Kilts. Bagpipes. Sheep. Whisky. Golf. Loch Ness.

Okay, so that's what most people think of when you're talking about Scotland, right?

Perhaps true, but Scotland is much more diverse than that.

Scotland is a land which offers a world of adventure and variety.

With its dozens of seacoast communities and offshore islands, its mountains in the north, its lovely rolling landscape in the middle and south, its hundreds of history-laden castles and its lovely old cities Scotland is truly an enchanting land.

I would love to be able to have a year to spend in Scotland. I might be able to sample about one-tenth of its treats during that time.

But with only five days available, what can one do?

My wife, Emilia, and I took the P&O; Irish Sea ferry (www.poirishsea.com) from Larne, Ireland, to Troon, Scotland, and picked up a rental car at Prestwick Airport (a 10-minute cab ride from the ferry).

We decided to hit the high spots: Troon, Ayr, Kilmarnock, Glasgow, Edinburgh and St. Andrews and whatever interesting we could find in between.

Scotland is justifiably proud of its golf tradition. Golf began as we know it in the 15th century at St. Andrews and is now a game played by nearly everyone in the country. Scotland is about the geographic size of Virginia but has more than 600 golf courses.

Inasmuch as we began our Scottish trek at Troon, we decided to take a look at two of Scotland's most famous golf courses: Royal Troon and Turnberry.

At Royal Troon one of the course pros gave me permission to take a stroll around the course, with a suggestion I walk out to the number 8 hole, a very difficult par 3 of some 140 yards. Known as "The Postage Stamp" the small rolling green is surrounded by evil sandtraps and knee-high rough.

As I was exploring I happened upon two elderly Scottish golfers on the sixth tee. I asked them how I could find my way to the eighth hole and one replied in a strong Scottish brogue: "Don't know . . . never go there, My friend and I have 175 years between the two of us. He is 90 and I am 85. We always play six holes out and six holes back. Never go to number 8."

I asked if they minded if I paid them for one of their old golf balls and took a shot off the sixth tee just to say I had "played" at Troon. "Of course, but you won't need to be paying me for no ball. Fire away." I borrowed a driver and mishit a shot off the tee. "I don't want to have this as my only experience at Troon," I said. "Mind if I hit another shot?"

No problem, they said, so I whacked another one, this one much better.

"I guess I could say I played a round at Troon now," I said.

"Oh, no, lad," said the older gentleman. "You can now say you played TWO rounds at Troon!"

I left Troon with the impression that this was one very tough golf course and an understanding of why the best golfers in the world have trouble breaking par when the British Open is played there periodically.

Just a few miles down the road lay Turnberry, another occasional British Open venue.

I again got permission to tour the course (this time using a golf cart, or buggy as they are called in Europe). The course offers a lot of very scenic oceanfront holes (some with a view of two nearby lighthouses). No shots on this one, however (darn it).

Our first night in Scotland was spent at the Craggallen Guest House in Ayr (phone 01292-264998, web www.craggallan.com), managed by a lovely lady named Margot McLaughlin. This is a place near the ocean, and served as a temporary home for many sea captains and merchants.

It is understandable why Margot was has been nominated for "AA Landlady of the Year" in 2000 in Scotland several times. She is a charmer, a person who can never do enough for you.

Margot is a wheeler-dealer with the local golf courses and does a big business in setting up golf packages for visitors. "We get a lot of golfers in here from Sweden. They can fly in cheaply on Ryan Air. I can set up a six-round golf package that only costs them about 65 pounds (about $125 U. S. dollars)." That's about 20 bucks a round. Cheap golf, even if its not at Troon or Turnberry. "There are some nice courses here," she says.

Ayr is very nicely located for Prestwick Airport and the P&O; Irish Seas ferry (both some 15 minutes away).

From Ayr we trekked north about 40 miles to Glasgow, a city teeming with traffic and commerce. We stayed at the Menzies Glasgow Hotel (phone 0141-2222929, web www.bookmenzies.com), a very nice hotel situated just off the busy Glasgow town centre. A walk around the town centre and dinner at a local pub was highlighted by the gathering of dozens of colorful characters who convened around a nearby pond to sip a few Guinesses and tell tales.

From Glasgow we motored about 45 miles to Edinburgh and a night at The Point Hotel (phone 0131-221-5555, web www.point-hotel.co.uk). This was a great hotel, with many rooms having great views of the nearby mountain-crested Edinburgh Castle.

If there's only one thing you can do in Scotland, you should visit Edinburgh Castle.

Standing like a giant stone sentinel overlooking the city, Edinburg Castle dominates the skyline of the city.

This is a castle steeped in history. You can visit the room where Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to a future king, Henry the First, and walk in the footsteps of royalty.

