Considering a Vacation in Scotland

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.

Think of Scotland and the vast majority of folk will bring to mind images of bagpipes, tartan, kilts and the likes, younger folk may think of the "Tartan Army" and the massive support for the national football club of Scotland, but all will have rather similar thoughts of what is truly Scottish. Sadly much of the quaint biscuit tin lid pictures of Scotland are little more than a very clever marketing campaign which started a long time ago when the likes of Sir Walter Scott (a famous poet and novelist) worked hard to promote Scotland as a vacation destination to the British Royal Family and the English upper classes. To discover the true Scottish culture we need to take a closer look at the country's history but, more importantly, we can take a look at the different regions and the most important cities which often have distinctive differences.

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 vastly different to Edinburgh, it is certainly larger (Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland), but the architecture is more Victorian with little any older. This is due to the fact that the city developed extremely quickly from a small village to a large town and then a city, during the industrial revolution. The Act of Union in 1707 opened up markets which had previously been closed to Scotland and the tradesmen of Glasgow took full advantage, especially the tobacco merchants who made massive fortunes in a very short space of time. Many of the merchants invested in the building of wonderful civic buildings which are still used today and can be seen throughout the city.

Besides the two cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow there are plenty of other towns and cities, such as Sterling, Perth, Dundee and Aberdeen, that are worth visiting as each are very different from one another. Each has it's own tourist attractions such as St Andrews and it's famous golf courses. One of the most popular tourist attractions is actually a modern work of engineering, the Falkirk Wheel but, in the main, most tourist attractions in Scotland are historical buildings or sites such as Stirling Castle.

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.

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If you are visiting Scotland then you should take a look at our listings of hotels in Glasgow or, for the Isle of Harris, Harris Hotel listings.

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