Robsons-Adventures_Scotland Outline

What can I say, but it's my homeland and it is beautiful and I am ashamed to say that I rarely visit these days, but when I do, it feels like going home and yes I do own a kilt!

Despite its official union with England in 1707, it maintains a certain amount of independence and indeed has its own Parliament which sits in Edinburgh in a purpose built building near Holyrood Palace. History has shown a great deal of angst between Scotland and England, but this largely stopped after the well known Battle of Culloden in 1746 when the English set out to destroy the clans, prohibiting Highland dress, weapons and military service. These days there is a love hate relationship between the two countries.
The country is split up into Shires (counties), with Dumfries & Galloway in the SW, the Borders (Southern uplands), then there is Lothian, Fife, Stirling and Argyle in the central regions moving northwards there is Perthshire, Angus and Aberdeenshire, then Moray and the Highlands. Then you have the Western Isles and the Orkney Island as the main cluster of islands offshore. This is only a very rough summary of the regions moving northwards from the English border. The capital is Edinburgh which is the city that has all the history, but Glasgow is larger and has emerged in recent years as a vibrant and energetic city.

Scotland is very touristy and therefore you will have no problems in finding accommodation throughout the whole country and in all price ranges. You can stay in simple Bed & Breakfasts (B&Bs) right up to staying in castles. The country is well covered by public transport although for airports, these are largely concentrated in the more populated areas, therefore there are no airports in the southern part of the country, but actually it is only a 2 hour drive from Glasgow or Edinburgh Airports to this part of the country. Further north these are quite well covered by regional airports, served from Glasgow or Edinburgh. There is a good train network across the country and there are high speed connections with England within as little as 4 hours from London to Edinburgh or Glasgow.

There are many things to do in Scotland even in winter and this is where I learnt to ski, there are 4 main resorts, with some great skiing and facilities when the conditions are right. Obviously walking is a big past time for many, but don't get caught out by changing weather as often especially in the Highlands it can change extremely quickly.