To wonder why Scotland isn’t more popular as a holiday destination

[N0rdicStar]

Just been watching that hidden Scotland programme. I promise you I don’t work for the tourist board.

I lived there as a forces child for a few years and was born there previously. Loved it but my mother hated it and refused to ever go back so we never did. Know nobody else who has ever holidayed there but oh my goodness it’s beautiful and seems to have everything- history, beaches, mountains, wildlife.....

Why do we all flock to Cornwall and the Lake District?

Is it the weather? Can’t just be the distance as the above are long distances for many.

On the back of that can you give me the best bits.

@Holyshitbags

Seriously the midgie hysteria on here is mad. I live on the West coast and Ive NEVER seen any.

Trying to find a shop, post office or cafe that was OPEN was a nightmare!

I’ll defend my nation to the hilt, but this I have to agree with. Come away from the big cities and we do let tourists down quite a bit. I remember being in Aviemore one Saturday evening of a holiday weekend and was really surprised to find pretty much all the cafes, shops etc were closed by 5.30. The streets were quite busy with people but the only shop still open was the Co-op. The only place to eat was within the big hotel restaurants. Any other touristy place had places in the local town open, albeit I guess others don’t have quite so many large hotels close by. Places like Crieff and Blairgowrie (last time I was there) still stuck to half day closing on a Wednesday. And try getting a meal between 2 and 6 anywhere, or finding a quick pee stop is difficult beyond bigger places. I know it’s not easy for smaller places but others manage. We do need to up our game off the beaten track.

it always rains

Same in Manchester. I visit often and can count on one hand the number of times it hasn’t rained. People still go there!

Anyone but England
The Scots tend to be drawn to an underdog. And as others have said, Man U never cheer for Man City. Rangers never for Celtic. The centuries old rivalry pretty much only remains in sport. If that puts anyone off,,then we don’t want you here!

Anti English sentiment happens elsewhere
I agree. Having been to various European places often, we do find that saying we are Scottish changes attitudes to us. Some of the Anti English sentiment on the Continent is stronger than any I’ve experienced in Scotland.

Well then you may prefer the various festivals in Dumfries and Galloway, the amazing food, the banter on a night out in Glasgow, we aren't just about the scenery

I am extremely glad to find that I am entirely wrong about the sentiment of ABE.

@redglitter
I hope you’re right
Am stocking up on Avon’s skin so soft just in case lol
Scotland has been on our bucket list for years and we are finally starting our tour. West coast this year, and next year we’ll carry on round :-) I can’t wait!!
Anything on the west coast that I mustn’t miss???

We spent our childhood holidays in Scotland as my parents loved it there. We had great holidays and did all the sights. My DH is from Scotland and it is a great place.

These days I love to swim in the sea in a warm country and Scotland does not tick any boxes in this dept. Now we go to Greece or Cyprus every year, but still visit for the Edinburgh festival if we can.

We plan eventually to go to Orkney as my DHs GGD is from there and moved south to work in the industry on the Clyde.

We had our honeymoon in Scotland. We went up West coast, we visited Skye, Eigg, Orkneys, Coll and Lewis. We went to several beautiful castles, Loch Ness, Trossacks, Loch Fine and then back down East coast with more castles. We loved it. Mountains are huge, many beautiful Lochs to hike around. In rural areas just don't expect to dine after 6pm. We have been back a couple of times since.

Try getting a family friendly meal in a Spanish town like Salamanca, sevillle before 9pm or Tuscany before 730 - plenty of parts of Europe have different meal and shop schedules.

Or a veggie one!

Scotland is on my list but for someone who lives as South as you can get without being in the sea, it's very expensive to get there. Not going to drive up, it's wasting too much of the holiday and for the price of a train ticket I could fly to Europe and get a hotel for the night (same with a flight). One day though.

Isn't it funny how people's experiences of the same place differ - we regularly go to Aviemore and one year I vowed I wasn't cooking so ate out every night. At around 5/5.30 and we managed to eat in a different place each night no problem - unlike the previous poster

NotASpringChicken So you won't be joining the Orkney Polar Bears on their daily sea swims then?

