“You tak’ the high Road an’ I’ll tak’ the low road” and we will enjoy a Scottish vacation together, in the Scottish highlands and in the lowlands of Bonnie Scotland. Most people visit Edinburgh and then claim they have “done Scotland”. Others head straight for the Isle of Skye or for Gleneagles Hotel or St. Andrews for a round of golf and then claim the same thing.

You don’t “do Scotland” in a day, or even a few days. Ten days to two weeks is what it takes to experience what Scotland has to offer, and even that is nothing more than a taste of more to come should you wish to return – and most do. So what is needed for you to see Scotland in all her glory? This proud country that has withstood the ravages of invading English, sometimes with great success and sometimes not?

One of the first things you will notice on your Scotland vacation, whether in the Scottish highlands or in the lowlands, is the pride of the people in their country and of their friendliness to visitors. Then you notice the scenery and everything else that makes Scotland what it is. Let’s start on your ideal vacation in Scotland with the type of service you should expect.

First, if traveling from a distance, such as anywhere in the USA, you must travel at least business class. It is 5 hours out and 8 hours back (due to the jet stream), so you will want to travel in comfort. Then you should have personal attention – your personal guide, individual car and chauffeur and first class rail travel. The accommodation in Scotland is generally excellent, but even that should be extra special just for you and your partner or friend.

Scotland’s capital city is Edinburgh, and is universally acclaimed as one of the most beautiful in the world. Its main street, Princes Street, is lined with stores and boutiques on one side, and by the gardens on the other where you cannot miss the famous Edinburgh Castle, perched high on a volcanic plug overlooking the entire city. The largest city in the country is Glasgow, about an hour drive away, designed largely by Sir Charles Rennie Mackintosh and home of the famous Burrell collection of art. Glasgow is second only to London as the largest retail center in the UK.

Having visited these two magnificent cities your Scotland vacation should now leave the lowlands of Scotland, and head for the Scottish highlands. The beauty of Loch Lomond, the longest inland loch in the UK, deserves its reputation, and you mustn’t miss it when visiting Scotland. Luss, on the banks of the loch, is a good place to stop for a pint of Scottish beer and to see how kilts bagpipes are made. The bagpipes are Scotland’s national musical instrument, though some my debate the term ‘musical’.

Scotland is steeped in history, and Inveraray Castle is close by on the sea loch, Loch Fyne. This is the ancestral home of the chief of the Campbells, the Duke of Argyle: more about them below! You should then head for Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Great Britain, and just south of there is the gloomy Glencoe, where in 1692 the Campbells were the guests of the MacDonald clan for the best part of a week.

By order of the English king, whom the Campbells supported, they massacred the MacDonalds one wintry Scottish night while they were asleep. Few survived – those that escaped immediate death later froze on the mountains or on Rannoch moor where survival was impossible on a freezing winter’s night. The Campbells have never been forgiven for this treachery, and Glencoe is still a dark and brooding place. It is well worth visiting, as is the Rannoch moor close by.

You should now head off for Mallaig and get the ferry over to the Isle of Skye. Before you reach Mallaig you will pass Glenfinnan, and the memorial on the site where Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) landed in Scotland to claim the Scottish throne – a venture that saw them as far as Derby before the whole campaign ended in tears and slaughter on the field of Culloden close to Inverness, away to the east of here.

Skye itself is a must for any Scotland vacation, and is a beautiful and mysterious island. Dunvegan castle is the seat of the Macleod clan, and still hold the remnants of the ‘Fairy Flag’ that the MacLeods carried into battle. They believed that the flag could call up a fairy army to help them when needed.

Now you must visit Loch Ness and see if you can spot the Loch Ness Monster – many have, and it is amazing how a few good Scottish malt whiskies (no ‘e’ in Scots whisky) make the monster much easier to spot. You pass the loch on your way to Inverness that every Scotland vacation should include in its itinerary. The ancient capital of the highlands, Inverness is just a short drive away from the aforementioned Culloden, where you can still see the mounds under which the clansmen were buried in mass graves after the slaughter. Fought on 16th April, 1746, it was the last battle on British soil, and the last in which claymores tried to defeat muskets and bayonets.

