This might be one of my favorite posts yet. :) There are signs EVERYWHERE on the roads of Scotland....most have no words or very few words so you have to figure out what they all mean. I tried to get a picture of a roundabout, but it was hard to capture it. They were definitely interesting and Steve thought they were brilliant. :) It certainly did keep traffic moving, but you had to be super cautious and aggressive at the same time in order to get where you need to go. Also, the signs leading up to the roundabout have LOTS of information on them so you really have to know what street you are looking for and only pay attention to that street or you will be very confused. Also while driving in Scotland, I learned something about Steve as a driver....he tends to drive close to the passenger side. I never really noticed it in the US as my side is usually close to a large shoulder or cars that are driving the same direction as us and I never have a fear of hitting anything. However, in Scotland it was very evident because on my side in Scotland, there are things like parked cars, curbs with no shoulder, trees, and oh I don't know...very large drop offs which lead to forest or more often than not a lake!!! You also must remember that most roads are only two lanes and are VERY narrow...pretty much the width of the car itself. In some cases, there is really only room for one car and you have to pay attention to the parking pull out spots so that you can move out of other cars' way. Also, the native Scottish people drive VERY fast and have no fear about passing on extremely winding roads. Needless to say, I was terrified most of the time when we were driving. However, in the very same breath, I would highly recommend it as I feel like we got to see SOOOO much more and I did get used to it....or at least I got better. Because there were so many signs, I spent most of my time taking pictures of these signs while we were in the car. 1) I thought they were funny and more importantly 2) it kept my mind off of the huge drops off the road that we came dangerously close to. I had complete confidence and trust in Steve's driving and I certainly didn't want to drive, but it was still awfully scary!!! Enjoy the signs and I will elaborate on some of them. :)
This was the sign that meant there were hidden police cameras recording your speed.
Reindeer Crossing...very important to note the antlers! We never did see one cross the road
These signs were literally like every 400 yards and there were small places to pull over so that you could hike, rest, let other cars pass you, take pictures..
"Reduce Your Speed" Very curvy roads ahead...
Anytime you saw an exclamation mark, it literally meant "Watch Out!" Here you needed to watch out for Pedestrians that were crossing the road....and the pedestrians literally just crossed the road with no care for cars. I was often freaked out that we were going to hit one.
Cow Crossing
As you know, in the US when the speed limit drops suddenly, they usually just say "65 ahead" and then literally like 1/4 mile later, the speed is lower. In Scotland, they actually give you a warning system. This means the speed limit will drop to 30 in three...
two...
One...
These are the speed limit signs...they are in miles per hour which was a little odd and they were usually pretty small and were not posted very often.
This sign always had something to do with kids...and there are hostels literally everywhere!
A special sign for lorries (or 18 wheeler trucks)
"Caution...elderly people crossing" SERIOUSLY!!
These little blue arrow signs were very helpful because it helped you remember where you were supposed to be driving and what side you should drive on....
Meaning there will probably be a backup here at times. These were usually found before drawbridges
We didn't see any. :)
Might be one of our favorite signs ever. Remember that Scotland loves dogs and they are pretty much allowed everywhere, but you must clean up after your dog. No FOULING!
More or less means "Men at work" not necessarily that men are shoveling dirt. :)
Scotland's version of the Yield Sign
These signs are very important. Normally in the US, there is a yellow line that separates the cars going in different directions...not in Scotland. All lines are white and you have to pay close attention to see if you have two lanes to drive in or just one. This means two laned traffic...
Means "Watch Out! There is a hill that you can't see over"
"Duck Crossing"
:)
We didn't have any of this either, but I hear Edinburgh did the week after we got home.
Don't forget about "Sheep Crossing" and if you will remember, we did have sheep in the road. :)
This was the sign warning you that a roundabout was coming up. The green sign is part of the roundabout sign. You can see how much information is on it. The road literally did this...it circled and you could either go off to the northwest or go down to the southeast...
I love how it says for 2 miles.....the roads were windy the whole stinkin way! :)
We saw this sign often!
This means that what was once a four lane road is not a two way road....you must pay close attention!
And lastly, just a few more new vocabulary words for you....
Bathrooms in Scotland are usually called toilets, but sometimes as a throwback to England, you will still find signs pointing to WCs or water closets
Sit in means eat in the restaurant and takeaway means to go. It is actually always a little bit cheaper to get food to go...it saves them clean up time.
Grog is beer and Gruel is food
A caravan is an RV.
Gas is sold by the liter not the gallon.
To let means to rent....to hire also means to rent. Usually you let houses and apartments and hire things like taxis, suits, etc. Every time I see these signs, I thought they said toilet. :)
So there you have it, the final post on our trip to Scotland. We hope many of you will be able to visit one day. If you ever go, be on the lookout for the Bairds! :)
