Visiting Scotland

Scotland offers an amazing variety of scenery and historic sites. From the grandeur of spectacular castles such as Stirling and Edinburgh, to old country towns such as St. Andrews and Dunkeld, from unspoilt coastline, to mountains, lochs, glens and moorland.

Edinburgh has some fine eighteenth century terraces in the New Town area. The Old Town offers mediaeval closes, along the Royal Mile. The city is dominated by the Castle which is open to the public and displays the Scottish Crown Jewels as well as the newly returned Stone of Destiny. During August the city is home to the Edinburgh Festival, a festival of music, drama, and increasingly cinema. On any night the visitor will be offered an array of literally hundreds of different shows.

Glasgow is world-renowned for its variety of museums and galleries, most notably the Gallery of Modern Art, the McLellan Gallery, The Kelvingrove Museum and the Burrel Collection. Glasgow is also the biggest shopping city in Scotland. Princes Square is a restored and enclosed Georgian square with several levels of shops.

Accommodation in and around Edinburgh

As well as offering "hosbeartality" to visiting guests, people may chose to stay in several bed and breakfasts around the city. There are several gay-run and gay-friendly B&Bs.

Garlands Guest House, 48 Pilrig Street. Located just off Leith Walk, this guest house is handy for all the venues. Telephone number +44 (0)131 554 4205.

Ardmor House, 43 Pilrig Street. Also located just off Leith Walk. They also have some apartments to rent. Telephone number +44 (0)131 554 4944.

Alva House, 45 Alva Place. An exclusively gay-male-only guest house. Shared and private bathrooms. Breakfast available till midday. Rates from £29 per room, incl. breakfast to £49 for a superior suite with own bathroom. Telephone number +44 (0)131 558 1382

Travel Information

Scotland is easy to get to by road, rail or air. The major rail companies operating into Scotland from England are Virgin Trains and GNER. Scotrail also runs a daily sleeper service from London Euston to most major cities in Scotland. By air Glasgow and Edinburgh are the two major airports, both are well served by domestic and international airlines. Transatlantic flights arrive at both Edinburgh and Glasgow. Some budget flights also land at Glasgow Prestwick, thirty miles south west of the city. Aberdeen, Inverness, Dundee, and Lerwick on Shetland also have airports with services to London and elsewhere, while most of the major islands have flight connections to Edinburgh and/or Glasgow.

Transport Links

• First Scotrail - Rail travel within Scotland.
• National Express - Rail service from London via Yorkshire and the Northeast.
• Virgin Rail - Rail service from London via the Northwest and the Midlands.
• TheTrainline - Book your tickets online.
• National Rail - Check UK train times and fares.

• Scottish City Link - Long distance coaches within Scotland and from England.

• British Airways - The largest air carrier into Scotland.
• BMI - Another large airline.
• BMI Baby - Budget division of BMI.
• EasyJet - Longest established budget airline into Scotland.
• RyanAir - Another budget airline, operating mainly from Glasgow Prestwick airport.

• The Scottish Tourist Board