Other places you must visit while on vacation in the Scottish highlands and lowlands include Fife and St. Andrews, with its championship links golf courses, Stirling Castle, Falkirk and the Monument to William Wallace of ‘Braveheart’ fame and many other great Scottish historical sites. You must visit a distillery or two and try out the single malt whiskies, and Rosslyn Chapel is worth a visit. Close to Edinburgh, this has connections with the Knights Templar, and features in Dan Brown’s book ‘The Da Vinci Code’.

Then finish off back in Edinburgh, with perhaps a visit to the haunted vaults under the city or to Mary Queen of Scots’ home, Holyrood Palace. You can visit her bedroom and other apartments in the Palace, situated close to the new Scottish Parliament.

A Scotland vacation in the Scottish highlands and lowlands is the way to ‘do Scotland’ and after all of the above you can truly claim to have ‘done it properly’.

I think it is fair to say that Irish weather is pretty notorious. It is known for being both weepingly wet and laughingly unpredictable. A devilish combination if ever there was one. But does it deserve this infamous reputation? Probably not, but the Irish do such a good job complaining about it, that everyone is convinced it does. Including, the Irish themselves.

Average annual rainfall in Ireland runs to 30 inches. Quite a lot you may think. But Seattle, Washington gets 36in, New York, 45in (ok, 28in of that is snow) and Miami gets a whopping 60in of rainfall! No snow there. So Ireland is not that wet after all. In fact, the average Earthly rainfall is 34in, so we are begrudgingly below average. So why does everyone think Ireland is so wet when it is in fact below average? The reason is that most normal climates get all or most of their rain out the way in one season, leaving the remainder of the year mostly dry. Not in Ireland. We like to spread it throughout the whole year. We have the warm Atlantic Gulf Stream to thank for that. It keeps our winters mild, our summers cool and makes both equally likely to produce a shower of rain at any time.

Which brings me to the unpredictable nature of Irish weather. OK, here I must raise my hands in surrender, or at least Irish Weather would if it had a conscience. Everything you have heard is true, no point denying it. Beautiful and sunny in the morning, grey and torrential by the afternoon. It would be great if you could set your watch by it, but you most certainly can not. The reverse could just as easily be the case. But, most likely the reverse in various guises numerous times over before noon will be true. Hence, the favorite phrase of those brave men and women at the Irish Meteorological Office when forecasting the weather: sunny spells and scattered showers. Spring and autumn are particularly schizophrenic, when hail and thunder may be experienced in the same day as the aforementioned sunny spells.

Many people ask us: what is the weather like in Ireland in May, or September? The short, honest answer is we have not got a clue. Every year is different. Sure, we have seasons, but our seasons are generalizations at best. They are a reasonable indication of temperature and whether schools will be open, but little more. I cannot speak for my colleagues, but I usually base my answer to the above question on my memory of that month’s weather the previous year, while couching my response in language supplied by our weather lawyer. Take this summer so far. May this year was depressingly wet. It rained almost every day. By the end of the month the entire population of Ireland was on the brink of psychological breakdown. Thankfully, the first two weeks of June were fantastic, but the following two were nondescript; overcast, but dry for the most part. July was been up and down, days of rain followed by days of intense heat and sunshine. August started well, but took a turn for the worse this week. What will it be like next week? No one knows.

So what is a sane person to do? The Irish answer is to talk about it. I am not sure if we actually love talking about the weather, but it certainly makes for an easy conversation opener. Friends who have known each other 50 years will comment on the day’s weather before moving to more important topics. But it works just as well for strangers on a train. It is the common burden or joy we all share, depending on the day. You will never offend anyone by commenting on the weather since no one cam claim credit and no one can be blamed.