Scotland is amazing for holidays, there is nowhere like it (when the weather is good). We used to go a lot when ds was small and we only had one holiday when the weather was dull, and I've never seen a midge. It's a great place to go with small kids.

As a pp said, it's a long way to drive from the south of England and you do end up doing a lot of driving even if you fly to Scotland and hire a car and for those reasons, once we discovered the Channel Islands we started going there instead (30 min flight from Southampton) though we've had the odd weekend in Glasgow or Edinburgh since we stopped having our main holidays there.

Orkney is still on my bucket list.

Oh and I think it rains far more in Wales than it does in Scotland!

Oh and I have absolutely no idea why people flock to Cornwall, given they've got to drive through Devon to get there, OP.

Can't comment on the Lakes as I've never been there (while old enough to remember).

I'm another one struggling to understand anyone not finding somewhere to eat in Aviemore after 5.30 we used to visit all the time (family holiday home) the tearooms close but there are pubs that do food, a family friendly chip shop with table service, a very popular Italian, The Cairngorm, I never had to resort to eating in The MacDonald hotels, did the previous poster not think to look up trip advisor or ask a local? Admittedly you would probably need to book at weekends but i tend to do that that anyway.

Oh and I have absolutely no idea why people flock to Cornwall, given they've got to drive through Devon to get there, OP.

I agree, I adore Devon. It is one of my favourite places in the UK. We've been going every year and still find new things to see and do.

We go every year. The beaches are so beautiful it’s breath-taking. And I’ve been to beaches in India/Australia/Africa/New Zealand etc! No one on them. White sands and clear waters. Seen Minky whales, otters, porpoises, eagles. Some years we have been exceptionally lucky with the weather but always a mixed bag so that’s the only downside. No mossies. Friendly people. Empty roads. If the beaches that we visit were anywhere else then it would be heaving but it’s in Scotland and fortunately for us no-one thinks it’s a good holiday destination. One day they will be featured in the travel pages of the Guardian and then it’ll be all over...

Oh and I've had holidays all over England and Wales and never had a week of unbroken good weather yet! I've definitely experienced more thunderstorms down south, not fun when camping! It's a long drive from Scotland and others will disagree but I felt it worthwhile to make sure my children had a feel for different parts of the island we live on.

Missyfafa, interesting you compare our beaches favourably with New Zealand, I sometimes read threads where people are enquiring about emigrating ( usually from the SE) to NZ because they want their family to have a less pressured life with more space, scenery and outdoor activities and presumably lower house prices, I always think " just try Scotland FFS" but maybe they really want to be miles away from annoying families or something.

We were blown away by the beaches in the Hebrides, absolutely stunning. White sand and beautiful clear blue water, totally unspoiled. Like a PP we've seen some beaches on our travels but nothing like we saw in the Hebrides. Luskentyre is beyond gorgeous, you can walk forever along it. We're not beachy people in that we don't like lying on the beach regardless of the weather but we love walking along it, again regardless of the weather.

People don't care about weather or midges it is culture and experiences they are looking for

You say this and you’re a travel agent?
People care very very much about weather! It’s all very well beautiful environment but if it’s lashing it down with rain and a biting wind, it’s bloody hard to focus and enjoy!

I love Scotland inc the weather, when we did the nc500 in April 16. In one afternoon all within about two hours we had snow fall, blazing sun, and then rain creating stunning double rainbows which we were above. All seasons in a short space of time. Loved the dramatic weathers and winds in the mountains.

Also the beaches are stunning! White sand and crystal clear waters, one of my pictures taken on my phone was used for a promotion by the NC500. Have fond memories of searching for Groatie Buckie’s on the beaches of Caithness.

We are only going as far as the borders this year.

Hopefully we will explore the islands next year.

The beach at Mellon Udrigle, where my granny was from, is one of the best beaches I've ever been to. Think about it often.

@Mmmmbrekkie - I’ve been in NZ where the wind was so strong it was like stocking your head out of the window of a moving car (literally catching your breath as the rain lashed down). It was bloody brilliant andnone if the best holidays I ever had.

I don’t ‘do’ sunny holidays and found the
Pacific islands too boost hot and burney