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In summer of 2006 I took a trip to Scotland with my father. We reserved a MINI Cooper S through Guy Salmon Prestige Car Rental. We arrived to find that there'd been a mistake, and they didn't have the Cooper S available. But..."Would you take this Cooper S Convertible instead?" Twist my arm...
As with many European rental cars, this was a standard transmission, not an automatic. Hurray!
We drove for a week, from Edinburgh over to the Isle of Mull, past Loch Ness, up to Inverness, and back to Edinburgh.
The car...
Here I am thinking: "Hmm. Convertible MINI, sunny afternoon in Scotland...life is good."
Preparing to board the ferry to Mull:
Aboard another ferry:
Note that a week's luggage for two (and a laptop and a camera bag) can be fit into the drop-top MINI, but it takes some doing.
My dad, ready to take the wheel. "Wait, this has HOW many gears?"
That's all the shots of the car. Some other random pics:
Mull
Edinburgh
Colloden Viaduct
Ruthven Barracks
Abbey ruins. I forget which one.
Edradour Distillery
Despite warnings that the weather could be awful when we were there (July), it was sunny almost every day. I had a sunburned forehead! The car was great fun, too. Perfect for two, and I very much enjoyed driving it. (Except along Loch Ness, which was a nightmare of 15-mph motor homes.) I'd definitely do it again. And driving this car for a week was really what got me to thinking I needed to buy a MINI of my own, which I did.
As to cost: It was NOT cheap to rent the car. Renting ANY car in Scotland costs quite a bit, and Guy Salmon's offerings are not your ordinary cars. Current rental rate on this car is 115 Pounds Sterling per day for a week's rental, or around $1155 for a week at today's exchange rate. Of course, we were only paying the coupe rate, 89 Pounds a day, but that's still a chunk of change. And then there's the gas ($5 per gallon), and the tolls, and the parking in the cities. That much money buys a lot of train tickets and cab fares. But I'll always have the memory of clicking through the gears on a winding road beside the Hebrides coast, along massive green mountains and deep blue water, with the top down and the wind blowing my hair...
How tough was it to get accustomed to driving on the left? I'm taking the family to Scotland this Winter and am scared to death with the prospect of driving on the wrong side of the road. I try envisioning myself on the opposite side of the road and everytime I imagine a roundabout I get confused about where I'm supposed to be as we eneter the circle. I'm renting a big old van with auto trans to avoid the additional headache of shifting left-handed.
__________________ "The eagerly awaited Mini has arrived with the emotional appeal of a puppy, the high-style gloss of a fashion magazine and the technological edge of a Los Alamos lab." —New Car Test Drive
My grandfather was a little boy in 1890 when my great-grandfather came to America from Scotland to escape the potato famine. My last name is Campbell. I really appreciate your pictures of the "old sod".
Great pictures, Dan! I was there two years ago, and especially enjoyed the Edradour distillery. By any chance did you visit the scotch museum in Edinburg? Nice tasting, and a ride through the museum in whiskey casks. Very glad the sun made an appearance for you... not always the case.
Great pictures, Dan! I was there two years ago, and especially enjoyed the Edradour distillery. By any chance did you visit the scotch museum in Edinburg? Nice tasting, and a ride through the museum in whiskey casks. Very glad the sun made an appearance for you... not always the case.
Ed - is the ride you describe at the Scotch Whiskey Experience on the Royal Mile? I'm putting together my trip for next Christmas and want to make it as entertaining as possible for the whole family. The kids might like a ride while we get snookered.
__________________ "The eagerly awaited Mini has arrived with the emotional appeal of a puppy, the high-style gloss of a fashion magazine and the technological edge of a Los Alamos lab." —New Car Test Drive
Beautiful images of a beautiful country. I hope to make the 50th Anniversary Party in Silverstone and I haven't driven on the wrong side since the middle 1980's in Japan. I hope to do some motoring but I'm still a little apprehensive.
Ed - is the ride you describe at the Scotch Whiskey Experience on the Royal Mile? I'm putting together my trip for next Christmas and want to make it as entertaining as possible for the whole family. The kids might like a ride while we get snookered.
