There are several people that find the whole idea of flying and being on a plane in general quite a scary thought, you haven’t seen anything yet! There are airports around the world which even the most experienced pilots find a challenge, that’s not something you want to know as a passenger believe me. Here are the top 5 scariest airports in the world… (more…)
Top 5 Scariest Airports
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Zero Deposit Car Hire, Shetland Islands
We are now able to offer Zero Deposit Car Hire on the Shetland Islands. Our supplier is based at Sumburgh Airport which is on the very southern tip of the mainland and is the main airport to serve the islands. Tourism in Shetland has been increasing quite rapidly over the past few years, unsurprisingly with its 1600 miles of scenic coastline, as well as the existence of important archaeological sites dating all the way back to Bronze Age settlements and later Norse colonisation.
Our zero deposit offer is exactly that, you can book your hire car and pay on collection. They will charge you for the full cost of the rental and nothing will be help or frozen as a deposit.
What’s more, payments can be made using a debit card. Credit cards are not needed to hire a vehicle at Sumburgh Airport. This amazingly is still a rarity in our industry and we work tirelessly to find new suppliers who will allow drivers to hire a car without having to apply for a credit card.
This is not limited to the size of vehicle also, it ranges from the mini Fiat 500 / VW Up sizes to 9-seat minivans and 4x4s. Just make sure you contact us directly for this option on +44 0113 88 00 748, or email us at sales@thealternativeagency.co.uk.
Glasgow Commonwealth Games
There is no better time to visit this historic city.
The 2014 Commonwealth games will begin in Glasgow on the 23rd of July and continue until the 3rd of August. The motto of the games is “PEOPLE, PLACE, PASSION” . If you are planning to go along to watch you may well be flying into Glasgow airport. At Indigo, as well as meeting your standadrd car hire needs, we can also offer a unique meet and greet service from that airport, perfect especially if you are inviting clients and offering any type of corporate hospitality to visiting VIPs and want to make a good impression.
Celtic Park, located in the East End of Glasgow, will hold the opening ceremony, whereas Hampden Park, on the South Side and Scotlands national football stadium, will be the site of the close. The games will see 17 sports played over 11 days by athletes from 71 countries and territories. It will be Scotlands biggest ever multi-sport event and will have more events and Para sport medals than any other Commonwealth games.
The events are:
- Aquatics
- Athletics
- Badminton
- Boxing
- Cycling
- Gymnastics
- Hockey
- Judo
- Lawn Bowls
- Netball
- Rugby Sevens
- Shooting
- Squash
- Table Tennis
- Triathalon
- Weightlifting
- Wrestling
There will be 13 venues in total, and besides the opprtunity to watch some world class sport, why not hire a car and also explore Glasgow, which is the largest City in Scotland and the third largest in the United Kingdom.
A historic city, Glasgow is well known for the football rivalry between Celtic and Rangers. It is also a city with many amenities for cultural activities, curling, opera, ballet and art, having a large selection of museums. In 1990, Glasgow was designated European City of Culture. If your tastes are cultural the Kelvingrove Art Museum is a must as is the Victorian Necropolis, Glasgow´s Victorian City of the Dead. Other places of interest are the Peoples Palace and Winter Gardens, the Merchant City, The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and the Riverside Museum of Transport and Travel.
It is also the Gateway to the Highlands and the Islands of Scotland. If you have rented a car, you will be able to explore the breathtaking scenery that Scotland has to offer, and maybe even get a glimpse of Nessie at Loch Ness or visit the beautiful Glencoe Valley, with its dramatic cliff faces and steep slopes. Glencoe is especially haunting for its treacherous history of the slaughter of the MacDonald Clan by the English. Fort William, Ben Nevis, and Loch Lomond are all also in day trip distance of this vibrant City.
Glasgow is also renowned for its music scene, having many live music venues, pubs and clubs. It is said to have the most talked-about independent music scene outside the USA. Comedy clubs are also prevalent, many famous comedians started their career in front of tough Glaswegian audiences and went on to become famous over the border too. Billy Connolly, Frankie Boyle, Kevin Bridges, Elaine C Smith and Janey Godley.
Glasgow is a great city to visit and the Commonwealth Games fortnight makes it even more attractive. If you are interested in hiring a car in Glasgow at any time or take advantage of out unique meet and greet service from Glasgow airport then our reservation agents will be happy to assist you. Contact us directly by calling +44 (0)113 880 0748 or emailing us at sales@thealternativeagency.co.uk and we will get right back to you.
Top 10 Public Golf Courses In Scotland
As the Scottish Open kicks in to gear at Royal Aberdeen I thought I would run through some of the best golf courses in Scotland that are open to the public. I havent personally played all of them but hope that one day I can say I have. The below information is based on what I have heard and read about playing golf in Scotland.
