Scotland Vacation

Scotland within the UK

scotlandvacation1 — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 11:24:26 +0000

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 Government established a “National Conversation” on constitutional issues, proposing a number of options such as increasing the powers of the Scottish Parliament, federalism, or a referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom. In rejecting the last option, the three main opposition parties in the Scottish Parliament have proposed a separate Scottish Constitutional Commission to investigate the distribution of powers between devolved Scottish and UK-wide bodies.

Trams and light rail

scotlandvacation1 — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:32:48 +0000

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 it will open first as the ‘Clyde Fastlink’ guided bus system, with conversion to tram at a later date.

Emigration

scotlandvacation1 — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:51:43 +0000

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 bitni mountaineers, power mercenary troops throughout Europe. Since the Thirty Years War, when the Scottish infantry fighting zasłynęła the Protestant side, the Scottish guards appeared in many armies, including private. Scots Guards regiment, made up of immigrants have jakobickich kings of France, Scotland piechurzy were also on the Polish courts magnate, even a history of Sienkiewicz Scots Janusz Radziwill. Scottish pułki, such as the famous “Black Guard” ( “Black Watch”) – 42 Infantry Regiment of the Royal Scots, or regiment “Cameronians” – were used in the remotest corners of the empire – from India to North America. Today, the elite unit, often serving as a bodyguard British kings.

Kitchen

scotlandvacation1 — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 10:35:31 +0000

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. An example might be the cranachan. The traditional Scottish breakfast usually consists of owsianki, eggs smażonych on bekonie or smoked fish.

In Scotland derive teams, Wet Wet Wet, Texas, Mogwai, Franz Ferdinand and team wokalistki Maggie Reilly and Annie Lennox.

Geography

scotlandvacation1 — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:42:39 +0000

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 from the mainland, there are several island groups. The largest islands in the West are Skye and Lewis, who belong to the Hebrides. In the northeast, the Orkney and Shetland Islands. John O’Groats is located on the northern tip of the Scottish mainland.

Etymology

scotlandvacation1 — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:25:33 +0000

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 the Gaelic Alba.The use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages.

Glasgow Cathedral

scotlandvacation1 — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:02:35 +0000

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 burial in 397 by St Ninian. In the following century Kentigern, also known as Saint Mungo, accompanied the body of a holy man from Stirlingshire to be buried here. He stayed to found a monastic community, and built a simple church. The first building was consecrated in 1136, in the presence of King David I, but it burned down in 1197 and was rebuilt as the lower church.

The entry is through a side door into the nave, which is hung with regimental colours. The wooden roof above has been restored many times since its original construction but some of the timber dates from the 14th century. The cathedral is divided by the late 15th-century stone choir screen, decorated with seven pairs of figures to represent the Seven Deadly Sins. The most interesting part of the cathedral, the lower church, is reached by a stairway. Its forest of pillars creates a powerful atmosphere around Saint Mungo’s tomb, the focus of a famous medieval pilgrimage that was believed to be as meritorious as a visit to Rome. Edward I paid three visits to the shrine in 1301.

When to Go

scotlandvacation1 — Fri, 09 May 2008 12:19:40 +0000

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 chances of fine weather are in May, June and September; July and August are usually warm, but may be wet too. In summer, daylight hours are long; the midsummer sun sets around 23:00 in the Shetland Islands and even Edinburgh evenings seem to last forever in June and July. Conversely, in December the sun doesn’t show its face for very long at all.

Edinburgh

scotlandvacation1 — Thu, 01 May 2008 10:18:01 +0000

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 the Firth of Forth, near the North Sea. Owing to its rugged setting and vast collection of Medieval and Georgian architecture, including numerous stone tenements, it is often considered one of the most picturesque cities in Europe.

It forms the City of Edinburgh council area; the city council area includes urban Edinburgh and a 30-square-mile (78 km²) rural area.

It has been the capital of Scotland since 1437 (replacing Scone) and is the seat of the Scottish Parliament. The city was one of the major centres of the Enlightenment, led by the University of Edinburgh, earning it the nickname Athens of the North. The Old Town and New Town districts of Edinburgh were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. There are over 4,500 listed buildings within the city^[2]. In the census of 2001, Edinburgh had a total resident population of 448,624.

Edinburgh is well-known for the annual Edinburgh Festival, a collection of official and independent festivals held annually over about four weeks from early August. The number of visitors attracted to Edinburgh for the Festival is roughly equal to the settled population of the city. The most famous of these events are the Edinburgh Fringe (the largest performing arts festival in the world), the Edinburgh International Festival, the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the Edinburgh International Film Festival, and the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Other notable events include the Hogmanay street party (31 December), Burns Night (25 January), St. Andrew’s Day (November 30), and the Beltane Fire Festival (30 April).

The city is one of Europe’s major tourist destinations, attracting around 13 million visitors a year, and is the second most visited tourist destination in the United Kingdom, after London.

Scotland

scotlandvacation1 — Thu, 01 May 2008 10:17:07 +0000

Scotland (Gaelic: Alba) is a country^[5] that occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It is part of the United Kingdom,^[5] and shares a land border to the south with England. It is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland consists of over 790 islands^[6] including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.

Edinburgh, the country’s capital and second largest city, is one of Europe’s largest financial centres.^[7] It was the hub of the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th century, which saw Scotland become one of the commercial, intellectual and industrial powerhouses of Europe. Scotland’s largest city is Glasgow, what was once one of the world’s leading industrial metropolises, and now lies at the centre of the Greater Glasgow conurbation which dominates the Scottish Lowlands. Scottish waters consist of a large sector^[8] of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union.

The Kingdom of Scotland was an independent state until May 1, 1707, when the Acts of Union, despite widespread protest across Scotland,^[9]^[10] resulted in a union with the Kingdom of England to create the Kingdom of Great Britain.^[11]^[12] Scotland’s legal system continues to be separate from those of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland; Scotland still constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in public and in private law.^[13] The continued independence of Scots law, the Scottish education system, and the Church of Scotland have all contributed to the continuation of Scottish culture and Scottish national identity since the Union.^[14] Though Scotland is no longer a separate sovereign state, the constitutional future of Scotland continues to give rise to debate. The Scotland Act 1998 established a Scottish Parliament with devolved powers, the first elections to which were held on 6 May 1999 with Parliament sitting for the first time on 12 May that year. There are 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), elected by the additional member system. The Scottish Government is led by a First Minister who appoints ministers with devolved portfolios.