You can stroll The Royal Mile, a cobblestone shop-filled street leading directly from the castle to the Queen's Palace and Scotland Parliament Building. The Queen's Palace is a lovely place and is still used by British Queen Elizabeth when she visits Scotland. This is Queen Elizabeth's 81st year on earth and the palace gift shop has many interesting objects highlighting her life. Its a downhill walk from the castle to the palace, but a tough journey back (we caught a cab).

Edinburgh is a city of festivals and the castle was busy making plans for the big Tatoo event this summer (a military bands festival). Edinburgh's Festival Fringe each year is the world's largest arts festival, bringing in thousands of performers for shows in nearly 300 venues throughout the city (the 2006 event is Aug. 6-28). The Tattoo, featuring hundreds of colorfully-attired drummers, bagpippers and horn players, runs the same time as the festival. What is a "Tattoo"? The word is derived from the old Dutch term that described the scene when a military band and drums would parade through a garrison town to alert the taverns that it was curfew for the soldiers, the beer taps should be cut off, and the soldiers should return to their barracks. Over the centuries this has evolved into a dazzling display of military band precision, bagpipe glory and emotion, and drum drama that is the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

From Edinburgh we took the coastal roads about 60 miles north to St. Andrews. The quaint coastal towns and terrific views makes this well worth the 90-minute drive.

The best route out of Edinburgh takes you across the giant Firth of Forth toll bridge on A90-M90. Traffic was pretty bad there due to construction work, but its the only way north to St. Andrews.

The little coastal town of Kirkaldy is worth a luncheon or dinner stop if you have time. Great little seaport with character.

At St. Andrews we found the old town has lots of history, dominated, of course, by the fact this is where modern golf was born hundreds of years ago.

We stayed at the Deveron House B&B; (phone 01334-473-513, web www.deveronhouse.com), only 4-5 blocks from the Old Course.

It was foggy and misty during our stay there, but I managed to walk down to the golf area and stroll a few holes at the Old Course and even had my picture taken on the historic stone Swilkin Bridge on hole 17.

The public is allowed to cross the golf course at many locations (with a sign advising: "Warning. Golf in Progress"). Indeed, women were pushing baby buggies across fairway walkways at some points.

I watched a few players hit away and strolled along the gravel path alongside the famed Road Hole (No. 17), where I found three lost balls.

I had to have a souvenir from the Old Course, so I wandered in and out of the various golf shops on the street facing the course. Some shops had golf shirts of more than $200 each. I managed to find a couple of nice logo shirts at the Old Tom Morris golf store for about $35 each.

Even if I had wanted to play the course, I could not have gotten a tee time because of the huge number of people who want to play the course (the course has more than 42,000 players per year). But after checking the golf fees I didn't think it was advisable to play anyway (it would have cost my wife and I more than $1,000 to play a round, including club rentals and caddies).

At the Old Course clubhouse I found a pamphlet advising would-be golfers to make their tee times in September for the following year, with no times available on Sundays and very little chance of getting a Saturday tee time.

Graham Proctor, who manages the Deveron House with his wife, is an avid golfer who says too many people fall victim to the "St. Andrews Old Course Syndrome" and miss out on several other great courses in the St. Andrews area.

"There are many great courses here," he says. "For example, I think the Kingsbarns course is one of the best in the world and it is just five minutes down the road from St. Andrews. The course is six years old and runs right along the seacoast. You either play on or can see the ocean from 14 holes. I have played Pebble Beach in America and I think Kingsbarns is better than Pebble Beach." Proctor offers a 6-round golf package at some of the area's best courses, including Kingsbarns, for about $1,100 per person (includes six nights at the Deveron House)

Proctor says his inn has a corporate membership at the Old Course and he can often help get guests a tee time. Note: In the:summer St. Andrews gets about 19 hours of daylight per day and golfers play up to about 11 p.m.

From St. Andrews we had a long motor trip across Scotland back to Kilmarnock and our ferry boat ride back to Ireland to catch our plane back home.

At Kilmarnock we stayed at the Park Hotel, a great place right next to the town's Rugby Park arena. The service at the Park was first-rate and the rooms were very modern and comfortable. The breakfast was outstanding, as it was many places we stayed. It doesn't get much better than the Park (they even gave us a free shuttle ride to the ferry).

From the ferry we motored back to the airport, staying at the Great Southern Hotel at Shannon Airport. Our flight back to the U. S. found us catching a lucky break: The big plane was only half-filled, meaning some nice room to sleep in the three-seat middle rows all the way back.

For information about Scotland visit the country's official tourist board site at www.visitscotland.com

(Please read the following story about our adventures in Ireland before going to Scotland)
---------------------------
A LAND OF B&Bs;

Ireland Offers Lots Of Ways

To Find Total Enjoyment

By Kenneth Paul Mink

Driving around Ireland one becomes instantly aware of the literally thousands of bed and breakfast locations permeating the Emerald Isle like dimples on a golf ball: They are literally everywhere.

