We flew Ryanair because they had the best rates. The airport they use is located in St. Etienne (southwest of Lyon) and is approximately a 1 1/2 to 2 hour drive. Parking was around 4.50 Euro per day for 7 days, and cheaper if your stay is longer. We flew into Stansted, London, then on to Prestwick in Scotland. Ryanair and Easyjet don't book connecting flights, meaning you must collect your baggage after each flight. So you don't want to plan your connections too close. We took advantage of this on one segment, and spent a full day in London on the way back. Also note the luggage weight and count limitations with these low cost airlines.
Since we wanted to see as much of Scotland as possible, we rented a car upon arriving. We soon learned how disorienting left lane driving can be. It was a bit scary, especially the roundabouts! Terry did very well, though he was never truly comfortable. (TQ note: Joann had to remind me periodically not to drift left into the stone walls alongside the roads. Also, be wary of any Toyota Avensis assembled in GB. Ours was a lemon. Three doors were hard to close, and the gear shifter was terrible).
We stayed our first night in Ayr (about 15 minutes from the Prestwick airport) at the Coila Guest House. It was a pleasant place with all of the modern comforts. The owners were friendly, and the rates reasonable (50 GBP per room). Ayr is on the sea, and there is a huge park right on the sea, great for young children.
Driving north into Scotland was very enjoyable. There are many quaint little towns and the lochs are magnificent. Scotish people are friendly, too. We stayed 2 nights in Pitlochry located in the Central Highlands. The Blair Castle is a must to see if you are in the area. We also took a funicular up to the top of the CairnGorm Mountain, the highest peak in Scotland. Their mountains are bare and stark compared to our mountains here, and apparently have a fragile ecosystem being so far north.
Heading south toward Edinburgh we visited the Glamis Castle and the Scone Palace. Both were very interesting. It was a beautiful drive through the country, too. We stayed 2 nights in Edinburgh at a very nice Bed & Breakfast (really just an apartment . . . the owner comes over in the morning to fix the breakfast). It is a little tricky finding it (a GPS and two good teenage navigators helped) but the location is great. It is called the Royal Mile Bed & Breakfast (yes it is on the Royal Mile!) and is in easy walking distance to most of the major attractions. One note, this B & B does not allow children under 13. There are lots of things to do in Edinburgh. One place we found quite interesting was the Weaving Mill located near the Edinburg Castle. You could watch tartan cloth being made on old mechanical mills. The old bridge over the Firth of Forth was impressive to see, too. (TQ: It was hugely overdesigned in the 1800s after a disastrous failure of the previous railroad bridge). We also learned that a great attraction in July/August is the Edinburgh Tatoo, which is where military bands from around the world come and play at the Edinburgh Castle each day for about a month. You have to make reservations early, and accomodations are more expensive, but we heard from several people that this is a world class event.
Our last night is Scotland was spent in Ayr again because we had an early flight to London. We stayed at the Quality Station Hotel and found it to be a great deal. It's an old hotel located within the train station but was in very nice condition. Our room was a double room suite and only cost 40 GBP for the night (they had at least one room like that which could sleep 6). We took a taxi to the airport costing about 6.50 GBP.
An added supplement on RyanAir from the Quinn�s:
We learned something about RyanAir that wasn't so good. When the charge for our airline tickets hit our U.S. credit card, it seemed higher than I had anticipated. After some digging and checking with our bank, and reviewing the RyanAir terms and conditions, we figured out what happened. RyanAir has a policy of charging the bank in the currency of the bank, rather than the currency of the country the ticket is purchased in. If the bank is from a country with a different currency, they also charge an extra fee. Since the tickets orginated in pounds sterling for the UK flights and Euros for the French flights, they tacked on this charge and did their own currency calculation. I determined after the fact that all this cost us an extra 5% on the bill . . . not enough that it would have made a difference in which airline we chose, but it is an unusual practice, and burying it in the fine print at the end of the terms document seemed a little shady. The lesson-learned is to purchase with your French credit card on the Euro priced flights.
Also a comment from the Oudyn�s on RyanAir:
Be aware that with RyanAir and other similar �single-leg purchase� airlines, you will be responsible for the flights you purchase, even if the company changes or cancels one of your flights! Mike purchased two flights, Grenoble to London, then London to Ireland from RyanAir, giving himself an appropriate layover time in between the two legs. Two days later, RyanAir canceled the Grenoble to London flight, but had nothing comparable (for departure time) to replace it. Instead, they offered him a flight a day earlier from St. Etienne. However, even though it was their initiative to cancel one of the legs, they refused to accept responsibility for the loss of connecting flight and we were forced to eat that cost and purchase a different flight for the second-leg. (In some cases a �change of schedule� cost of 25 GBP may apply.) It was still cheaper than a hotel room in London overnight