If you are planning a trip to Scotland to play some of these beautiful courses then please do get in touch regarding your vehicle hire needs, we have lots of availability of vehicles to accommodate larger groups with luggage and clubs. We have a wide range of vehicles fit for purpose for any size group these include:
1. St. Andrews (Old Course), Fife
Nowhere else in the world can you walk in the spike marks of every legendary figure to have played the game. Augusta National is rightfully hallowed, but Bobby Jones himself said that if he had to play only one course for the rest of his days he’d grow old on the Old Course.
2. Royal Dornoch, Dornoch
Dornoch was formed in 1877 and has been a Royal club for more than 100 years. The course is not close to major population centers and has never hosted a major tournament, but it has been the site of the Northern Open, the Scottish Ladies and the Scottish Professional Championships.
3. Turnberry (Ailsa), Turnberry
If Turnberry’s Ailsa course lacks the natural ripples and chaotic contours of other British Open rotation links, it’s easy to understand why: During World War II, 18-inch-thick concrete was poured over parts of the layout for use as runways.
4. Carnoustie (Championship), Angus
The course’s primary defense ‘the wind’ is wildly unpredictable. From one day to the next, the gales can turn, morphing an eminently playable hole into a nightmare. ‘Tis nae wind, nae golf, the Scots like to say. That’s seldom a concern at Carnoustie, where ’tis always wind.
5. Royal Troon (Old), Troon
Host of eight British Opens, Troon plays through brambles, gorse and broken sand hills. The most famous hole on the links is the “Postage Stamp,” so named because the 123-yard par 3’s green is so small. The front nine plays along the beach and then the course turns inland on the back nine.
6. Kingsbarns, Kingsbarns
Kingsbarns was built by American developers and an American architect about six miles from St. Andrews. Although a considerable amount of dirt was moved to create this links-style course, it looks as if it has always been there.
7. Cruden Bay, Cruden Bay
Drenched in quirky charm, this cult classic offers one wild seaside hole after another, including the head-scratching par-4 14th with its amazing funnel-shaped green.
8. Western Gailes, Strathclyde
A well-balanced links crossed by three burns, its higher holes offering impressive views of the Firth of Clyde and the ragged peaks of Arran. Like many of Scotland’s older links, the course is wedged between the sea and a railway. Constant changes in direction invite the wind from all angles. The greens at Western Gailes, imagainatively contoured and demanding careful approach, are among the finest in Scotland.
9. Royal Aberdeen (Balgownie), Bridge of Don
Balgownie is one of the truest linksland layouts in golf. It’s a course to test the better golfer, one who can accommodate the many variable conditions this arduous links can throw at you. Balgownie’s front nine holes rank amongst the very best in the world. No two are the same within a natural ecosystem, interspersed with rich turf and tight rolling fairways, that is a sheer delight to behold. The Balgownie course is a classic links layout – out through the dunes and back along a plateau.
10. Prestwick, Prestwick
The venues in the southwest of Scotland range from classic Open venues to one of the game’s most lovable dowagers, Prestwick, a priceless antique and birthplace of the Open Championship (1860). Prestwick hosted its last professional event in 1925, the same year competitors grumbled that success here depended a wee bit too heavily on the rub of the green. But for antiquarians with a sense of humour, this throwback of a links, sandwiched between the seashore and a railway line, has giddy surprises in store. Take, for example, the par-five third hole and its infamous Cardinal bunker. The fairway, incongruously, stops abruptly in front of a bunker big enough to sleep a brontosaurus. An elevated section of fairway, propped up by blackened timbers, swings sharply to the right above the sand pit. Forget your instincts. Follow your caddie’s instructions to the letter.
Golf Trip & Luggage Space
I have recently being trying to arrange a rental for myself and a group of people travelling to the Isle Of Arran in October to play in the ‘Arran Challenge’ which is a golf competition running throughout the month.
The problem I have had is finding a suitable vehicle to accommodate a group of lads, a weekend bag and a set of golf clubs each.
The group was initially 12 people so my intial thought was to go for two 7,8 or 9 seat vehicles which would take 6 chaps each and squeeze the luggage in with them at a cost of about £300 per vehicle per week. Im not sure if you have ever seen the space in a 9 seater but there is just no chance that 6 bags and 6 sets of golf clubs would fit.
The next option was a 17 seater minibus, we have a driver with a D1 on his licence so we are ok from that point of view, this would provide more than enough room for everyone and the luggage and at £395 for the week it was cheap enough divided between 12 of us.
The group then grew slowly and reached a peak of 20 people. This presented us with a problem as the 17 seat minibus is the largest vehicle we can hire. So do we lay out another £300 for a people carrier to give us 24 seats but still struggle with luggage space or… Hire a van.
What a great idea, that gives us exactly 20 seats and whole SWB Transit worth of luggage space. The cost of the van is about £175 for the week which is a hige saving compared to a people carrier.
So we have a minibus at £395 and a SWB van at £175 which is £570 for the week, £28.50 per person which is an absolute bargain. Yes we do need to consider that we now have 2 fuel tanks to fill and 2 ferry crossing charges but all in all this is by far the best option for us.
Really looking forward to the trip and will no doubt be blogging about the Isle of Arran when im back, just dont mention the golf…