Celtic Celebration

[click on the map to get a larger, clearer view]

Here is the first of three or more posts outlining our possible family trip for the summer of 2011. I decided to start with this one because, while I think we will do this some time relatively soon, I think it's the least likely of the leading candidates for next year. The reasons were outlined in past posts. But this one is still in the running because it would likely be the cheapest airfare of the three major choices. So if we decide to keep costs as low as possible, this choice would get preference.

The idea is to visit Ireland (which we have never visited even though we have been through Great Britain twice) and combine it with the Scottish highlands, which we have never seen. These two areas are historically and culturally connected as well. Millenia ago, the people who settled Scotland moved on to settle Ireland - thus the common Celtic heritage. In the 1600's (after Ireland and Scotland's cultures had begun to diverge somewhat), ruling England decided to try to colonize the unruly Irish and blunt the effect of their Catholic tradition by transplanting Protestant Scots in the counties to the north. This is what eventually led to the "troubles" and the ultimate splitting of Ireland into two unequal parts and, in the early 20th century, to the free Republic of Ireland while Northern Ireland continues to belong to Great Britain.

We would likely try to fly open-jaw Into and out of Dublin, Ireland and Glasgow, Scotland, taking a ferry the short distance across the water separating the two land masses. Which one comes first wouldn't matter much, but for some reason I always envision Ireland being first. The final choice would likely just depend on what low priced flights were available. We would get around mostly by rental car as rail service is limited and the areas are mostly rural. Driving distances would be relatively short, but twisty, narrow rural roads would also be slow driving at times.

The choice of airlines to fly and cities to fly into and out of are, of course, intertwined and more complex than it seems like it should be. Our favorite low-cost airline - IcelandAir - flies into Glasgow, so that is a natural choice. But they do not fly to Ireland. Aer Lingus - the Irish national airline - flies into Dublin from the US and does offer a short connecting flight to Glasgow, but they do not fly from Minneapolis. The nearest hub is Chicago. Flying into and out of the same city on this trip would require wasted time and money backtracking. Other airlines are usually more expensive. So the flight situation, while probably more economical than other trip options, is still complicated.

The only densely populated areas we would visit on this trip are Dublin (for just 2-3 days), Belfast (for just 1-2 days) and Glasgow (for just 2-3 days). And even these three cities are not really very large. The rest would be rural - and I mean really rural, as in most towns of just a few hundred to a few thousand residents. This would be the most rural trip we have ever taken, by far, even including the trips we have taken within the US. The beauty of rural Ireland and the Scottish highlands is legendary. But I do have some concern that, after 3-4 weeks of seeing numerous, somewhat similar examples of this beauty, we might find ourselves tiring of it and yearning for some bustle of a real city.