You can hardly drive more than a mile without a B&B; sign popping out at you.

And that is a good thing, for it means more opportunities for tourists to get a chance to sit down with locals and get a good feel for Irish folk and their enchanting land. And, of course, a popping good breakfast of multi fruits, breads, cheeses, bacon, cereals, eggs, sausages, milk, juices, etc., to send you along your way.

For the most part Irish B&Bs; offer good value, aside from the cultural aspect. The majority of them offer en suite rooms (meaning you have your own bathroom and other amenities) for rates of about 30 to 60 Euros per per person per night. Travelers need to be aware when checking rates to be sure they understand the rate is per person per room and that the exchange rate for the American dollar means that generally you must figure about $1.30 for each dollar spent (the rate varies slightly from day to day).

And, for those traveling through both Ireland and Northern Ireland be aware there are both cultural and political differences in the two areas that could affect you financially and socially.

The Irish Catholics and Protestants have been going after each other for hundreds of years, with periods of violence (bombings, shootings) marking some periods in recent history. There have not been any major outbreaks of violence in the past few years as Britain has given Northern Ireland some political freedoms, but it is a touchy subject not worthy of discussion by visiting tourists.

While there is no obvious formal border separating Northern Ireland from the rest of Ireland you can usually tell when you are going from Ireland into Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland likes to be different than Ireland and, consequently, does things differently in many ways. For example, road names and numbers instantly change when going from Ireland to Northern Ireland and road signs in Northern Ireland reflect distances in miles, not kilometers. And in Northern Ireland they use pounds instead of Euros.

But for tourists there is little apparent difference in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Both have their share of beautiful landscapes and interesting people.

My wife, Emilia, and I wanted to see as much of Ireland-Northern Ireland as we could, so we flew into Shannon on the west coast near Limerick and picked up a rental car.

Our first few hours were spent touring along the rocky coast of the Atlantic, taking in Bunratty Castle and the 700-foot-high Cliffs of Moher along the way. Bunratty Castle, built in 1425 and refurbished in 1954, has its own little village (known as "The Jewel of the West of Ireland"). Bunratty Castle also has the Bunratty Folk Park, recreating scenes from 19th century Ireland.

The Irish coastal roads, including N67 which we traveled a lot, are mostly very narrow and bordered by stone walls only inches off the roadway. For Americans, driving on the wrong side of the road this can be a bit daunting at times. One has to learn to drive carefully and allow for the local driving and parking strategies (passing seems to be commonplace anywhere and parking is anywhere you can get your vehicle halfway off the road). The coastal road views are magnificent, with cliffs and stony coves everywhere).

We spent our first night at the Ardawn House B&B; in Galway City (phone 353-91-568833, fax 353-91-563454, email [email protected], web www.galway.net/ardawnhouse) . This proved to be a charming four-star guesthouse operated by Mick and Breda Guilfoyle only minutes from the train and bus depot. The extensive breakfast there includes Atlantic wild salmon. The Galway area is famous for its oysters and hosts an international oyster festival each fall. We found a greyhound dog racing track only a few blocks away and spent a couple of fun hours there (even won a few Euros).

The next day we drove some 75 miles south to Cork, taking in Mallow Castle along our highway N20 route. Mallow Castle is one of some 900 castles in the western Irish counties of Clare, Limerick and Galway (some are doubling as luxurious hotels and some just simply stand in ruins). We stayed at the Killarney Guest House, operated by a charming lady, Margart O'Leary. The 159-year-old guest house (phone 021-4170290, fax 021-4271010, e-mail: [email protected] )is situated across the street from University College Cork and only minutes from the city centre.

One of the things in the Killarney House that attracted our attention was a lifesize replica of a white cairn terrier doggie. We asked about that and Mrs. O'Leary told us this story: "My daughter had a precious little doggie like that for about 14 years but it disappeared one day and we spent a month looking for it. One day my daughter spotted the dog being walked along a street by an elderly blind lady. She said she just did not have the heart to take the doggie away from the blind woman and was secure in the knowledge the dog was in a good home, so she let it be."

The next day we drove along the southern coast to Wexford, about 80 miles away. Along the way we had lunch in the charming seacoast town of Dungarvan, a city much remindful of Annapolis, Md., with its beautiful old streets and charming dock area. We also stopped in Waterford at the famed Waterford Crystal headquarters plant, spending a few hundred dollars on some crystal art which we had shipped back home. The Waterford Crystal plant has a huge showroom area with hundreds of magnificent pieces (even a large crystal grandfather clock).

