[Closed] So you think you know about Scotland?

Elf. £114 4 hrs 15 on the train return

Elf. £114 4 hrs 15 on the train return. Where else you going to get to that cheaply that quickly?

Barçelona. Total of I think it were around £70 return, including transfers. And takes less time door to door.

Barçelona.

there's a spar on the right hand side (heading toward creiff) and the post office on the left. post office looks more "home made"
apaprently methven was kind of rough for a while but is ok now.
chatni is the best indian i've ever had. also a decent looking real ale festival weekend after next
there's a new development on the north east side of town though, 200+ houses which might have an impact on the town

Great road riding from Methven, fantastic loop from there through Little Glen Shee. Only for Genuine Scottish Hard-Men though.

Elfin you stick to Epping Forest son.

And takes less time door to door.

Bollocks.

buchanty spout, cross the river then back down the other side of the glen, via harrietfield and on to pitcairngreen 9a lovely little piece of rural england thet fell on perthshire) poss stop at pitcairngreen inn, tnen back toward harrietfield, head toward methven and on to the glenalmond road.
nice trip.
hard? sma' glen to aberfeldy and back. (maybe later)

don't know when you were lat in the area, but the creiff roads a bit mental these days - love it on a motorbike though

And takes less time door to door.

Bollocks.

yes, you'd almost think he didn't know what he was talking about and had made it up, wouldn't you?

........or this

[img] [/img]

Grum; took me a total of just over 4 hours. DLR to Stratford then train to Stanstead, total of about 55 mins. Then 1 hr check in etc, 1hr30' flight, 20 mins or so through customs in Bar[b]ç[/b]a, then a 20 minute bus journey.

Would take me about 40 mins to get to Kings Cross, 10-15 to find platform etc, then 4hrs 15 to where was it, Glasgow? Then transfer to wherever? So that's over 5 hours.

yes, you'd almost think he didn't know what he was talking about and had made it up, wouldn't you?

What was that you were saying about commenting on something you know nothing about? 😉

Flight was forty pounds return with Sleazy. DLR was a pound or so, train return to Stanstead was twenty pounds or so, bus from Bar[b]ç[/b]elona yafut was actually it was free cos the ticket machine weren't working! 😀

buchanty spout,

Bar[b]ç[/b]a

Bar[b]ç[/b]elona

😆 @ Don....

Get if ****ing right then.... 😈
Bar[b]ç[/b]a or Bar[b]c[/b]elona, but NOT Bar[b]ç[/b]elona... 😆

I appreciate I am butting into private grief, but whilst the premise of that article may be correct, I think Scotland and Ireland are massively over represented in the media compared to say people from Birmingham or other Northern english centres - or indeed the South West or East Anglia.

Not just in the media either. Despite Scottish moaning about English political rule, they already get a much better deal than the north of England does.

i think the scotch have made a pretty decent case for their cultural heritage here. i don't think you can doubt their architecture, fine food and majestic scenery.

sadly that all counts for nothing on account of their god awful diddly diddly music.

Not just in the media either. Despite Scottish moaning about English political rule, they already get a much better deal than the north of England does.

Not this Scot. I feel like telling the whingers to shut up in case they ruin the relatively sweet deal we have in terms of a decent level of local representation / decision making plus the benefits of union.

Status quo all the way I say.

i don't understand why scotchland (and wales, for that matter) has its own television programming (BBC Scotland) and yet there is no BBC England.

i'd agree that the scotch are over represented in the media.

but i like scotchland, though.... there is a statue of my Great Great Great Great Great Grandfather on Princes Street/Road in Edinbrrr, [url= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Young_Simpson ]Sir James Young Simpson[/url], Queens Vic's physician.

[img] [/img]

Wunundred! 😀

the relatively sweet deal we have in terms of a decent level of local representation / decision making plus the benefits of union.

