Basics - The Rough Guide to Scottish Highlands and Islands - page 43

map and familiarize yourself with how to navigate
using it.
Virtually every service station in Scotland stocks
at least one large-format road atlas , covering all
of Britain at around three miles to one inch, and
generally including larger-scale plans of major towns.
For getting between major towns and cities a sat
nav or GPS-enabled smartphone is hard to beat, but
you'll have less luck in rural areas, where landmarks
and even entire roads can be positioned incorrectly,
leading to long and sometimes expensive detours.

many places now stay open on Sundays and late at
night on Thursdays or Fridays. Large supermarkets
typically stay open till 8pm or 10pm and a few
manage 24-hour opening (excluding Sunday).
However, there are also plenty of towns and villages
where you'll find very little open on a Sunday, and
in the Outer Hebrides in particular, the Sabbath is
strictly observed. Many small towns across the
Highlands and Islands also retain an “ early closing
day ” - often Wednesday - when shops close at 1pm.
In the Highlands and Islands you'll find precious few
attractions open outside the tourist season (Easter to
Oct), though ruins, parks and gardens are normally
accessible year-round. Note that last entrance can be
an hour (or more) before the published closing time.

Money

The basic unit of currency in the UK is the pound
sterling (£), divided into 100 pence (p). Coins come in
denominations of 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1 and £2.
Bank of England £5, £10, £20 and £50 banknotes are
legal tender in Scotland; in addition the Bank of
Scotland (HBOS), the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)
and the Clydesdale Bank issue their own banknotes
in all the same denominations, plus a £100 note. All
Scottish notes are legal tender throughout the UK, no
matter what shopkeepers south of the border might
say. In general, few people use £50 or £100 notes, and
shopkeepers are likely to treat them with suspicion;
fear of forgeries is widespread. At the time of going to
press, £1 was worth around $1.50, €1.20, Can$1.60,
Aus$1.70 and NZ$1.90. For the most up-to-date
exchange rates, check the useful website W xe.com.
Credit/debit cards are by far the most convenient
way to carry your money, and most hotels, shops and
restaurants in Scotland accept the major brand cards.
In every sizeable town in Scotland, and in some
surprisingly small places too, you'll find a branch of
at least one of the big Scottish high-street banks ,
usually with an AT M attached. However, on some
islands, and in remoter parts, you may find there is
only a mobile bank that runs to a timetable (usually
available from the local post o ce). General banking
hours are Monday to Friday from 9 or 9.30am to 4 or
5pm, though some branches are open until slightly
later on Thursdays. Post o ces charge no commis-
sion , have longer opening hours, and are therefore
often a good place to change money and cheques.
Lost or stolen credit/debit cards should be reported
to the police and the following numbers: MasterCard
T 0800 964767; Visa T 0800 891725.

Phones

Public payphones are still occasionally found in the
Highlands and Islands, though with the ubiquity of
mobile phones, they're seldom used.
If you're taking your mobile phone with you to
Scotland, check with your service provider whether
your phone will work abroad and what the call
charges will be. The cost of calls within the EU has
decreased significantly within recent years, but calls
to destinations further afield are still unregulated
and can be prohibitively expensive. Unless you have
a tri-band phone, it's unlikely that a mobile bought
for use in the US will work outside the States and
vice versa. Mobiles in Australia and New Zealand
generally use the same system as the UK so should
work fine. All the main UK networks cover the
Highlands and Islands, though you'll still find many
places in among the hills or out on the islands
where there's no signal at all. If you're in a rural area
and having trouble with reception, simply ask a local
where the strongest signals are found nearby.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
O cial bank holidays in Scotland operate
on: January 1 and 2; Good Friday; the first
and last Monday in May; the last Monday
in August; St Andrew's Day (Nov 30);
Christmas Day (Dec 25); and Boxing Day
(Dec 26). In addition, all Scottish towns
have one-day holidays in spring, summer
and autumn - dates vary from place to
place but normally fall on a Monday. While
many local shops and businesses close on
these days, few tourist-related businesses
observe the holidays, particularly in the
summer months.

Opening hours and
public holidays
Traditional shop hours in Scotland are Monday to
Saturday 9am to 5.30 or 6pm. In the bigger towns,