HolidayScotland.org.uk Weblog

Birnam Hotel Open

2010-01-12T13:40:00.002Z

I was very glad to receive an email last night letting me now that the Birnam Hotel is now open again with new owners and its been refurbished. It had been sitting empty for a while which was a shame for a hotel in such a cracking location.

The website at www.birnamhotel.com has all the details and a good bit about the history of this fantastic old building. We wish the new team the best of luck with it.

Where's Your Favourite Hogmanay Destination?

2009-12-14T12:33:00.002Z

It's drawing to the end of the year and many people have detailed plans for Hogmanay (New year's Eve). I've spent Hogmanay in a number of different places over the years and just wondered where your favourite destination is on the night?

My favourite is probably Comrie in Perthshire where the sleepy little village comes out in the streets for the Flambeaux procession round town. The strong men of the village carry a collection of 20ft long flaming torches round the streets in order to chase out bad spirits. The whole thing is a great event.

I'm also very fond of Edinburgh's Hogmanay and had one memorable Hogmanay in the square at Dunkeld. I know there are bound to be a lot of fans of Glasgow and probably Stonehaven too.

So where's your favourite?

Clan Gathering Big Loss

2009-10-15T15:28:00.003Z

Sad to hear in the Scotsman today that Edinburgh's Clan Gathering lost around �600,000. It was one of the main events in Homecoming Scotland. The failure to sell out all the tickets appears to be the reason. It would be interesting to know how other Highland games round the country have faired this summer and whether any losses are put down to the economy or just the crappy weather!

Hairy Coo Mountain Bike Challenge 2009

2009-10-01T10:27:00.001Z

It's just over two weeks until this years Hairy Coo Mountain Bike Challenge at Comrie Croft near Crieff. It's running on 17th October 2009. This year's race has been altered quite a bit from last year with a new start/finish further up the hill and different rules on finishing in the Big Race. There are races for kids and inexperienced riders too and a great atmosphere. There are still plenty of places available click here for more.

Mountain Biking Holidays

2009-08-17T14:53:00.002Z

New article. Some ideas for mountain biking holidays in Scotland.

Renting a Log Holiday Home

2009-06-29T15:17:00.002Z

Many visitors to Scotland are attracted to a self catering Scottish holiday in a Log Cabin. There are not as many as you might imagine. Plenty of shortbread box cottages to rent but a lot less log cabins. To help with this we've put together a log cabin Scotland page where we'll list any log cabins that we've found to rent. Some might be more timber lodges but all share the same over-riding construction material: Wood!
Find Log Cabins in Scotland

Avoid The Pesky Midge

2009-05-26T20:24:00.001Z

New article on how to avoid letting midges spoil your holiday in Scotland. It looks at the various ways of combatting, repelling and destroying midges.
Read more...

Romantic Cottages To Rent In Scotland

2009-03-04T10:47:00.003Z

When you just want to surprise your partner and whisk them away for a romantic break to a cozy little cottage in Scotland, the last thing you want to do is spend hours researching romantic cottages. We've put together a list a few romantic little getaway cottages available to rent for your holiday.

We've picked cottages we like From Fife to Orkney and a few places in between. It's not meant to be exhaustive, just a little selection to help you with your search.

Click to see our romantic cottages selection.

Scottish Adventure Activity Offers

2009-01-30T10:58:00.003Z

Visit Scotland are currently running a whole bunch of great offers on Scottish adventure activities. Golf (not that golf is particularly adventurous unless you're striding out in a brand new pair of dayglo tartan trews), skiing, paintball, wildlife tours etc. Good until 31 May 2009.
http://adventure.visitscotland.com/adventure-pass/offers/buy-one-get-one-free

Worldwide Toast to Robert Burns

2009-01-20T14:14:00.002Z

This weekend sees the 250th Anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns and as part of the celebrations, there is a Worldwide Toast to Burns, aiming to have the largest toast ever in the Guinness Book of Records.

You can take part anytime between 16 Jan and 7 Feb 2009.

The requirements are that there are two witnesses to you raising your glasses, then you go to www.worldwidetoasttorobertburns.com and register your participation in the celebration. With a little luck they could break the current world record for the Largest Simultaneous Toast.

Scottish Businesses Should Accept Euros

2009-01-05T10:49:00.003Z

BBC has a story today about how the First Minister is calling for Scots businesses to accept Euro's as payment in order to make life easier for tourists.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7809700.stm

10 Sure Fire Ways To Wind Up A Scotsman

2008-10-20T13:50:00.000Z

To help you avoid sticking both feet in it when you talk to a Scot, here are 10 ways almost guaranteed to wind him up. Best avoided, unless you want a frank discussion!

1. "I think Scotland is the nicest part of England"

2. "I had a cousin went to Scotland once" - "really, where to?" - "London I think."

