Have I mentioned that we're going to Scotland this summer?
Well, we are. My whole family: my parents, my sisters, their husbands, Paul and me, and the three grandkids (at the time, that will mean one 3-year-old and two 4-month-olds).
We'll be flying over together and touring much of the country, skipping The Borders in favor of spending most of our time in the Highlands and Islands.
I've been madly devouring literature set in Scotland, Scotland guide books and coffee table books, and a book of Scottish nursery rhymes that came with an accompanying audiotape. I am getting psyched.
So. What do I wear?
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12 comments:
Be prepared that it might be freezing. 12 degrees with a cold wind and constant rain for days on end.
That said, it may well be sunny and 25 degrees as well, so be prepared for that too.
We were in Scotland in late June, everywhere from Inverness south and "over the sea to Skye." I wore either chinos or a trouser-skirt with tights, and long-sleeved tops every day, a sweater if we were anywhere besides the city, and a trench coat over that. I had walking shoes that looked good with skirts. The wind is wet and chill, especially on the coasts and Culloden Moor.
Scottish castles website. My faves: Urquhart on Loch Ness, Donnottar south of Aberdeen, Eilean Donan between Loch Ness and Skye, and the royal daddy, Edinburgh Castle.
Good luck getting those babies to sleep. Besides the time change, you'll be fighting a sun that doesn't set until 10 pm or later and pops back up around 3 am.
Oh, and watch out for the sheep in the road. They have serious attitude. I have tea towels from England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the Scot tea towel lists "sheep games." You should come see it sometime. And my photos. And I should give you the kids' cassette tape I bought when we lived in Surrey...
Thank you, Dimitra! That's helpful advice, though it took me until the "25" to get that you are talking about Celcius! (I'll need to brush up on my metric before the trip.)
Camera, that's awesome; exactly what I was hoping for. Thank you! What's a trouser skirt?
Just a skirt made out of chino / khaki material, with a fly and belt loops like pants would have. Usually straight instead of A-line; I'm wider at the hips than shoulders and tend to avoid any skirt that gets wider rather than being straight.
The whole idea was I didn't wear jeans except maybe to fly, just khakis / chinos, and when I wore a skirt it was a pretty casual one and I was cold enough to wear tights under it rather than just pantihose. But we never went anywhere dressy to eat.
Wear what my college roommate's Scottish boyfriend wore to keg parties: a kilt with no underwear! Nice family friendly attire, no?
Just FYI... if you're planning to rent a minivan w/ a DVD player or VCR to keep Ellie entertained while traveling, Brits don't have the same coding as America, so don't take any DVDs or videotapes from the States (unless you're also taking a laptop computer to play the DVDs on.)
I can't say for certain about CDs. You'll have to Google it.
Audio cassettes do work, but it seemed to me (15 years ago) that the one in our British car was a little bit faster / slower (I forget which) than the ones in America. I could have just been hearin' things, tho.
Quick and easy metric temperature cheat: 10 degrees C is 50 degrees F; 20 degrees C is 72 degrees F. 30 degrees C means the natives start dyin' over there; it's a mild St. Louis August 94 F.
A rain jacket.
Weather is variable here in lovely Scotland, even in summer. Plus the Highlands and Isles are really windy. So even if it's bright and sunny you'll be grateful for the windbreaker/waterproof.
Also, don't mist the Edinburgh Fringe/International Festival in August. It's full of excellent stuff, including child-friendly stuff.
--IP
i was there but a short time.. in thurso.. i loved it up there. i wish i could live there. :)
Lucky you!
My in-laws originally wanted for everyone to go to Scotland, then it changed to the Bahamas, and now it is South Carolina. It sounds terribly spoiled of me but I am bummed.
Thank you all! Thank you!
CCW, well, I'm sure South Carolina will be lovely, but it's . . . a lot more . . . reasonable than a transAtlantic adventure!
Reasonable! I like that...
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