Getting around Scotland

For the purposes of getting around Scotland, you can regard the country in three distinct parts. The first is the Central Lowlands, home to 70% of Scots despite occupying just 20% of the land area. This extends from Aberdeen in the north east, down past Dundee to Edinburgh, and then west across Scotland's central belt taking in Stirling en route to Glasgow and Clydeside, before finally heading south to take in Ayr. The second part is everywhere else in mainland Scotland. And the third comprises the inhabited islands.

Central Lowlands
Getting around the Central Lowlands is relatively straightforward. The distances involved are relatively short, the provision of transport infrastructure is fairly good, and the level of service available on public transport is quite good. Roads into or out of the main cities can become very congested, especially during the morning and evening peak periods, but whether you are travelling by car, bus, coach or train, you can usually count on getting to where you want to be fairly quickly and without the need for too much detailed planning.
Traveline Scotland has a journey planner for intra-city buses, coaches, trains and ferries.

Mainland Scotland, including Highlands
The rest of mainland Scotland includes the Highlands and Argyll, the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway. Here distances are longer, roads of more variable quality (but far less busy than in the Central Belt), and the provision and level of service on public transport more hit and miss. Rather more forethought and planning is often needed than for a trip within the Central Belt.

Gauging times and distances
As a really rough average, we'd suggest that you should allow at least an hour for every 50 miles if travelling on the A1 or M74 from England to Edinburgh or Glasgow, and at least an hour for every 40 miles of travelling in most of the rest of Scotland, and for every 20-30 miles of travelling on single track roads. And if your destination is time-critical, for example you need to catch a particular ferry, add in an extra hour to start with, and perhaps an extra hour for every couple of hundred miles you are travelling in total. Scotfax has a handy table that shows distances between cities in miles.

Single Track Roads
As you drive through the more remote areas, sooner or later you'll find yourself on a road too narrow to pass the vehicles coming the other way towards you. Welcome to Scotland's single track roads. There are far fewer of these than there used to be, but quite a few still remain. With common sense and a mix of assertiveness and consideration, driving these is not as big a problem as it might seem to first-time visitors, and you can find out all you need to know on the Scotfax Feature on the subject.

Animals in rural areas
Something else you need to watch out for on rural roads in Scotland are animals. Many roads in upland sheep-rearing areas are unfenced, and sheep have vanishingly little road sense: and even where there is a fence, sheep can still be on the road. The lambing season in Spring needs particular care. If you come across a sheep on one side of the road and a lamb on the other, you can guarantee that one will cross to join the other as you approach. But it's not just sheep: it's not uncommon to come across cattle or even goats on the road, and deer jumping out into the path of traffic from undergrowth or in woods cause many road accidents in Scotland.

Ferries
An aspect of driving in Scotland that adds greatly to the enjoyment of the experience is the need to use vehicle ferries to reach many of the inhabited islands: and in places to link together parts of the mainland widely separated by long sea-lochs. Just remember to take notice of, and obey, the instructions from the crew when loading and unloading. And above all else remember to apply your handbrake for the crossing and, if you have any doubts about it, put your vehicle in gear as well.

Petrol stations
Petrol stations are readily available across the whole of Scotland, and many, especially in the cities, are open 24/7. In more remote rural areas, petrol stations will still be there, but can be fewer and further between, fuel tends to be more expensive than in the cities, and they are more likely to closed at night and on Sundays. Despite this, with a bit of forethought, no-one should ever end up running out of fuel in Scotland. Virtually all petrol stations sell unleaded petrol and diesel, and most also sell lead replacement petrol. LPG is less widely available. Virtually all garages take credit cards, though if you you've just arrived somewhere really small and remote, without obvious credit card acceptance signs on view, it is useful to check before filling up.