Quote Originally Posted by Jock Scot View Post
You could place the population of the whole of Scotland(about 5.5 million) into greater London(nearly 8 million) and still have an awful lot of room to spare.

As I understand it, the intention is to spread the visitors around the surrounding areas including Edinburgh. Perhaps they may be thinking of also using the facilities of Stirling University as it will probably be empty at that time of year? I know that the road system around Stirling towards the central belt is now up to date and is very good and I understand that the rail system is good too. I do wonder how well the communication system will stand up to this event though. I will do my part in helping by staying away.

Jock,

I've absolutely nothing against Stirling as the venue but my concern (and something that I hope is of concern to the organizers) is whether Stirling has the logistical infrastructure to support a Gathering? Edinburgh was stretched to the limit to provide lodging, and restaurants and pubs were standing room only with a line out the door much of the time. I met several attendees who were staying in Stirling and heard there were others spread all the way to Glasgow.

That said, I'm planning to attend. I had a grand time in 2009 and since the Gathering is only about 3 days long, its a good excuse to explore more of Scotland to justify the time and expense getting there. Since I'll be exploring the Borders in 2013, I hope to see some of the islands in 2014.

Hopefully, the organizers will make the 2014 Gathering a truly national event and do more this time around to involve the Scottish people and economy.