Why Not Take A Vacation In Scotland
The United Kingdom is an immensely popular place to visit for a vacation. The United Kingdom consists of four countries; England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland and each are very different with distinctive cultures accents and languages. The vast majority of the citizens readily place their own country above all others within Britain stating their nationality but all can also call themselves to be British. So, a person from Scotland can be both Scottish while also being British. However, even since Scotland first joined the Union in 1707 there have been a large number of Scottish folk who wish to be independent of England.
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.
One of the most famous Scottish landmarks is Edinburgh Castle. Edinburgh is Scotland’s capital city and the home of the Scottish Government. While Edinburgh is a thoroughly modern city it’s facade is ancient, with truly awesome architecture to be found along the Royal Mile and in the New Town. One of the reasons why the city is one of the top tourist destinations in Europe is the shear number of important multi-national festival which seem to take place continually through the year ranging from the International Book Festival to the Hogmanay celebrations
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.
Scotland is such a diverse country that a small article such as this can not do it justice and can only introduce you to the most basic. The country as a whole is incredibly geared towards tourism with a multitude of interesting tours available. There are typical historical tours, including ghost tours of Edinburgh, and the ever popular whisky tours. In fact Scotland is capable of providing the perfect vacation for almost anybody.
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