😮

Biscuit, any one? Kettle's on....

i don't understand why scotchland (and wales, for that matter) has its own television programming (BBC Scotland) and yet there is no BBC England.

well they don't say "And now on BBC England....." yet they do say "Ahnd noew on BBC Scotchland weel be taaking a loook at blah blah blah"

Elf,

The good news is that Greyhound are going to start an overnight sleeper bus service (it might even have started I've not got my finger on the pulse). So you could go to sleep in London and wake up in Scotland (in fact you can already do this on the sleeper train - and it will take you right to some proper mountain biking). However the new bus service will have tickets from £1! So there is no excuse! Accommodation is not Eastern Europe cheap, but comparable to most of the UK and much cheaper than that London. Bothies are free! Youth hostels and bunk houses provide perfect basic accommodation when biking.

I've never seen, met, or heard of anyone being verbally abused or badly treated for being English, unless it was in "banter" and they started it. Even behind their back. I've certainly never been aware of anyone being made to feel uncomfortable as a result. Not saying it doesn't happen, but in the bits you'd want to visit then I'd be disappointed if that was your lasting impression. You are much more likely to get that experience from people on internet forums (just as Scots are likely to get the feeling we are despised by the English!).

You might think the culture is not that different - but we had a summer student working with us this year who is originally from Ghana but studying in London at the moment. She couldn't get over how different the culture was - and that was in the centre of Glasgow. She much preferred Glasgow - finding it a much friendlier, more welcoming and more relaxed place. She did however find the weather bloody miserable!

So I am sure there are enough Scots on here who would be delighted to convince you in person that your impression of Scotland (possibly except the weather) is wrong, so when can expect you?

P.S. As a well Educated Scot, I got 4/9 (and one of them was 1/2 guessed!) so the questions and relevance to understanding Scotland and why we might feel disconnected is a bit off. In fact I might even go as far as to suggest that they are the sort of understanding of "culture" that you get in the Guardian, a paper which is not at all popular in Scotland!

So I am sure there are enough Scots on here who would be delighted to convince you in person that your impression of Scotland (possibly except the weather) is wrong, so when can expect you?

See, that's nice and positive, that. Helps to give a sassenach like me a better feeling about the place. 🙂

You can get to Glasgow on a train from London in 4 and half hours - not too many places in Europe you can get to quicker than that.

2hrs 15 eurostar to paris.
dull grey architecture and gobby neds trashed on buckfast? or something a bit more refined?
a tough call.

dull grey architecture and gobby neds trashed on buckfast?

I haven't read anything, but from all the places I have been in GB Scotland is by far the best. If we could, we would have moved up there in a heart beat. The only two things i would miss are my LBS and the motorcycle rides.

PFFFFTTTTT £20 for the train?

[IMG] [/IMG]

Can't bring a bike Elfin; but I will lend you my 10yo's Kona Makena, it should fit you.

There is BBC England. You are so sure of your colonial mastery, you just call it BBC1. 🙂 You let us have local news so we can find out the weather outside of London.

You let us have local news so we can find out the weather outside of London.

what ? like you need to be told that it will be freezing cold and pissing down ?

Worked there earler this year....great country. Only anti-English bias was sadly in the gutter press. Travelling between England and Scotland makes you realise just how cynical the tabloid press is...anti-Scotish south of the border and anti-English north of the border...just to sell more papers.

trailmonkey - Member

You let us have local news so we can find out the weather outside of London.

what ? like you need to be told that it will be freezing cold and pissing down ?

Posted 42 minutes ago # Report-Post

Last year when the early snows hit at the start of Dec, we had two feet in 12 hours (just outside Montrose.) Main news has a perky weather girl telling us there MAY be snow showers in Scotland, then getting on to the fact it would be 12deg in London, but a North wind would make it feel colder, so wrap up!

Clear sky today - sunshine and blue skys

But as cold on the bike this morning as a snowman's feet.

[b]You[/b] are so sure of [b]your[/b] colonial mastery, [b]you[/b] just call it BBC1

ok duckman, who exactly is this [b]you[/b] that you're talking about ?

you obviously don't seem aware of this so let me spell it out for you. contrary to common misconceptions, rather than being a nation of bnp/edl racially pure supermen, [b]we[/b] are a rainbow nation of people from all over the world. so is this colonial master that you talk about a person borne of nigerian parents or maybe someone who is half irish half jamaican ? probably a 3rd generation british indian who is conducting the colonial masterplan from their council flat in rochdale. if you are an historian which you have claimed to be then you should have some awareness that england has long been ruled by an aristocratic elite hailing from scandanavia via normandy that has little common ancestory with the rest of the country and by and large had treated the people from within the boundaries of england with the same contempt that it has treated those from without - reference the tolpuddle martyrs or the peterloo massacre or the miners strike.

of course all of this is something that i would expect an intellectual to be aware of, an historian even more so.

the only people i would expect to be in posession of the facts but ignore them would be knuckle dragging nationalists.

we are a rainbow nation of people from all over the world.......

