Scotland

Scotland is a land of scenic beauty/ the dramatic highlands with their snow-capped mountains, wooded glens and shining lochs gradually dive way to the meandering salmon rivers, rich farmlands and picturesque villages of the lowlands.

This is the land of tartans and fine malt whisky, of romantic castles and the haunting melodies of bagpipes/ Scotland also has a rich cultural heritage, epitomized by the lively highland games which take place up and down the country between may and September/ as many a gathering, you’ll see the swirl of the kit in events like tossing the caber, throwing the hammer and sword dancing, accompanied by the pipes and the beat of masses drums. The appeals of Scotland are undoubtedly unique and the unbeatable hospitality of the Scottish people will make your visit one to be fondly remembered. Scotland is bounded in the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, and in the east by north sea. The mainland stretches 440 kilometers from the north to south, has a maximum width of 248 kilometers and in grinded by numerous islands, of which the principal group are the Orkney and the Shetland Islands to the north and the Hebrides to the west.

Scotland is also as close to Norway as it is to Scotland, and 500 years ago it was part of Norway. Today it is still proud of its traditional music, and it is famous for its wool and knitting designs. In the western isles, the island of Harris produces some of the most famous cloth in the world, known as “tweed”. The total area of Scotland is 78800 square kilometers, representing 32% of the area of Britain. The area comprises some 77100 kilometers of land and 1700 square kilometers of island water. The coastline, including that of the islands, measures some 10100 kilometers.

Edinburgh (the capital of Scotland) – less than 50 miles apart in terms of travel, but a world apart in terms of their industry and architecture. Edinburgh is one of Europe’s most beautiful capitals. It is built upon hills in a superb natural setting, overlooked by mountain-in-miniature. Edinburg, named after Edwin, a 7^th-century king of north Umbria – has been a Royal Burgth since at least the 12^th century, and recognized as the capital of Scotland since the 15^th. Its natural situation and classical architecture grained it the title “Athens of the north”. Built mostly of attractive sandstone, in a dramatic setting of firth, sea and rolling hills, its unique character has made it one of the most fascinating cities in the world.

Mendelssohn acknowledged its natural beauty as a source of inspiration; Chesterton wrote of its streets as seeming to “rush downhill like rivers in spate”; and Oliver Holmes paid tribute to its “incomparable loveliness”. A native son, Sir Walter Scott, wrote lovingly of “mine own romantic town’. The city is important largely as an intellectual centre. It has one of the oldest universities in Europe – the university of Edinburgh castle. It is situated on the rock 440 feet high. It is a volcanic rock with steep cliff walls. The strategic location must have had a magical attraction for the builders the castle. The possession of this rock must have been regarded as a kind of status symbol, and this would explain why the Scottish kings were so attached to it , and why the English repeatedly attempted to grain control of the castle and rock.