Home | Hebridean Research | Beltane 2010 | Agnes 100 | DIAGEO DISGRACE | PEGASUS FARM | Events Elsewhere | Charitable Pleas | OHIO SCOTTISH GAMES | BOOKS | Tigh na Creige | GAELIC | Tartan Day 2009 | Annual July Picnic | Profiles | Poetry | Afghanistan | CONCERTS | Community Outreach | AWCS | Rose & Thistle Award | Scottish Songs | Travel | SAS'Y NEWS | Tartan History | Genealogy | Culture | Resources | Chess Sets | Beltane Vendor/Service Group Application Forms | MEMBERSHIP | PIPERS PAGE | Events - Past & Upcoming | Sale or Trade | Special Events | Scottish News | Scottish Suffragettes | SCOTTISH SNIPPETS | Clan Spotlight | Bulletin Board | Photo Album | Related Links | Contact Us
Travel

Scottish American Society

TRAVEL INFORMATION - tours, warnings, recent journeys of interest.

Always ask the recommended accommodation and/or travel service if they offer a discount to our members.  Many do offer discounts to our members, but in some cases you have had to be a member for a lengthy period of time.  We have registered most of you so far, but check with us before you contact them. 
*     *     *     *     *

STIRLING GHOSTWALK
2010 marks the 20th Anniversary of the STIRLING GHOSTWALK – a dramatic guided tours of the spooks and crannies of the foremost of Scotland’s historic Royal Burghs...and, since 2001, it’s newest City.

Starting at the Stirling Old Town Jail, the tour travels through the historic Valley Cemetery, featuring sites as Mar’s Wark, the Stirling Guildhall and Holy Rude Church – all in the shadow of stately Stirling Castle – with actors bringing to life colourful characters and stories from the rich folklore of the Castle Rock, the former favoured seat of the ruling House of Stewart.

Jack Rankin ‘the Happy Hangman’, the Hellfire and Brimstone preacher Blind Alick Lyon (reputed to have vanished on the Holy Rude kirkyard’s Ladies Hill, battling the devil) and the amorous merchant ‘Auld Staney Breeks’ have been delighting boys and ghouls of all ages for two decades.

To celebrate twenty years of ‘Waking the Dead’, we’re offering discounts to guests to local hotels, patrons of Stirling’s museums and galleries - and members of Caledonian Societies, such as yours – throughout 2010.

Should any of your members be visiting Scotland or Stirling, this year, we’d be grateful if you could advise them that they will be guaranteed a 10% discount on our usual ticket price (£6 for adults, £4 for children, students and seniors) on production of their membership card (or other accreditation) for your society. A 20-25% discount will be available for pre-booked group parties of ten persons or more.

For further details visit http://www.stirlingghostwalk.com/

Tours run from Tuesday-to-Saturday in the peak of the tourist season, in July and August, starting at 8.30pm – and at 8.00pm every Friday evening throughout the rest of the year.

*************************

Scottish Bank Note Warning
One of our members warns that if you are traveling on a mixed European itinerary with an early stop in Scotland or Northern Ireland and later plan to exchange UK pounds outside the UK, make sure you request Bank of England notes to start with.  Scottish notes may not be accepted outside of Scotland. 

To read a detailed explanation by the Bank of Scotland, written to one of our members who encountered the problem while on his way to serve in Afghanistan, please click here.

*******************************************************************************

For information on rental of luxury self-catering apartments for business or pleasure, contact Glasgow City Flats. Click here.

For information on a beautiful Victorian Villa called the "Belhaven Hotel" conveniently located in North Berwick (east of Edinburgh) click here:

2006 Scottish American Society Tour of Scotland Click here.

Arrangements for the Scottish American Society tour were made through Alex J. Hood of Scottish Highland Trails.  He came to us highly recommended and certainly lived up to our expectations.  Click on the link below for more information on this service.  Alex will now give a 7.5% discount on Scottish travel arrangements made through his firm by registered members of the Scottish American Society.

Scottish Highland Trails

SCOTTISH HIGHLAND TRAILS
7 Dalmahoy Crescent, Balerno EH14 7DF Scotland
Telephone: +44 (0) 131 449 9500 Fax: +44 (0) 131 449 9501
E-mail: enquiries@highlandtrails.com
***********************************************************************

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ryanair strikes again:
 
27 February 2009
"Ryanair’s chief executive said Europe’s largest budget carrier might start charging passengers for using the toilet while flying, but his spokesman cautioned Michael O’Leary often just made things up at will.

“One thing we have looked at in the past and are looking at again is the possibility of maybe putting a coin slot on the toilet door so that people might actually have to spend a pound ($1.43) to spend a penny in future,” O’Leary told BBC television.

He said this would not inconvenience passengers traveling without cash. “I don't think there is anybody in history that has got on board a Ryanair aircraft with less than a pound.”

****************************************************

So one more caution, folks.  If you fly Ryanair, use the facility in the airport before boarding.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BEWARE RYANAIR

After now having recently traveled on Ryanair, I can only verify that they are worse than even I had anticipated.  If you are considering them - please make other travel plans.  In mentioning our plans with various folks living in Great Britain the response was uniform - don't do it.  Make other plans.  Pay any price or swim the Irish Sea with your luggage on your back (now there's an image) - but above all - fly by another carrier.  Any other carrier.  Or take the ferry. 

One of my objectives in this section is to help as much as I can with folks who are planning travel primarily throughout the British Isles and Ireland. We recently ran into a travel scam perpetrated by the venerable Ryanair. Since I know many of you have used this airline in the past and so have we, this seems particularly relevant to our readers.  I won't go into great detail here, but I did want you to know that they have a cute little trick they pull. (If you would like to read the specific correspondence, contact me via e-mail and I will happily forward it to you.)

After you make an online booking you must pay for it before they allow you to verify the details. This is, of course, unlike online purchases made through most any reputable firm. If you find a mistake - even if it is instantly recognized - you must pay an additional and exorbitant amount to correct it. We ran into this, unfortunately. We had to use our tickets - they were non-refundable. But I will never again deal with them.

It would have been far cheaper to fly almost any other airline and there are many that fly from Scotland to Ireland and elsewhere. Depending upon your destination, you can check with Aer Lingus, Obodo, Aer Arann, Airborne Direct, Airline Network (British Airways), and Easy Travel. Any of these fly out of more convenient airports than Prestwick (Ryanair only uses this airport) which is not Glasgow, even though they say it is. It's at least an hour south of the city. You have to arrange transportation into Glasgow on your own.

Here's a good web site to check: http://www.cheapflights.co.uk/flights/Dublin/Scotland/

Make no mistake about it, folks, these are not your much adored, laid back, leprechaun loving, Guiness gulping genial Irish. This firm is run by a devious hard bitten businessmen out to make a deceitful profit from the traveling public. Deal with them if you feel you must, but be very aware that you may get taken. It can be well worth paying a little more to travel via a more reputable carrier.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WARNING

Some people have had extremely unpleasant experiences with overseas tour arrangments.  If you are planning to take a group to Scotland, we suggest you check thoroughly on the reputation of the operators before doing business with them. 

One group you might like to contact is the Clan Cunningham Society of America.  You may e-mail them at query@clancunningham.us