Italy Travel Guide

Start the jackpot. Taking an overdose of the history of Rome … and stay here forever. You can not help falling in love with this city steeped in the emblematic art of the imperial past and the pleasure chaotic. For more information, be sure you have enough time to see what remains. They roam the [...]

Scotland within the UK

A policy of devolution had been advocated by the three main UK parties with varying enthusiasm during recent history. The late Labour leader John Smith described the revival of a Scottish parliament as the “settled will of the Scottish people“. The constitutional status of Scotland is nonetheless subject to ongoing debate. In 2007, the Scottish [...]

Trams and light rail

There are no tram systems currently in operation in Scotland, although Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen formerly had extensive networks. A proposal for an Edinburgh Tram Network has received Royal Assent and is planned to enter operation in 2011. Glasgow also has plans for a light rail network in the future, however it is likely that [...]

Emigration

Not very fertile mountains and overcrowded plains for centuries Scots forced to emigrate. Emigration often for political reasons, reluctant to English dominance, persecuted for religious reasons or promoting Stuartów dynasty. To encourage the emigration authorities – the title of baronet of Nova Scotia was established as an incentive to settle in North America. Scots, especially [...]

Kitchen

Scottish cuisine is famous for Shortbread (Butter crisp bread), kidney pie and HAGGiS. Haggis is sheep’s stomach filled with a mixture composed of posiekanych sheep offal (heart, lung and liver), owsianych flakes, onions and spices, and cooked zaszyty. Typically provides it with potatoes. Scottish cuisine is characterized by a large number of dishes containing oats. [...]

Geography

The Lowlands in the south consist of moorland and rolling hills. In the Highlands in the north are the Grampian Mountains and Ben Nevis, with 1344 m highest mountain in Britain. The coasts are wildly romantic and very rugged, often very low salt and freshwater lakes are called hole. Before the coasts, at some distance [...]

Etymology

Scotland is from the Latin Scoti, the term applied to Gaels. The Late Latin word Scotia (land of the Gaels) was initially used to refer to Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to (Gaelic-speaking) Scotland north of the river Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, both derived from [...]

Glasgow Cathedral

Glasgow Cathedral, a shining example of pre-Reformation Gothic architecture, is the only mainland Scottish cathedral to have survived the Reformation. Most of the current building dates from the 15th century, and only the western towers were destroyed in the turmoil. This has been hallowed ground for over 1500 years. The site was blessed for Christian [...]

When to Go

The main tourist period is April to September, and the height of the season is during the school holidays in July and August when accommodation, be it campsites, B&Bs or luxury hotels, is at a premium. Edinburgh in particular becomes impossibly crowded during the festival period in August, so book well ahead. Statistically, your best [...]

Edinburgh

Edinburgh ((listen), pronounced /ˈɛdɪnb(ə)rə/; Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Èideann) is the capital of Scotland, it is the second largest city after Glasgow which is situated 45 miles (72 km) to the west, and one of Scotland’s 32 local government council areas. Located in the south-east of Scotland, Edinburgh lies on the east coast of Scotland’s Central Belt, along [...]