At Wexford we stayed at Killiane Castle (phone 053-58885, fax 053-58885, www. [email protected]) in the Drinagh area. This was our first chance to stay in a real castle, albeit a modernized attachment to the old ruins. This is a very peaceful location in the countryside, surrounded by cattlefields and meadows. The place may be old, but all the furnishings are modern and comfortable. Jack and Kathleen Mernagh serve up a bountiful breakfast. And, if you want to hone up your golf game a bit there is driving range only half a mile down a secluded lane (the castle will loan you clubs if you did not bring your own).

From Wexford we drove about 60 miles north to Dublin, spending much of the time leisurely exploring several charming coastal towns along the way, including lunch in Wicklow.

In Dublin we stayed at the 15-room Kilronan House B&B; (email [email protected], telephone 353 1 475-5266, fax 353 1 478-2841, web www.kilronanhopuse.com) in the Georgian quarter of Dublin centre. We found a nice little pub for dinner and enjoyed our stay, though Dublin is a thousand year old city teeming with traffic and commerce, perhaps most noted as the onetime home for such notable poets and writers as James Joyce, Oscar Wilde and William Butler Yeats (and the national ale distillery, Guiness, which produces some two million pints a day to quench Irish thirsts).

A week later on our return to Ireland we drove the northern route back to Shannon, including the beutiful Sligo Valley route and a stopover lunch in Sligo, a lovely coastal town remindful of Amsterdam.

Ireland is truly a treat for sore eyes, with its 40 shades of green everywhere, its colorful people, its seemingly endless fieldstone fences, poet-inspiring landscape, its interesting history and its wonderful foods. There are still thousands of people in Ireland who speak Gaelic, with just about all road and public signs printed in both English and Gaelic. There is even some Gaelic-speaking TV shows. Speaking of TV, don't plan on seeing much American TV shows on Irish TV. Most B&Bs; and hotels offer only about 6-8 basic TV channels (and if you don't like soccer you are out of luck, as this topic dominates much of Irish TV -- as it does in many European countries).

If you are planning to visit Ireland or Scotland be aware that the trip will not be cheap. The exchange rate makes most things relatively costly for Americans. The busiest tourist season is from June through August. There are plenty of quality golf courses available (best bargains are those in smaller communities).

Also, if you plan to visit Ireland and make advance reservations for your various destination stops, be sure to get directions to your hotel or B&B; before arriving. Trying to find anything in Ireland (or Scotland) can be frustrating if you are driving as many buildings do not have numbers and street signs are often missing or difficult to locate). And a great many Irish and Scotch have heavy accents often difficult for Americans to understand (its almost like trying to decipher a foreign language).

There is a wonderful feeling of security in Ireland. We rarely saw police, heard a siren or saw a wreck. The people seem to have a genuine interest in others and are quite willing to assist you in any way (in Galway we met a couple at lunch who insisted on taking us on a quick tour of their town in their car). As Yeats once wrote of Ireland: "There are no strangers here...only friends you have not yet met."

From Dublin we drove about 20 miles north to Larne, where we parked our car and took a large P&O; ferry to Troon, Scotland. The P&O; Irish Sea ferry (www.poirishsea.com, phone 01 407 34 34) is a huge triple-deck vessel carrying dozens of vehicles. It offers a wonderful lounge, dining and shopping, along with great views. This was about a two-hour ride to Scotland (we even saw a submarine along the way) and a wonderful way to get from Ireland to Scotland (the ferry offers several trips per day to Troon and Cairnryan, where you can pick up a train or rent a car or get a plane at the nearby Prestwick Airport).

Be wary when renting a car in Ireland or Scotland. Make sure you understand what the rate will be in dollars, not just in Euros or pounds. The difference can be shocking. The best bet is to book your car in advance on the internet, getting a full explanation of the charges involved. I made the mistake of booking a car on arrival in Scotland and felt I was misled on the rate by an Avis counter representative. I wound up being charged $487 for a small manual transmission Fiat for four days of use (you can book the car online for more than $100 less).

Europe is famed for its stellar passenger rail system and that is also a great way to travel if you are not interested in trying to visit a lot of out-of-the-way places. Any town or city of any significant size is served by rail. And, there are package bargain rates available through Eurorail (www.raileurope.com). Another possible option is to use one of the no-frills, low-cost airlines serving Europe. You can actually fly from many European localities to another cheaper than driving or by rail (Easy Jet at www.easyjet.com or Ryan Air at www.ryanair.com). They offer some incredible rates.

For a complete directory and geographic locality of bed and breakfasts in Ireland visit the web site www.irishbnb.com. For information on Ireland in general visit the web site www.tourismireland.com

And so we were off to Scotland. And that began another adventure (please read our Travelling Adventurer story about our experiences in Scotland).

This story was published on 24 Jun 2006.