General Information on Scotland
 Where is it?
A silly question. Or is it? Contrary to
the belief of some, Scotland is not in
northern England, nor is it just outside London. Or next to Russia or just west of
Germany.
As long as the pilot knows the way..
Map of Scotland – just for guidance. It’s approximately 45 miles (70kms) between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Driving
You may want to hire a car. Advisable? This depends upon your confidence. Generally speaking, roads are narrower and might be busier than typical towns and cities in North America. Towns and cities over here were built long before the car was dreamed up. Or the bus. Also, on our inter-city roads (motorways- freeways or highways in the US) you may find drivers go faster than in the US and the cars are smaller- only the rich can afford to run a gas-guzzler over here! There’s probably less difficulty for European visitors except we use ‘miles per hour’ and not ‘kilometres per hour’ like they do in most countries. Important to remember so you don’t cause gridlock across Scotland as you amble along at 70kmh and not 70mph (around 110kmh).
Of course the real joy for you is being able to drive on the correct side of the road in the UK!! We drive on the left when most of the world drives on the right. Just to keep it interesting. Also, most cars tend to be gear stick/ manual, although you can hire an automatic.
Overall, and unless you plan on extensive touring and significant mileage, it’s as easy to jump on a train or hire a driver/ taxi. It won’t be much of a holiday if you’re breaking out in a cold sweat when you get in a car. Remember that, unless you live in Luxembourg, Scotland is a small country and whilst us natives complain about it, our public transport network is actually quite good.
Weather
What can we say about the weather? A lot. Like all Brits, the Scots are obsessed by talking about the weather. In fact, if the weather was consistently good (oh, and if we didn’t have football), we would be a silent nation. There’s a saying in Scotland that if you don’t like the weather, wait for 20 minutes; it will change. Not far off the truth. At best, it can be unpredictable. Thankfully nobody comes to Scotland for the weather.
There are a few myths though. It is not always raining. In fact, Edinburgh and much of Scotland’s east coast get a lower annual rainfall than Rome and New York. And when it does rain in Scotland, just remember today’s rain is tomorrow’s whisky! Just remember where you are; Aberdeen in Scotland is on the same latitude as Moscow and the southern tip of Alaska. We don’t get the extremes. A typical winter’s day might be around 6C (43F) and a summer’s day around 20C (68F). It does get colder; it does get hotter, rarely below freezing, and occasionally into the high 20sC (mid 80sF). Either way, bring a sweater.
However, the best thing about the weather in the summer months are the long days. Yes, you really can still play golf in northern Scotland approaching 11pm. And for early-birds, the sun’s back up again before 4am!
See. You were warned that we like to talk about the weather.
For real-life weather info, the BBC website might be of use.
Currency/ money (Scottish notes)
In Scotland, we use (British) Pound Sterling. This is the same money used across the United Kingdom (that’s Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland). Note, (the Republic of) Ireland is not part of the UK and is an independent country.
There are pence (pennies) and pounds. Notes are available in £1 (rare now), £5, £10, £20 and £50. There’s also a £100 note in Scotland but nobody will probably take it, making it virtually worthless- if you get one, change it in the banks for smaller denominations.
Banks are generally open 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday with currency kiosks open longer in the larger cities. Don’t change them anywhere else or you’re as well setting fire to 20% (or more) of your money. The easiest way to pay for things is to put them on a debit card/ credit card or to withdraw local currency (usually Scottish banknotes) from ATM. Your regular debit/ checking card should work for this- check with your bank before you travel.
The United Kingdom is not part of the Euro (€) and it will be very difficult using Euros for payment, other than in some of the larger stores. And whilst US dollars may look very nice, they are not much use to people in Scotland so you cannot pay with them either.
For an accurate currency rate, take a look at XE.com.
Visa requirements
You need to check entry requirements into the UK (this includes Scotland) in your country before you travel. It’s a long way to come if they won’t let you in.
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