Well Scotland has a lot of 'catching up' to do with respect to ethnic & cultural diversity and it is the only region of the UK run by a Nationalist Party, perhaps it's [i]them[/i] who are still thinking out of the Victorian Age 😆

hilldodger - Member
we are a rainbow nation of people from all over the world.......
Well Scotland has a lot of 'catching up' to do with respect to ethnic & cultural diversity...

Waddya mean? We've got plenty of cultural diversity. We're a mixture of completely different types of humans.

There's the Campbells, and then the rest of us. 🙂

epicyclo - Member

Waddya mean? We've got plenty of cultural diversity. We're a mixture of completely different types of humans.

There's the Campbells, and then the rest of us.

😆

What's EDL?

Like the SNP? 😉

zokes - Member

What's EDL?

Like the SNP?

Nooooo, Scottish Nationalism isn't really 'nationalism' apparently....

...well even if it is it's "Nice Nationalism" rather than "Nasty Nationalism" 😆

Trailmonkey...it's like this; see the smiley in my post? That is meant to represent it being tongue in cheek. I could quite easily correct your post for you, I especially like this bit...

if you are an historian which you have claimed to be then you should have some awareness that england has long been ruled by an aristocratic elite hailing from scandanavia via normandy that has little common ancestory with the rest of the country

However, the sun is shining,and this is a quite enjoyable thread...So I won't bother...Obviously I would like to say that I am really pleased to hear how racially diverse England is now. Big changes in the decade since I lived there,but if you say England is a rainbow nation,then it must be.

Hilldodger; Polished brass sign at reception in the Clachaig Inn in Glencoe

"No hawkers or Campbells"

[img] [/img]

I hope that is from the hotel, and not your front door...

duckman - Member
I hope that is from the hotel, and not your front door...

zokes - Member

What's EDL?

Like the SNP?

Nooooo, Scottish Nationalism isn't really 'nationalism' apparently....

...well even if it is it's "Nice Nationalism" rather than "Nasty Nationalism"

see my previous answer - Edinburgh Defence League - a clique of people engaged in the act of defending the indefensible with preposterous and bullshit replies.

So yes, pretty much the same as the SNP

BigButSlimmerBloke - Member

Edinburgh Defence League - a clique of people engaged in the act of defending the indefensible with preposterous and bullshit replies.

Does one person, even if they're really persistent and repetititititive, constitute a clique ??

Yes; see Mike Russell as an example. No teacher in Scotland wants CFE, but Mike does,so here it comes.

I met Mike Russell and he came across as a tool.

That might not suprise you.

There's the Campbells, and then the rest of us. 🙂

😥

It's quite depressing really. Scotland has the best scenery in the UK, the best wilderness, the best outdoors, the best access rights. It has some marvellous campsites, hotels resaurants and bothies. However, it does have a reputation in the tourist trade of being a little unfriendly, and this is still the case. We just don't have the proper service mentality about giving an excellent customer experience, we are getting better, but have left a reputation.

The weather - we get some good days, but it is the weather that has shaped the landscape, produced the crops we eat and the whisky we drink, so what if it rains, wear a coat!

You don't want to go to Scotland, then fair enough, however you would be losing out on some truely amazing scenery, some delicious MTB and Road Bike routes, brilliant wilderness, great walks and stunning beaches.

Some say it is expensive - what baloney, it is as expensive as you want to pay. Plenty of free camping about, bring a campervan and park up almost wherever you want. B&B, hotels same price if not cheaper than England, plenty of Bunkhouses and Bothies. Eat from supermarkets, booze is cheap too.

Lure of southern Europe and superb weather is very strong, but can't believe how many southerners dont make the wee trip up north. Those that do love it....