The United Kingdom of Great Britain is an extremely popular vacation destination. The kingdoms are England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland with each having unique differences in architecture, culture, language, accents and much much more. The citizens of each country are both proud of their own country but also very proud to be British so a person from Scotland can declare himself both Scottish and British with the vast majority placing “Scottish” first and foremost. Scotland was a fiercely independent nation until the Act of Union in 1707 brought it into union with England. Even today there is a strong movement for independence. Even though Scotland has a devolved government with some important and influential powers, the nationalists feel that the Scottish peoples will be better served by a free and independent government with total power over the country’s destiny.

When most folk think of Scotland pictures of a tartan clad piper, or something similar, spring to mind. Much of what we see as wholly Scottish was, in fact, a Victorian creation with influential characters such as the famous novelist and poet, Sir Walter Scott, did much to promote Scotland and all things Scottish. While the majority of Scottish Highlanders did indeed wear tartan it was not until the marketing exploits of a Lowland company, William Wilson, that specific tartans were assigned to the different clans or regions. Unfortunately a great many patterns for historical tartans that were in existence before 1746 are now lost forever having been replaced with newer patterns. So what is truly Scottish, well to discover this we need to study the history of the nation and understand a little more about the different regions and cities of Scotland which can differ considerably within only short distances.

Much of what Sir Walter Scott recreated as traditional Scottish was taken from the region of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. The traditional dress of the region was, and still is, the tartan plaid/kilt and the bagpipes were played extensively since first promoted by the MacLeods. When visiting the Highlands one can not fail to be in awe of the most amazing scenery of mountain and glen and, as you travel from one place to another, you will be enthralled by the lovely little villages found dotted around. If you prefer larger towns and cities then you could always base a vacation in Fort William or in Inverness. If you enjoy the remote then a visit to the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides or the islands of the Outer Hebrides should not be missed, especially if you wish to experience the culture of the Gaelic Heartland.

Of all the cities in Scotland Edinburgh, being the nation’s capital and where you will find the seat of the Scottish Government, is the most important. The city is also one of the most historical with Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile and the New Town being of extreme interest to those who enjoy architecture. Edinburgh is actually rather a small city and you are within easy reach of some of the most incredible scenery with “Arthur’s Seat” being one of the best places to get a view of the whole of Edinburgh.

Glasgow is a much more modern city in that it sprang up, from what was little more than a village to the metropolis it is today, during the industrial revolution. The height of the city’s success was during the Victorian period when the tobacco merchants made their fortunes which they invested in large civic buildings which remain in use today and give Glasgow it’s distinctive looks. Strangely it is Glasgow, rather than Edinburgh, which is the largest city in Scotland.

Edinburgh might be the capital and Glasgow the largest but there are numerous other cities in Scotland that merit investigation if you are planning a vacation in Scotland. Stirling has one of the finest castles to be found in the United Kingdom, St Andrews has some of the finest, and most historic, golf courses in the world and all other towns and cities have their own tourist attractions. One of the most unusual, but incredibly popular, is the amazing piece of engineering called the Falkirk Wheel.

Of course Scotland has much too much to offer than can be included in this short article. Amongst the most popular attractions are specially designed tours such as whisky tours and ghost tours of Edinburgh and the likes. The truth is that there is something in Scotland to please anybody and the country’s diversity provides some of the most incredibly opportunities for a vacation of a lifetime.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 18th, 2008 at 10:21 am and is filed under Scotland. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.