. It's open to the public. You can stand behind the first tee and watch people tee off 1 and putt on 18. You will be right by the front door of the Royal and Ancient. (You can't go in there!) From there you can walk down along the fence on 18 and see the Swilcan Bridge where all the greatest champions have crossed. And then watch the golfers putt on the Road Hole, 17.

MysticMichael · #7 10-10-2009, 06:23 PM

Late spring through early fall would be my recommended times to visit. May or June in particular would be great, as that far north the days will be very long at that time of year, so lots of daylight each day. Plus, it rarely ever gets very hot during the summer, so your only real obstacle is possible seasonal prices rises - and other tourists!

MM

funkalicious101 · #8 10-11-2009, 01:56 AM

The Dingle Peninsula way out west is very beautiful.

ByF · #9 10-11-2009, 11:05 AM

I lived in Scotland for about 18 months during my Navy enlistment, but that was about 40 years ago. I would like to go back someday.

What I remember most (besides the weather) was that there were places where it was truly quiet. No freeway noise in the distance, no planes overhead, no noisy neighbors blasting their music, just--quiet. You might hear the wind. You might hear a sheep over on the other side of the valley. Otherwise--quiet.

And I'd like to spend more time in Edinburgh. Besides the historical and scenic attractions, I've heard that it has a very lively cultural scene--lots of music venues. I'd like to go back there and hang out for a few weeks.

But mostly I remember the weather. I was stationed aboard a US submarine tender, which was moored in Holy Loch, a small inlet off the River Clyde, about 20 miles down the river from Glasgow. The nearest town is Dunoon, or we could take the ferry across the river to Gourock and from there catch a bus into Glasgow.

Holy Loch is a the end of a shallow valley, and that valley seemed to funnel the wind down into the Loch. This was a big ship, 700+ feet long, moored in the middle of the Loch between two big buoys. There were a couple of times that the wind blew so hard down the valley that we had to drop our mooring lines and sail out to sea, because we were dragging the anchors. I guess they thought it would be bad PR for a gazillion dollar US ship carrying nuclear weapons to blow up on to the beach in Scotland.

Mostly I remember rain. Horizontal rain. All year round. I remember once in July the weather cleared up for a few days and the temperature got up into the 70's (F) and the locals acted like it was the heatwave of the century.

And cold. Most of the locals had really puny little coal fireplaces in their apartments to heat with, and they really didn't get the job done.

In the US Navy, sailors usually wear dark blue woolen uniforms during the winter, and white cotton during the summer. In Scotland, we wore the blue uniforms all year round.

So when ever I smell wet wool or coal smoke, I am transported back to Scotland.

Nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.

Ed

taquitos43 · #10 10-11-2009, 11:47 AM

Thanks Ed, the more I think about it, the more I think I might spend both weeks in Ireland. That way I can spend a little more time really exploring and getting the most out of the trip. I'm kind of leaning toward spending a week in and around Dublin and a week in and around Limerick. With a possibility of adjusting for a day or two around Belfast. Really, I'd mostly use those as a sort of base camp to travel within a few hours around each of those cities. Although, it might end up cheaper to use a smaller town as a base camp and travel from those places. I'm still kind of exploring these possibilities.

funkalicious101 · #11 10-11-2009, 03:10 PM

I've also heard Dundee is arguably the worst place in the world.

**MAJOR METAL** · #12 10-11-2009, 05:58 PM

The Cliffs of Moher Country Claire Ireland, the most gorgeous place I have been on this Earth.

taquitos43 · #13 10-11-2009, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAJOR METAL

The Cliffs of Moher Country Claire Ireland, the most gorgeous place I have been on this Earth.

One of the many places I want to see!! Thanks for the pics!

rr5025 · #14 10-11-2009, 08:32 PM

Edinburgh is A great place. Glasgow is cool but I liked Edinburgh much better. Dublin is pretty cool but pretty damn expensive. Definitely tour the Jameson and Guinness breweries (Guinness is a tad overrated but you can't go to St. James Gate and not tour it).

The UK is beautiful and if you have some time to play with take a trip down to the Lake District of England. Stunning country. You're going to have a great time I'm really thinking about moving there.

ByF · #15 10-11-2009, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taquitos43

I'm kind of leaning toward spending a week in and around Dublin and a week in and around Limerick.

I spent one weekend in Dublin during my tour of duty in Scotland. I think that would be an interesting place to visit, too. I just didn't see enough of the country to really appreciate it.

We saw the Guinness brewery, but didn't get to tour it. But that just made me think about that Aimee Mann song, "31 Today":

"Drinking Guinness in the afternoon,
Taking shelter in the black cocoon."

Which has nothing to do with the topic. I just like the line.

Ed

Thunderitter · #16 10-11-2009, 09:06 PM

In terms of Scotland best time is May to September. I joke that Scotland has two weeks of summer each year and that can fall any time between May and September and not necessarily together. Billy Connolly says " Scotland had two seasons, July and Winter!". Seriously the weather wont' be too bad - just take a light waterproof and a sweater!

Golfwise - a lot of the courses will require proof of handicap and id. Most no longer require a letter of from your club pro verifying your handicap. The Old Course in St Andrews is nigh near impossible to get on, although there is a daily ballot for tee times. There are five other courses there but it's pricey! Other open course would be Carnoustie, Troon, Prestwick, Turnberry and Muirfield, but there are plenty of other nice courses which are beautiful and challenging: Dornoch, Machrihanish, GlenEagles, etc., etc.

Great thing about Scotland or Ireland is that once you get there if you rent a car there are not many places you can't get to in a day.

If you need more info on Scotland give me a shout. Great time to go to Edinburgh is August when they have the Festival.