Do I hear my name being called, and with the magic word Scotland of all words? LOL! Thanks for pulling me onto this thread, Steven. Ask, and you shall be served! Keesha, I would second Steven's advice on Edinburgh, but, IMO, to go to Scotland and staying in the cities only is like going to Rome and not seeing the Pope (as we say in Portuguese)... I don't know how much they are into Nature, or whether they are strict urbanites, but the landscape in Scotland is awesome and the real reason why anyone should travel there. My opinion, of course, after visiting the country for *8* times over the last decade or so... Back to your question on where to go: definitely the West coast. Depending on the amount of time they have they can travel more or less, but they should at least drive the A82 from Glasgow to Glencoe and then from Glencoe on the Road to the Isles up to Kyle of Lochalsh on the coast. From there they can cross the Skye Bridge onto the Isle of Skye (another must see) or retrace their steps a little and head north via the Wester Ross Coastal Trail (signposted on the A87 slightly before Kyle) onto the Stromeferry Viewpoint and from there to Lochcarron and the Wester Ross area - Torridon, Shieldaig and the road to Applecross via the Pass of the Cattle are a somewhat hair rising experience that should not be missed. This part of the route is mostly documented in the photos of my last visit, whose URL I'm pasting below. If they still have some time and energy to spare, proceeding along the west coast up to Loch Maree, Gairloch, Poolewe and the amazing Inverewe Gardens, up to Ullapool and Lochinver, is another fantastic drive. Piece of advice - do go prepared for the rain and do not let that spoil your enjoyment. Wear stout boots, I mean, serious hiking boots while traveling along the Highlands. The ground is slippery and peaty (hence the great heather mentioned in another post) and you need a firm grip in order to walk along the many trails or simply for visiting the beautiful gardens. I also recommend people to stay in the small rural hotels and/or B&Bs. It's a great way to meet the locals and get in touch with community life. The best places to get dinner in the Highlands are the local hotels, which usually cater for non-residents (they'll have signs saying Non-residents welcome). And there are *no* Macdonalds in the Highlands (maybe apart from Inverness). Try the haggis if she's adventurous and stock up on the fantastic "cooked breakfasts", as they are referred to by the Scots. Do not *ever* confound a Scot with an English. They are Scots first, British afterwards. Never English. Most of the locals will be offended by that confusion. What you will see waving on the masts is the Scottish flag - the white St. Andrews cross over a blue field. The Union Jack is rarely seen (and I suspect that when we do see it, it's the home of an English resident :-)) I could go on for hours, so stop me now, LOL! Let me know if she needs any more specific information and I'll be happy to help out. Eduarda Here is a link that might be useful: My Scottish photos

Althea, I wanted to say thanks. I did get to Scotland (I've been back for a while now) and later went by train from Inverness down to London. While in Scotland (I was all over the rural areas and towns and villages), I visited some of the Caledonian Forest and met with the people who are doing native-tree reforestation (the Trees for Life people). Its good work and they're good people. The situation with fisheries depletion and its impact on the coastal villages of northern Scotland was very sad. Encountering that was another side of the trip. Of course, rugged Scotland is quite beautiful, as is the mild English countryside in its own way. There sure are a lot of sizable nuclear power plants between Newcastle and London! But there's a lot of wind power development going on in the UK, and there is much talk about utilization of tidal power. Joel

Linda, thanks for fixing the link. I just couldn't work out how to do it. Glad you liked the pictures. I took about 1700 altogether, so had to pick a good mix. Just in case you haven't had enough (lol) I just added some more - I think they have come up at the beginning of the album. Hi Alisande, the Abbey dates from the latter half of the 12th century and the burial site from 1607. Many of the gravestones are unreadable but there are some local family burials right to the last few years. When I went in spring it was beautiful with daffodils growing everywhere. I have a a few more old graveyard ones which I will upload and show soon if you like. I enjoy old cemeteries and wandered in many while I was there looking for my Dad's family. I made a mistake - the Abbey is at Dundrennan in Galloway, not Ayrshire. June, I have to say that the food was quite a mix. I was on a budget as far as food went and because I was on my own, did not go out at night much. I mostly picked up sandwiches, fruit and soup, plus cheap meals at one of the department store chains. I bought a thermos flask for the 3 weeks I hired cars and drank coffee and ate snacks, including lots of chocolate. In Edinburgh, I treated myself to a nice hotel room and enjoyed room service meals that were good. One really cold day, I found a really tasty curry and sat near a loch where there was not another person in sight. Bliss. The low point was a deep-fried meat pie in Edinburgh. Pure grease. We Aussies love our meat pies but they are baked pastry, not baked and then deep fried. Really, really yukky!! I did have an incredible lemon tart at the Edinburgh hotel later that night which made me feel better. I love the colder weather and made a point of travelling before the tourist season began - April and early May, so was able to find B & B and guest house accommodation easily and relatively cheaply. Some highs and lows. I only booked my first two nights and last one before I left home. It was a real leap of faith to prove to myself that I could do things by myself. Still haven't worked up the courage to eat a meal in a restaurant alone but will do it one day. I would recommend Scotland to anyone who loves history and scenery. The driving was very easy - of course they drive on the same side of the road as me which helps. I am thrilled that people like the pictures. Beth

Anne, What a great opportunity: love your story. You may find that flying from Detroit is much less expensive than from TO - daughter flew me to AZ from there, (airbus from London: about $115., I think, return) ... but I don't know about fliight costs to overseas. Don't fuss about the terrorists on AF more than elsewhere - with so many flights going here and there, the chances of them hitting yours are - rather remote ... you do buy lottery tickets, don't you? Risk about the same, maybe? Hope you can stand up and pump your legs up and down a bit while at your seat, occasionally ... if you find it hard to get to an aisle. I have a major space on the farm ... I could come pick up the dog, (would even keep him for free [if food provided] - a real "low key" offer, no?) and even bring you back, too, and carry you to TO, into the bargain ... or put you on airbus from London, if you prefer. Not only Lo-ki ... but multi-pronged, as well. ole joyfilled