If you have never been up that way before, I'd recommend taking a bus (or driving, but you'll see less) from Carlisle to Glasgow. That will take you straight through Clydesdale and past the Lead Hills to the west. The thing that strikes me most is the geographical similarity of Cumbria and Clydesdale, keeping in mind that Cumbria was part of Scotland until William I went on his First Northern Tour. In Glasgow one can see the only pre-Reformation Gothic cathedral in the country still standing, weep over the nearby demolished fifteenth century university (1451), and walk down High Street to the City Centre and gawk at the Tolbooth Steeple for a while. Then it's a train to Stirling and its castle, which is better than Edinburgh's in my unhumble opinion. Rather than going to Edinburgh straight away, a well worthwhile detour is called for, to St. Andrew's. There you have Scotland's oldest university (1411) and can weep once again, this time at the sight of the surviving gable end of the nation's mother church, St. Andrew's Cathedral, destroyed by the ding-them-dooners at the Scottish Reformation. BTW Johnson didn't weep; he cursed them for their barbarity! Then it's over the Firth and into Edinburgh for a peek at the Scottish Crown Jewels in the castle and reliving favourite scenes from Trainspotting. I'd recommend a train to Newcastle from there. The train gives a good view of what's to be seen.
