Seeking Scotland travel advice (couple of specific questions)

April 26, 2024 6:05 PM

Question 1. Regarding Perth and Dunfermline. Question 2. Regarding Wigtown.

Question 1. I will be in Scotland for about 6 weeks this summer, solo, so making decisions based only on my wishes woooo hoooo and have found a two-night slot that I would like to use to visit Dunfermline and Perth. Traveling from Glasgow to Perth by train, one night in Perth, travel from Perth to Dunfermline by train, one night in Dunfermline, travel to Edinburgh by train(, then about 3 weeks in Edinburgh, plus a lot of other wonderful things and places). Perth interests me primarily because of the new museum, and also because I can catch a bus to the Hermitage. Dunfermline interests me because of the abbey and Palace, and just kind of generally the history of the place.
So my question is whether I should spend 2 nights in Perth and then the travel day in Dunfermline (no hotel) or should I spend one night in each town.
Are there sights or sites that I'm not taking into account in either of these spots that would make one or the other worth more heavily weighting the allotted time? I'm super interested in the history of the places (as well as the artifacts in the new museum) generally more than nature but the Hermitage seems absolutely magical.

Question 2. I am thinking of returning to Edinburgh for the last week of December, mainly to get a taste of Hogmanay but also the Christmas markets. I don't celebrate most holidays but I do like to see pretty lights and decor. How much time would I need, in your opinion, to add a visit to Wigtown to my itinerary and is the dead of winter the world's worst time to visit Wigtown? Really all I want to do there is soak in the atmosphere of the Book Capitol of Scotland. It seems a little hard to get to without a car and while I enjoy a train ride, I'm not sure that I want to commit such a large amount of time to train travel during a short visit. (If I include Wigtown, should I consider flying home to SFO through an airport other than Edinburgh and if so, which one?)

Thank you so much for any thoughts you may have!

posted by janey47 to Travel & Transportation around Scotland (5 answers total)

From the perspective of someone who lives in Scotland, rather than experiencing it as a tourist:

Q1 - I'd spend two nights in Perth, and spend a day in Dunfermline on your way down to Edinburgh. Dunfermline is quite close to Edinburgh and I think you'll find more things to do in and around Perth.

Q2 - Wigtown is a very long way from Edinburgh or Glasgow, along roads that are not that great, and I wouldn't want to be travelling out that way if there's any chance of bad weather. I suspect for atmosphere you'd be better off visiting Wigtown during the book festival anyway. I'd explore the bookshops in Edinburgh instead!
posted by offog at 6:38 PM on April 26 [6 favorites]

I went to Wigtown a few years ago and AFAIK it doesn't even have a railway service--we went as far as Dumfries by train from Edinburgh and then by bus the rest of the way. (Just checked the Scotrail website--no station at Wigtown.)
posted by Logophiliac at 12:43 AM on April 27

Response by poster: @logophiliac, yes, thus my questions, which were, how much time to allocate given the time required to travel there, and whether winter would be a mistake. Did you have thoughts on those?
posted by janey47 at 1:49 AM on April 27

Best answer: Wigtown does indeed have many bookshops that you could visit - but which would be at their most lively in the run up to Christmas rather than the week after. If you had your own transportation then Dumfries and Galloway would be a plausible (if niche) side trip at that of year. With public transport it becomes doubtful IMHO. As mentioned: many good book shops and experiences in Edinburgh.

I also echo the notion of spending more time in Perth than Dunfermline as it has both more accommodation options and that it is more of a train and bus transport hub. Dunfermline can be done as a day trip from Perth in fact - and you can reach Dunked by train.

I note that Peter Irvine has a new edition of the long running guide Scotland The Best out - and would recommend it for your rather more specialist interests. As a Scot it is the guide I would look to for trips in my own country.
posted by rongorongo at 2:36 AM on April 27 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Another vote for not bothering with Wigtown in winter. Bear in mind it’ll be dark about 4pm at that time of year, and potentially wet/freezing even during daylight. When you say “last week in December”, what dates are you talking about? All shops will be closed on 25 and likely 26 December (and 1 and 2 January). If the Wigtown bookshops are small, independent stores, I’d say there’s a fair chance of many of them staying closed between Christmas and Hogmanay to give the owners a break after the festive rush - might be worth contacting some and asking.

I just had a look on google maps and it suggests that Edinburgh to Wigtown on public transport leaving right now (lunchtime Saturday), would take 5h30m, via two trains and two buses. Given the likelihood of delays in winter having a knock-on effect on any or all of those connections, there’s a lot of potential for finding yourself stuck at a random bus stop in the sleet/staring out the window at pure darkness for hours on end.

If you have six weeks in Scotland in summer, you should 100% go to Wigtown then, when there’s daylight to see by, pleasant enough temperatures to be outside, less likely to be ice on the road/rails, open shops, etc. Take two days out of that summer 3 weeks in Edinburgh.

Yep, stay in Perth, not Dunfermline.

Also, just to warn you, the Christmas markets are extremely busy, with queues to enter, and from what I hear, largely just repeats of the same stalls over and over again. Definitely go if you like the idea, but set your expectations low so that you can be pleasantly surprised, rather than thinking it’ll be a magical wonderland and being disappointed! Not wanting to be a downer - you’ll definitely find plenty of Xmas mid-winter cosiness around the city, I just go past the market by bus every year and think it looks a bit hellish inside! You might like to look into booking for The Dome, which is a bar/restaurant that’s known for its spectacular Christmas decorations.

Also (you probably know this, but…) plan ahead well for Hogmanay, as everything (even bars) will be ticketed entry. The street party is really aimed at 20-somethings who are content to wander round the streets drinking with their pals for a few hours - I did it as a student but wouldn’t enjoy it now; the concert in the gardens is good if you like the headline act. Your best bet might be to look for a ceilidh - there’ll be a fair few on and then that’s you sorted for the night.
posted by penguin pie at 4:10 AM on April 27 [3 favorites]