Visiting Northern England and the Scottish Lowlands

[pflipp]

Well, it has been decided. The first two weeks of November I will be off. My plan is to take a ferry trip to England and Scotland.

The travel plan: From arrival to Hull I want to take the bicycle to York. From there I will travel by train to Edinburgh (with stops inbetween). From Edinburgh I want to bike to Glasgow. Finally I'll take the train back to Edinburgh and depart from there. I hope to get by with just the ferry tickets and a B&B guide.

The entertainment plan: Well, here's where you come in. I'll be armed with my high C and D flutes, casually interested in trad music and the Glasgow pop scene. I was just thinking that there might be good advice amongst trad players for such a trip, from a musical perspective or otherwise. (I'll also have to check for tips with my Scottisch collegues.)

[BigDavy]

Hi pflipp

For starters, you can have a look at The Gig Guide click on Glasgow or Edinburgh to get taken to the appropriate listing pages.

If you know what days you are in Glasgow, Silver Spear or Uilliam or I could point you to the sessions on those days.

David

[mutepointe]

Well, it has been decided. I am not ever going on a vacation you plan. Too much biking and no mention of desserts or pastry shops at all. Have a good time. We'll want to see pictures.

[Innocent Bystander]

First off, you are expecting to take your bike by train. Take careful check of whether bicycles are permitted on the trains you expect to take. Since the Great Train Robbery, when British Rail was sold to the capitalists, every Rail company has its own rules. These vary with times of day and with the type of service (intercity, local service, express). Trains no longer have guards vans as standard - this was one of the pettifogging rules that so constricted the Nationalised service, but it meant that there was somewhere to carry your bike without getting in everyone's way.

Nowadays, you just have to get in everyone's way.

I used to cycle around Edinburgh. That was a long time ago. Sandy Bell's up in Teviot Row was the place to go for music, back then.
If you like ruins, there are a dozen castles (not counting the obvious one) within easy cycling distance of Edinburgh.
Craigmillar castle is very pretty, and worth a trip, even if you don't look at the others. Don't make the mistake of actually going to Craigmillar Housing Estate, though. That would be bad, and possibly dangerous. Fortunately the castle is some distance away.

[missy]

I just got back from a business trip to Newcastle Upon Tyne, and friends took me up the coast to Lindisfarne and Holy Island. May be a little out of the way than you were planning, but beautiful area. I know my friends bike all over the area.

[pflipp]

Thanks all, tomorrow's the day. I'll try to book the railways a day in advance. I'll also make sure to get my share of desserts and pastries. (The bike is only there to carry my luggage in the train and to allow me to drink ) My dad will join me for the Scotland part, so maybe I won't have that much time for sessions or related stuff over there, but who knows.