| Name |
Location |
Highlights |
| Finest historic monuments in Scotland |
| Edinburgh Castle |
Edinburgh |
The finest castle in Scotland - perched on
a rock in the centre of Edinburgh. contains the Scottish crown jewels.
Still a military site; famed for the Edinburgh Tattoo, late summer |
| Stirling Castle |
Stirling |
Another fine castle, with similar to
Edinburgh castle. The recently renovated great hall is one of the
finest Renaissance buildings in Britain. |
| Glamis
castle |
Angus |
Pronounced Glarmes. Magnificent
Scottish stately home, the seat of the Earls of Strathmore. Still a
private residence, but open to the public. Website |
| Caerlaverock Castle |
Dumfries, |
Unique triangular shaped mediaeval castle,
surrounded by a moat. The castle is a ruin, but large parts of it
remain intact |
| Eilean
Donan Castle |
Highlands |
Among
the world's most dramatically sited castles, at the juncture of three
sea lochs. The current castle is actually an early 20th century
rebuilding of an old castle that had been abandoned and largely
demolished in earlier times. |
| Roslyn chapel |
Near Edinburgh |
Ornately carved early Renaissance chapel,
once a Catholic collegial church. It featured in the film version of
the Da Vinci Code |
| Skara
Brae |
Sandwick,
Orkney |
One
of the best preserved prehistoric villages in Europe. See Prehistoric monuments |
| Standing
stones |
Callanish,
Isle of Lewis |
Another
of Scotland's great prehistoric monuments, dating from the 3rd century
BC. See Prehistoric
monuments |
| The
Forth Bridges |
near
Edinburgh |
The
Forth rail bridge, built 1882, is probably the most
distinctive and iconic rail bridge in the world. Next to it, the Forth
road bridge is one of Britain's great 1960s suspension bridges. |
| St.
Athernase church |
Leuchars,
Fife |
The
finest 12th century Romanesque church in Scotland |
| Scotland's natural heritage -
the great outdoors |
| The Scottish Highlands |
North of the central Lowlands |
Covering about half of Scotland, the
Highlands begin to the north of the Highland Fault, crossing Scotland
from just north of Glasgow, to near Aberdeen. Sparsely populated, they
include the Cairngorms, the Grampians, and the Northwest Highlands |
| Loch
Ness |
Part
of the Great Glen, southwest of Inverness |
The
home of the legendary Loch Ness Monster. Though no-one has ever
produced plausible proof that the monster exists, it's a great story,
and a beautiful place to visit. |
| The
Trossachs |
Northeast
of Glasgow |
On
account of its proximity to Glasgow, Loch Lomond, part of the
Trossachs, is probably the most famous loch in Scotland. Boat trips |
| Aviemore
and the Cairngorms |
South
of Inverness |
Aviemore
is Scotland's premier ski resort, and a centre for exploring the
Cairngorm mountains |
| Skye and the inner Hebrides |
The western isles |
While Skye can be reached by a bridge, for
the rest of the Western Isles, it's a matter of taking the ferry.
Discover these beautiful islands, almost traffic free, with their
magnificent natural heritage, their whisky distilleries, their craft
centres and their spectacular scenery. |
| John
o'Groats |
Caithness |
Known
as the most northerly point of Scotland, which it is not, John o'Groats
is actually at the northeast tip of Scotland, and one end of the
longest diagonal crossing Great Britain, to the southwest tip at Land's
End in Cornwall. |
| Orkney
& Shetland |
North
of Scotland |
Islands
to the north of the Scottish mainland, accessible by ferry or by plane.
Sparsely populated, famous for their birdlife, their marine life, their
prehistoric monuments, and their ponies. |
| the
Outer Hebrides |
Northwest
of Scotland |
As
far as you can go, in a northwesterly direction: the outer Hebrides are
sparsely populated islands, famed for their natural environment, their
peace and quiet, and their Atlantic storms. The home ot tweed. |
| Cities
towns and villages |
| Edinburgh |
Midlothian |
Scotland's capital, and one of the finest
cities in Britain. Edinburgh has a rich cultural life, not only during
the Festival period. The historic Royal Mile, St. Giles's Cathedral,
the Castle, four major museums and art galleries, Princes' street,
Calton Hill, the New Town, the Royal Yacht Britannia, Edinburgh zoo
– there is masses to see and so in the Scottish capital |
| Glasgow |
Glasgow |
Vibrant city, with several top-quality art
galleries and museums, including Kelvingrove and the Hunterian, the
Macintosh house, plus botanic gardens and Buchanan street, Glasgow's
top shopping area. |
| St. Andrews |
Fife, north of Edinburgh |
The home of golf, and of one of Scotland's
top universities. An attractive small town on the northern coast of
Fife. |
| Oban |
Argyll, western Highlands |
Attractive small coastal resort, between
the mountains, the sea,
and the western isles. Known as the gateway to the isles, on account of
the many ferry services operating from here to islands, including Mull,
Islay, South Uist, and several more. |
| Pitlochry |
Perthshire |
The
gateway to the Highlands. Famous salmon run, with observation windows.
Pitlochry festival theatre. |
| Tomintoul |
Banffshire |
The
highest village in Britain |
| Attractions
- things to
visit and discover |
| The Blacksmith's shop at Gretna Green |
Dumfriesshire |
Historic destination of eloping couples,
running away to Scotland to get married at the first available place
north of the border. Still a popular place for getting married. |
| The West Highland line |
(Glasgow to) Fort William to Mallaig |
While the whole trip from Glasgow is one of
the world's great train journeys, the section from Fort William to
Mallaig runs steam trains in the tourist season. |
| National Museum of Scotland |
Edinburgh |
A major museum of antiquities from Scotland
and around the world; includes natural world, world cultures, art and
design, science and technology |
| National
Gallery of Scotland |
Edinburgh |
Small
but world-class art gallery, with a fine and very representative
collection of old masters and modern masters. See best art galleries |
| Scottish
museum of modern art |
Edinburgh |
Paintings
by Picasso, Braque, Mondrian,
Matisse, Warhol, and Francis Bacon among others. Sculpture
including Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth |
| Edinburgh
zoo |
Edinburgh |
One
of Britain's best
zoos |
| The
Edinburgh Festival |
Edinburgh |
The
world's premier music and theatre festival, held each year
in August. |
| Kelvingrove
art gallery |
Glasgow |
Top
quality collection of painting, particularly on the from Dutch
Renaissance to the French impressionists and Salvador Dali. |
| Hunterian
museum and art gallery |
Glasgow |
A
huge collection of artefacts from around the world, from fossils, the
remains of dinosaurs and Egyptian mummies to great master paintings,
and 20th century art and design, including Glasgow's own Charles Rennie
Macintosh. |
| The
Falkirk wheel |
Falkirk |
The
world's only rotating boat lift; opened in 2002. |
