York - Edinburgh via A1M/A1
Comments
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I used to drive into Edinburgh frequently and park fairly centrally around the Moray Place area, I see it now costs about £3 an hour. If you're prepared to walk and enjoy some of the "New Town" there should be room somewhere if you can avoid the busiest times.. Edinburgh on street parking LINK The New Town area leading to Dean Village along the Water of Leith and Stockbridge are interesting areas to explore. The Botanic Gardens are excellent but I don't think dogs are admitted.
Have a good time on your visit, so much to see everywhere.
If you're travelling north of Perth on the A9 The House of Bruar retail area is quite a good place for a break , if it's not too busy there's room for caravans. Further on there are good laybys to enjoy the views in the Drumochter Pass.
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No, dogs are not allowed in the botanic gardens although they are in Princess St gardens and on the Meadows. We have been into Edinburgh with our dog on numerous occasions. We ususlly park behind Waverley Station and when the dog is tired and we want to go in the shops we put the dog in the car for a sleep. If you are into shopping, one of Edinburghs big shopping attractions - Jenners - has closed for good.
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Having our bus passes makes life easier when we visit places in Scotland, and when elsewhere we often use P&R to avoid searching for parking in places we are unfamiliar with.
We also find that, using the bus rather than driving, we can start out at one end of an area we want to explore, then pick up the bus at the other end of our walk rather than having to return all the way to the same place.
We travel light, one small backpack holds all we need, and we rarely shop while sightseeing.
Edinburgh has never been a particularly car friendly place, even when we lived over that way in the 70s. They were very late in starting to improve the roads, eventually built the by-pass, but alas did not allow for the amount of traffic it now gets, and parking in the city centre has always been expensive. They do however have a good bus service.
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We obviously don't have a car available as we have a motorhome and I doubt that would be easy to park? Even when we caravanned and visited large towns and cities we always used public transport if it was available. As Kj mentions Edinburgh has a really good bus service. We only have to think about ourselves which also makes our choices easier. We may also decide to have a nice meal out with the odd glass of wine, or perhaps two so that also rules driving our own vehicle.
We want to eventually visit Glasgow, just wish there was a campsite as convenient as the Edinburgh site is.
David
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We want to eventually visit Glasgow, just wish there was a campsite as convenient as the Edinburgh site is.
Glesgae Green? Or in the Residents Car Park at 305 or 341 Caledonia Road in the Gorbals [based on my experience as a Housing Officer when I first moved to Scotland from England ...].
I was also responsible for 2 'Deck Access' Blocks of twin Storey Apartments in Anderston at 474 and 495 St Vincent Street and can attest to the 'availability' of Motorhome [illegal] parking ...Steve
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Or even Red Deer Village holiday park - 5 miles out of Glasgow centre but public transport available - touring section has hard standings plus usual amenities
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The bus/train/subway service in Glasgow is not bad either David, and we can offer 2 alternatives.....
A serviced pitch on our driveway and a lift to/from the station (5 minute drive and 20 minutes into the city centre). It is on a bit of a slope however.
Or a nice CL with views over Loch Lomond, drive to the west fringes of Glasgow, and safe parking outside our daughter's house near a good bus service into town.
We also have access, during school holiday periods, to the free car park at our local Guide Hall, only 300 metres from our station and also on the west fringes of town. There is a good, free car park right at the station, but it tends to fill up quickly with commuters.
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Note to OP...... don’t consider Scotch Corner for a break. Caravans are not allowed into services, parking and access are too tight.
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yes, was amazed at Fort George!
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And dolphin spotting at Chanonry Point.
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There are, or were, boat cruises for sightseeing and dolphin spotting from Inverness. Recommended.
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Sorry, Brue. I left the scene and didn’t see yours.
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Kj
Thanks for the generous offer
One site I have looked at is Lomond Woods at Balloch as the site is an easy walk to the railway station and it seems a nice area at the southern end of Loch Lomond. Another is Red Deer Village at Stepps although I am a bit uncertain of the local area.
David
PS not trying to hijack OP's post but I am sure once he has visited Scotland he will want to go back so all recommendation could be useful in the future?
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DavidK, if you stayed at Ayr the train takes about an hour to Glasgow, quite an easy way to do it. Then you've got the bus and subway to choose from in the city. Central Glasgow was built on a grid system so fairly easy to navigate, a bit like N American towns. Harder in a car with the one way systems unless you really know your way around.
Scotrail LINK
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Thanks Brue, Ayr does seem an option and sort of two birds with one stone as well. Train fare seems quite reasonable, even less with our rail card. Not been to that south/west part of Scotland.
David
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Dumfries and Galloway is lovely DK, particularly the coastal areas. Can highly recommend Mull of Kintyre as well. We have stayed on Carradale Site (in log cabins) a few times. Mainly November when Site was closed, so we had the whole Bay to ourselves. Very interesting locations. Heck of a drive though, without using ferries. Easily 13 hours from where we live, but the scenery is stunning.
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DK- We use Lomond Woods on a fairly regular basis as it’s only an hour from us it’s a nice site but can be expensive but it is good well laid out and has fully serviced pitches as well as dedicated MH pitches. It’s only a 10 min walk in to town where the train will take you in to Glasgow. On the door step is Lomond Shores outlet within is a nice place a few shops and they do a farmers market there too and there are plenty of places for eating the views of the loch from here are nice. Right across the road from the site is a pub The Queen of The Loch they do nice meals at a nice price
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Just one Word Of Warning about D & G tho' ~~ Beware of the area round Newton Stewart !! As has been said it is a beautiful area -- for that reason it is used as the No 1 training area for the Midgie SAS ( and Brian ain't joking !! ) in the season they can cover the area in huge mobile clouds ! In the late '80s we stayed at a Forestry Commission site in Glen Trool where they were experimenting with huge ginormous external Blue anti-midge lights similar to those found in certain shops { like butchers etc } but I think the wee beasties took 'em down and scrapped 'em !!
Signed
A B M
{ One Who Knows & bears the scars
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Or a nice CL with views over Loch Lomond, drive to the west fringes of Glasgow, and safe parking outside our daughter's house near a good bus service into town.
Gartfairn CL, Balmaha....can recommend it. Just don't try towing down on a nice sunny weekend day as the road gets very busy.
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We are of course locals, but I think Glasgow is much easier to navigate than Edinburgh. Mind you, it is a good while since we last took the car into town, so not up to date on parking charges.
For the city centre, in a car, the St Enoch multi- storey is good, but of course not for a MH.
With a MH you would certainly want to use public transport.
The CL I had in mind overlooking Loch Lomond is the one Nellie mentioned.
We used to have a CL nearby in Milngavie, but it went a few years back. There are a few farms in our area which could accommodate a CL, not sure how one would suggest that to them. One already has a caravan storage area.
Ayr is useful for visiting the area and Culzean Castle ( NTS) , but a good way from Glasgow.
Not sure on the Red Deer site, not an area I would choose for a holiday, but if they are successfully operating a site it must be OK.
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