site banner
PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   1100 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 28, 2026

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

1
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

I have my brother coming over for two weeks next month. It's somewhere between a much needed vacation for the poor sod (he's just finished his internship and is about to discover that life as a doctor is no fun) and a welfare check. I definitely need the vacation myself.

So I'd appreciate travel advice. The current rough concept of a plan:

  1. Spend 2-4 days in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Take him to the ridiculous gay pubs, bars and clubs I've seen to expand his horizons. Too late for Pride, and too early for Fringe, but that saves us money anyway.
  2. A day or two in the Highlands. Hitting up distilleries, swatting away midges, and pissing in Loch Ness. I see little point in showing him Aberdeen, Dundee or Inverness.
  3. Towards the end, we need to be Good Indian Boys and spend a few days with miscellaneous relatives in Manchester and London. As little time as we can get away with, since I do need to show him London.
  4. Heading down to Dover for a day. I loved the cliffs.

We're not particularly outdoorsy, or touristy, for the matter - we're not looking to go for scenic hikes or to see every tiny castle around. I'm focusing on nightlife as well as a quick visit at the Greatest Hits. The typical day involves some walking, sightseeing, drinking and nice meals - followed by more drinking. We will probably rent cars where it's reasonable to do so (not London or Edinburgh).

Any suggestions?

I mean maybe sticking to the UK is the point but as an American with a distorted sense of scale the idea of not nipping over to Ireland or France or Netherlands or something in a two week period seems odd to me, it’s not like those are that far

That would be doable, but it would involve applying for a Schengen visa. Downside of having a meh passport. I've been too caught up to do that, and it's even more of a headache for my brother with the little notice that he has. Something for the future.

There's still more than enough to do in the UK to eat up a fortnight. It's small but dense with history and architecture.

You could nip over to Northern Ireland, do Giant's Causeway and the North Coast and so on. Either a car ferry from Cairnryan or a 30 minute flight. Also you could take your brother shooting if you liked. Handguns are legal in Northern Ireland, so at somewhere like https://www.nitargetsports.com/ you can pay for range time and fire pistols, shotguns and rimfire .22 "mini-rifles" on an AR frame most likely. Might give your practice for scaling up if you ever go to the US.

I think you have to sign up as a member but should be doable.

Edit: Could also do tasting at Bushmills distillery which is excellent. If so hit up Tartine for Sunday dinner. They do amazing lamb.

These are excellent recommendations. You're right that trying to fit in a tour of NI in that time frame would be difficult, but I'll see what we can manage. Thanks a lot!

No problem, if you do decide to go, you can always ping me if you want advice or anything else to do.

Adding to the above, my fiancée was underwhelmed by the Causeway but substantially more impressed terrified by the rope bridge. I've also been meaning to return to the puffin sanctuary on Rathlin Island for years, and was far more impressed by Belfast's Titanic museum than I expected to be.

The rope bridge is great, as is the Titanic museum.

I bought my wife a Titanic t-shirt with a bit of Northern Irish dark humor (Sure it was fine when it left here!) and the first time she wore it home in America she got told off for making fun of a disaster.

Too soon still apparently.

Yanks gonna Yank.

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats