Basics - The Rough Guide to Scotland - page 25

TRAIN AND COACH INFORMATION
East Coast W eastcoast.co.uk T 08457 225333. Trains to Edinburgh,
Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness.
Man in Seat 61 W seat61.com. The best train information website on
the internet.
National Express W nationalexpress.com T 08717 818178.
Coaches to Scotland.
National Rail W nationalrail.co.uk T 08457 484950. Information
and fares for all train services and companies.
ScotRail W scotrail.co.uk. Caledonian Sleeper train to Glasgow,
Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William.
Traveline Scotland W travelinescotland.com. Excellent
Scotland-wide journey planner, connected to the latest bus and
train timetables.
Virgin W virgintrains.co.uk. Trains to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

From Australia and
New Zealand
Flight time from Australia and New Zealand to
Scotland is at least 22 hours. There are a wide
variety of routes, with those touching down in
Southeast Asia the quickest and cheapest on
average. To reach Scotland, you usually have to
change planes either in London - the most
popular choice - or in another European gateway
such as Paris or Amsterdam. Given the length of the
journey involved, you might be better off including
a night's stopover in your itinerary.
The cheapest scheduled flights to London are
usually to be found on one of the Asian airlines,
such as Malaysia Airlines ( W malaysiaairlines.com)
or Thai Airways (thaiair.com). Average return fares
(including taxes) from eastern Australian cities to
London are Aus$1500-2000 in low season, and
Aus$2000-2500 in high season. Fares from Perth
or Darwin cost around Aus$200 less. Return fares
from Auckland to London range between
NZ$2000 and NZ$3000 depending on the season,
route and carrier.

FERRY COMPANIES
DFDS Seaways W dfdsseaways.com. Ferries from Europe.
P&O Ferries W poferries.com. Ferries from Ireland.
Stena Line W stenaline.co.uk. Ferries from Ireland.

Getting around
The majority of Scots live in the central
belt, with Glasgow in the west and
Edinburgh in the east. Public transport in
this region is e cient and most places
are easily accessible by train and bus.
Further south and north it can be a
different story: off the main routes,
public transport services are few and far
between, particularly in more remote
parts of the Highlands and Islands. With
careful planning, however, practically
everywhere is accessible, and the
scenery is usually adequate compensa-
tion for a long journey.

From South Africa
There are no direct flights from South Africa to
Scotland, so you must change planes en route. The
quickest and cheapest route to take is via London ,
with flight time around eleven hours, usually
overnight. Return fares from Cape Town to London
are around ZAR10,000; try British Airways ( W ba
.com), South African Airways ( W flysaa.com) or Virgin
Atlantic ( W virgin-atlantic.com). You'll save money if
you buy the next leg of your journey to Scotland
separately, through one of the budget airlines.

TRAVEL AGENTS AND OPERATORS
ebookers W ebookers.com, T 02033 203320. Low fares on an
extensive selection of scheduled flights and package deals.
North South Travel W northsouthtravel.co.uk, T 01245 608291.
Friendly, competitive travel agency, offering discounted fares worldwide.
Profits are used to support projects in the developing world, especially the
promotion of sustainable tourism.
STA Travel W statravel.com, T 03333 210099. Worldwide
specialists in independent travel; also student IDs, travel insurance, car
rental, rail passes, and more. Good discounts for students and under-26s.
Trailfinders W trailfinders.com, T 020 7368 1200. One of the
best-informed and most e cient agents for independent travellers.
Travel CUTS W travelcuts.com, T 18006 672887. Canadian youth
and student travel firm.
USIT W usit.ie, T 016 021906. Ireland's main student and youth
travel specialists.

By train
Scotland has a modest rail network , at its densest
in the central belt, skeletal in the Highlands, and
nonexistent in the Islands. ScotRail ( W scotrail.co.uk)
runs the majority of train services, reaching all the
major towns - sometimes on lines rated among the
great scenic routes of the world.
You can buy train tickets at most stations, but if
the ticket o ce is closed, or the automatic machine
isn't working, you may buy your ticket on board
from the inspector using cash or a credit card. Those
eligible for a national rail pass (£30) can obtain
discounted tickets, with up to a third off most fares.
These include the 16-25 Railcard , for full-time