Scotland – that little country tacked on to the top of England with magnificent views, wonderful mountains and historic background is going to have a good tourist season this year.
The credit crunch will help – people short of money look for buying value, and there is no better holiday value for families than hiring your own cottage in the country.
The weather, fingers crossed, should also help. This coming Summer should reverse the wet and windy summers of the past two years, and give us some fine sustained sunshine.
Yes, Scotland looks good for the Summer tourists
Weather Looks Good This Coming Summer
The US Climate Prediction Centre tells us that the Gulf Stream has stabilized over the North Atlantic. This creates good weather conditions for the UK and in the Pacific. The warm waters of La Nina have disappeared this year so the jet stream winds should be back to their normal course. This is a good sign for the Summer in Scotland’s neck of the woods.
Back Comes This Jet Stream to its Rightful Place
In addition, the Gulf Stream affects Scotland particularly as it comes close enough to the West coast to create a Mediterranean climate effect in the western parts of Scotland. For the past two years the jet stream has been pushed off course causing two of the wettest and windiest summers that Britain can remember. But not this coming year, say the US forecasters.
All of this makes for a prediction for a sunnier Spring and Summer. Even a warm end to the Winter is predicted by the more than usually accurate Paul Simon The Time’s meteorological correspondent.
The Recession is Good for some
Things look good for Scotland’s self-caterers this coming year for another reason.
The currency used in Britain, sterling, has dropped by about 20% in value in the past three months. Looks like it is going down further. For foreign visitors this makes purchases cheap in Britain, including Scotland.
Scotland gets a lot of tourists from Germany in particular also from France and Holland. They can rub their hands with glee at though thought of getting a really cheap holiday. Visitors from the USA should increase his year as well for the same reason.
All this has happened at the right time, because few people have yet booked their holiday.
10,000 Cottages in Scotland for Let
Most of them are in private hands, and well fitted out and maintained. Scots people are proud of their housekeeping skills and their hospitality is legendary. You can find them through the internet.
How to Find Your Ideal Mountain Cottage
Just dial in to Google the place in Scotland you want to stay, and fit the search term “Holiday cottage” into Google Maps (not the search engine.) A whole list of good properties will come up and you can see their web sites and select. Better to do this than to use the directories. Most of the owners will let their property direct to guests at rates which are lower than those charged by Directories. This is because Directories take a margin, sometimes a high one, so the direct prices offered are good. Also owners know their properties and districts very well and can answer questions such as “how far from the road are you?” and “is there somewhere good to eat and drink nearby?” and what can we do with our youngster?”
Typical Costs for a Family
Without doubt, British families will realize that a Cottage in Scotland, hired for a week, can give each person a cost per night of just £14. That is one-fifth of the cost of a hotel, and just over half the cost of Bed and Breakfast.
Families often make the mistake of booking late – by the time the holiday period comes around the best properties have been booked up in January and February.
The peak season for self catering in Scotland is in the school holidays – this includes Easter and the May holiday. These dates are usually filled up early. But cottage owners offer lower rates for folks booking slightly off season. A couple can save £100 a week or more if they book in Scotland’s best month for weather – May.
There is more sun, less wind and wet in May.
In Scotland also, some cottage owners in the right districts make a strong feature of offering very low cost winter breaks. In the mountain areas, cottages are often sold out for March and April, and even February is often booked up. At this time of year the cost per night for self catering is around £9 per head.
This is a typical small Scottish highland cottage situated near the famous Glencoe. It shows you the kind of property available and the costs.
Nice article on cottages. It is a majestic way of enjoying holidays.Christmas time is meant for this purpose only. Be with friends or family a party has to be there to welcome new year.