But what can you do as a visitor to Ireland to prepare for Irish weather? Well, I was sitting under the awning outside a coffee shop one afternoon last week. It had started raining an hour previously. Prior to that it had been sunny and warm for almost four days. It had seemed like sunshine was our right. I noticed, as I sipped my latte, that all the locals were dashing about in tee-shirts, sun dresses and sleeveless blouses getting rather drenched. On the other hand, every tourist I saw was strolling around sporting rainproof jackets, quite unperturbed by the sudden change in the weather. The moral of this story? The answer to this question? Forget the Irish, be like the tourists. Be prepared.

Top Tips for beating Irish Weather:
1. Bring a rainproof jacket and shoes (and trousers if you intend golfing, hiking or cycling)
2. Bring layers of clothes that you can put on or take off as the weather dictates.
3. Watch the weather forecast so you know what to expect the next day. It is on after every news bulletin on tv and is often the funniest thing you will see all day. The forecasts are normally very accurate. Our weathermen and women are probably the best in the world.
4. If in doubt, ask a farmer
5. Do not let bad weather get you down. Get out there and do exactly what you planned to do. Irish weather changes fast. Thankfully, half the time it changes for the better.
6. Never, ever complain about the heat, dryness, humidity or sunshine.

With Ryanair based at London’s Stansted Airport and EasyJet based at Luton, it is relatively easy to book cheap internal flights in Britain. This is because Ryanair and EasyJet are two of the most competitive low cost carriers in Europe.

Other low cost airlines, such as Go, sometimes find themselves competing with one or the other of these two carriers on internal flights in Britain or Ireland. This often leads to cut throat pricing by the big two no frills airlines, so you can sometimes get very good deals if you book your ticket in the middle of a blazing hot price war.

EasyJet serves more than one hundred destinations in 27 countries throughout Europe and the north of Africa.

Ryanair flies to the following destinations in England from various origin cities:

Birmingham (Birmingham International Airport)
Bournemouth (Bournemouth Airport)
Bristol (Bristol International Airport)
Doncaster/Sheffield (Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield)
Durham (Durham Tees Valley Airport)
East Midlands (East Midlands Airport)
Leeds/Bradford (Leeds Bradford International Airport)
Liverpool (Liverpool John Lennon Airport)
London (Gatwick, Luton and Stansted)
Manchester (Manchester Airport)
Newcastle (Newcastle Airport)
Newquay (Newquay Cornwall Airport)

In Northern Ireland, Ryanair serves Belfast at George Best Belfast City Airport and Derry in the City of Derry Airport.

Scotland is also served by Ryanair, with Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow Prestwick Airport), and Inverness Airport among its airports in the UK.

Exploring other Options for Cheap Internal Flights in Britain

Ryanair and EasyJet’s web sites are great sources of cheap internal flights in Britain. They frequently offer great deals on flights both within and outside of the UK. The fact that two low cost carriers serve so many British cities means that other airlines that wouldn’t be regarded as “no frills”, low cost airlines must maintain competitive rates on similar routes within the British Isles. So airliners such as Aer Lingus, British Airways and British Midland Airways (bmi) are frequently forced to keep their fares low on internal British flights.

Cheap internal flights in Britain can also be found on aggregator web sites that trawl the web in search of the best deals. These aggregator web sites search airline web sites, booking agents and other sources, so it is likely that you will find excellent deals using the aggregators. Aggregators finance their web sites through advertising and affiliate deals with car rental companies and hotels, so they don’t charge fees for the searches or even when you make a booking through their site.

There are many great destinations in the United Kingdom and locating cheap internal flights in Britain will allow you to explore an area over a weekend or for a day break without the burden of taking too much luggage. You can visit the Tower of London or Edinburgh Castle, Belfast’s impressive City Hall or you can take in a soccer match in Liverpool or Manchester, with little more than an overnight bag. So check out all of the available cheap internal flights in Britain today.