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Scotland Travel Guide

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Travel UK - Scotland, Highlands


Scotland Travel Guide, climate:

Best: May-Sept. August for the Festival.
Worst: Jan-March [wet, cold, grey, and very short of daylight]. Many small museums close Nov-March.
Edinburgh has an accommodation problem around Hogmany [Dec 29-Jan 2] and during the Festival [August], so, book rooms well in advance

UK Tours

Main festivals:
Dec 31-Jan 2, Hogmanay, a truly wild New Year's celebration.
Last Tuesday of Jan, Up-Helly-Aa [Viking fire festival] in Lerwick, Shetland.
End of Jan, Burns Night [celebration for Scotland's greatest poet with special dinner]
May, Mayfest, the UK's 2nd largest arts festival in Glasgow.
May- August, Highland Games, traditional sport, folk music and dance, nationwide.
Most of August, Edinburgh International Festival, and the more wacky Fringe Festival, certainly the UK's and maybe the world's best arts festival. See Edinburgh Festival Pictures.
Early Sept. Braemar Royal Highland Gathering/Games.

For dates see: English Speaking Festivals

Activities:
Walking and Hiking:
Especially try to travel the Duke's Pass between Callander and Aberfoyle in the Trossachs, The West Highland Way [95 miles from Glasgow to Fort Williams via loch Lomond and Glen Coe] and the Great Glen Way.
Climbing: Mt. Ben Nevis [1344m], Britain's highest peak, and mountains more peaks and cliffs.
Bird-watching: Orkney Isles, Shetland Isles.
Fishing: The Borders, Deeside and masses of private rivers or public seas.
Biking: Heaps of spectacular small, quiet roads in the Highlands, the Borders, the Trossachs [esp. from Callander to Balquhidder], and so on...
Skiing: Aviemore, UK's biggest skiing centre has some good runs if global warming doesn't kill off the snow.
Golfing: From the wonderful, mad old Edinburgh city centre Brunswick Links to St Andrews, there are more than 400 golf courses in Scotland
Nightlife & Entertainment: Edinburgh or Glasgow are very lively, otherwise forget it.

Scottish Note:
There are plenty of themed tours and trails [both guided and non guided] such as 'Castle Trail' and 'Whisky trail'. Information and maps are available at the regional tourist information or travel centres.

Guides to other English-Speaking countries:

USA Travel Guide | Canada Travel Guide

Australia Guide | New Zealand Travel Guide

South Africa Travel Guide


Why Travel to Scotland?

For its gorgeous scenery, both natural and man-made, such as ruins of medieval castles over-looking mysterious lakes or rugged shores. This is a spectacular walking country if you are weatherproof.
For its lively urban cultures in Glasgow and Edinburgh, especially the world's most intensive arts experience, the Edinburgh Festival - and particularly its delightfully bonkers 'Fringe' element.
And finally for the people, who are interesting and generally hospitable.

Downsides:
- Unpredictable weather, often wet or cold or both.
- Limited local cuisine.
- Voracious midge [like small mosquitoes] attacks in the summer in the countryside.
- Very short daylight hours in the winter.
- The Scottish accent can be tricky to understand.

Where to go:
***Edinburgh, a dramatic city with the world reputation for its cutting-edge arts scene. See Edinburgh City Guide or Edinburgh Pictures
***The Highlands, another splendid landscape, wilder and more dramatic than the Lake District, covering two-thirds of Scotland, with mountains, glens [valleys] and lochs [lakes]. Ideal for hiking and driving.
The highlights are the Great Glen, across from *Inverness to Fort William [both are obvious bases for the Highlands], Nessie-spotting? at *Loch Ness, climbing **Ben Nevis, Britain's highest peak, and walking around ***Glen Coe - it's astonishing beautiful with a tragic history.[Picture top right].
**Glasgow, a big industry city with some bad reputation, but actually one of the most cultured and lively urban spaces in the UK. There's remarkable architecture by C. R. Mackintosh and brilliant museums and galleries - especially the Burrell Collection of art and antiquities including Rodin's The Thinker.
**St Andrews, a university town with the famous old golf course - the Royal & Ancient Golf Club - that is a mecca for golfers.
***The Borders, a tranquil pastoral area with delightful towns such as **Melrose, Kelso and Peebles. The highlights are Abbotsford House [Sir Walter Scott's house], Floors Castle [the Scotland's biggest inhabited castle], Traquair House [the oldest inhabited house]. Ideal for walking, cycling, and driving.
**Stirling, a compact and historic town with an imposing castle, is a perfect base for outdoor travel activities in the Trossachs lowland countryside - ' Rob Roy country'.
**Famous Castles: Eilean Donan near Kyle of Lochalsh, Floors in Kelso [picture above left], Urquhart by Loch Ness, Cawdor [Macbeth] near Inverness.
Try to stay in a castle-become-hotel if you can afford it. e.g. Leslie Castle, Insch, Aberdeenshire or Borthwick Castle, North Middleton, Midlothian.
*The Orkneys and Shetlands, good for viewing seabirds such as gannets and puffins and prehistoric sites. If lucky you could see the Northern Lights from there.

Guides to other UK countries:

England Travel Guide | Ireland Travel Guide

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