3. Go to a pub in Scotland and ask for an Irish Whiskey then proclaim how good it is

4. Those aren't mountains, just little hills

5. Golf is really American though, isn't it?

6. Your diet is the worst in the world

7. I'm spending 10 days in London and 1 day in Scotland, that should be long enough, shouldn't it?

8. Pronunciation: Edinburgh has a hard G on the end - Edinberg

9. Pronunciation: Glasgow sounds like a cow made of a fragile material - Glass-cow

10. There's only 2 football teams in Scotland anyway

They're all true too. Heard every one. Can you think of any more.

Autumn in Scotland

2008-10-14T14:56:00.002Z

Autumn treees in Macrosty Park, Crieff at the weekend.

Blairgowrie Visitor Centre and Hydro Scheme Planned

2008-09-11T10:32:00.002Z

As part of regeneration plans for Blairgowrie and Rattray in Perthshire, there are plans afoot to build a new hydro scheme and visitor centre on the River Ericht which runs through the heart of the town.

The plans to generate electricity include selling the power to the National Grid and pocketing up to �100K per year earmarked for community projects.

This is the kind of renewable power scheme that can really change communities and I hope it gets the go-ahead from the relevant planners.

Ferry to Scotland No More

2008-09-10T06:33:00.002Z

Sad to see the cancellation of the Rosyth to Zeebrugge ferry with it's last sailing on Saturday. It will leave Scotland without a direct ferry link to mainland Europe. I know a lot of people who used the ferry and it's a shame more wont get the chance now. Hopefully they will find another operator but for now if you want to take a ferry to Europe from Scotland, the closest port is Newcastle with a service to Amsterdam (Ijmuiden).

Videos of Scotland

2008-09-08T09:38:00.002Z

Wondras.com is a website producing high quality videos of Scotland available for download. The site allows WMV downloads and can also send you videos on DVD if you request them. It's also got a good gallery of photos and a user forum.

There are already a large number of Scottish videos online with hopefully more to come.

The site was also featured on the BBC news website with tourism chiefs predicting that it could be a "hit" for Scotland.

Disabled Access in Scotland

2008-08-29T07:11:00.002Z

After calls from a couple of visitors, we've just added some accessible Scotland sections in the holiday forum. Please, if you have any experience of accommodation, places to eat or visitor attractions that manage disabled and/or wheelchair access particularly well, head over to the forums and let us know about it.

Also, if you are an accommodation owner and have made your property accessible, then let us know about it.

Cheap Golf in Fife

2008-08-12T11:44:00.002Z

There's a really good article in the Newcastle Journal about cheap golf in Fife with the First in Fife Golf Pass. They've got great descriptions of the courses that participate in the scheme. The one I'd really like to play at these rates �59 for 3 rounds) is Balbirnie beside Glenrothes in Fife.

Holidays In Wales

2008-08-12T11:38:00.002Z

If you ever decide that Scotland just doesn't have what you're looking for in a holiday, we'd urge you to consider a holiday in Wales. Anglesey or Pen Llyn for that matter. Coastal Holidays is a Wales holiday cottage website with a good selection of self catering in Anglesey and Pen Llyn. If you are keen on the mountains and sea, these are perfect spots with great water activities available and Snowdonia just a stone's throw away.

A Tour Around Pitlochry

2008-07-28T10:39:00.002Z

Photo by hodges @ flickr

The Sunday Sun ran an article yesterday describing a tour around the Pitlochry area. While it is a good, informative article, one slightly odd statement in it reads:

"The [Pitlochry Fish] ladder is a must for sightseers and is ranked among Scotland�s top six tourist attractions."

Er, no. While it is interesting, it is nowhere near the top of Scotland's top attractions list. VisitScotland's Visitor Attraction Monitor doesn't even list it in the top 20.

Now I'm not decrying the Fish Ladder - it is fun to go into on of the viewing rooms in the hope of spotting a salmon. It's just a shame that the Sunday Sun suggests it is in the top 6 Scottish attractions when it is not.

Visit Scotland's Website Gets Hammered

2008-07-14T08:08:00.003Z

A report just out blames Visit Scotland's website for lack of growth in the Scottish Tourism industry. That's a bit harsh. I think their website is pretty good. Surely it might be something to do with the insanely weak US Dollar meaning less transatlantic visitors.

Rail Tours Scotland

2008-06-05T09:48:00.002Z

Stobart are now offering a number of rail tours in Scotland and departing from Scotland over the summer months. It could be a very different type of break or day trip if your holiday happens to coincide with one of their tours. They also have a great looking Father's Day lunch rail tour, though sadly it's departing London, not Edinburgh. Maybe next year.

Things to do in Pitlochry

2008-04-30T08:57:00.002Z

Just added a new article listing good things to do in Pitlochry.

Cottages in Achiltiebuie

2008-04-28T21:05:00.001Z

Why a post about cottages in Achiltiebuie? erm, just testing something. ;-)

Things to do in Scotland

2008-04-09T09:20:00.002Z

New pages added to the main site:
- things to do in aberdeen
- things to do in dundee
- things to do in oban
- things to do in glencoe