Scotland*All work including photos, video and writing on this page is my own, except the link to the Tourism video, freely available on Youtube.
Scotland, steeped in history and legends. The kilt wearing bagpipe player, the mountains, lakes, spectacular rugged coastline all conjure up an idyllic image of a country unchanged for hundreds of years. Scotland sits to the north of England and is currently part of the UK, although another independence referendum is likely soon. It does have a devolved Parliament though. The scenery is spectacular, with 30,000 lakes and 900 islands. It also feels very safe. I travelled a large part of the NC500 route on my own and never felt unsafe anywhere. Scottish people benefit from free prescriptions, free care for the elderly, low council tax as well as free University tuition in world class universities. Have I tempted you to move there yet?
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Weather
The weather in Scotland is actually milder than it should be for it's latitude, due to a favourable jet stream.
The weather is cool and wet, with the average summer temperature in June/July/August 15-18C and the winter temperature around 5c November - April. Snow is common in the winter in the mountains and some times at lower levels too. It does vary between regions though on a daily basis. |
The cities I visited
Edinburgh UNESCO world heritage site.
Edinburgh is Scotland's capital city and most visited by tourists. It consists of a medieval old town, cobbled streets, a Georgian New town, ( So not that new) and perched above it all sits Edinburgh Castle. It is a lively city with plenty to do, a very cultural city with many festivals, such as the world famous Fringe Festival and other arts and cultural festivals as well as the Military Tatoo.
The main tourist attractions are the following:
Edinburgh Castle
Arthur's Seat
National Museum of Scotland
Royal yacht Britannia
Holyrood Palace and Government building
Royal mile shopping street which runs from the castle to Holyrood Palace
Royal Botanic Garden
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Hop on hop of bus
Scottish Whisky Experience
There are plenty of restaurants and of course pubs all over the city as well as the Michelin starred The Kitchin
Popular day trips from Edinburgh include the following.
Loch Ness and Inverness
Loch ness and Highlands
Glencoe and Ben Nevis
St Andrews
Hadrian's wall
Loch Lomand and castles
West Hylands, Lochs and Castles.
The main tourist attractions are the following:
Edinburgh Castle
Arthur's Seat
National Museum of Scotland
Royal yacht Britannia
Holyrood Palace and Government building
Royal mile shopping street which runs from the castle to Holyrood Palace
Royal Botanic Garden
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Hop on hop of bus
Scottish Whisky Experience
There are plenty of restaurants and of course pubs all over the city as well as the Michelin starred The Kitchin
Popular day trips from Edinburgh include the following.
Loch Ness and Inverness
Loch ness and Highlands
Glencoe and Ben Nevis
St Andrews
Hadrian's wall
Loch Lomand and castles
West Hylands, Lochs and Castles.
Glasgow
Glasgow is a Victorian port city close to the west coast of Scotland. Glasgow is Scotland's largest city and well worth a visit. Although well known to have some of the most deprived areas in Europe, don't let that put you off. I had a good time in Glasgow. It houses the Scottish Opera, Ballet and National Theatre of Scotland and a lively nightlife scene. It also has the best range of shops in Scotland. This is where you can find authentic Scottish pubs with live music to suit any tastes. The city sits nestled on the river Clyde. Glasgow is Scotland's largest city and well worth a visit. It has the most diverse collection of restaurants in Scotland too. In 1990 Glasgow was crowned European City of Culture and certainly deserved that title, with so much to see and do, lots of galleries and exhibitions open all year.
Things to do in Glasgow
Kelvingrove Art Gallery
Glengoyne Distillary
Glasgow Botanic Gardens
Glasgow Science Centre
Glasgow Cathedral
Buchanan Street
Princes Square shopping centre
Gallery of Modern Art
King's Theatre
Glengoyne Distillary
Glasgow Botanic Gardens
Glasgow Science Centre
Glasgow Cathedral
Buchanan Street
Princes Square shopping centre
Gallery of Modern Art
King's Theatre
Day trips from Glasgow
Stirling Castle and Loch lomond
Oban, Glencoe and West Highlands
Loch Ness and Glencoe
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs
Glasgow hop on hop off bus
Edinburgh (See above section)
Culzean Castle and Ayrshire Coast.
Oban, Glencoe and West Highlands
Loch Ness and Glencoe
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs
Glasgow hop on hop off bus
Edinburgh (See above section)
Culzean Castle and Ayrshire Coast.
Thurso
Thurso is the most northerly town in mainland Scotland. It is closer to Norway than England and on the same line of latitude as Juneau in Alaska. It's a great base to explore Orkney and the north Coast of Scotland, a great stop on the NC500 road trip around Scotland as well. It is a small town, but a friendly, very safe place. One of the few places in the world I have been to recently where locals don't even lock their doors and neighbours and friends just pop in. It feels like you have stepped back in time to a slower safer pace of life. I really liked it here and was fortunate to stay a few nights with a lovely friend who lives there and showed me around.
The Islands
Scotland is famous for it's many remote islands if you really want to get away from it all. There are regular ferries to most of them all year, weather permitting! these are the popular ones to visit:
Isle of Skye
Shetland
Orkney
Isle of Mull
Outer Hebrides
Isle of Islay
Isle of Skye
Shetland
Orkney
Isle of Mull
Outer Hebrides
Isle of Islay
This is a 516 mile road trip around the spectacular north Scottish Highlands coast. I did almost half of it alone and felt very safe here. I also did the Northern part with a friend which as great fun! In the summer it can get very busy with camper vans making some of the single track lanes very congested. I did it in early October which was a quieter time to do it, although one day was very wet and windy
It starts and ends in Inverness and you pass through small coastal villages, mountain ranges, lakes and rugged coastal scenery. I would recommend stopping off in Thurso as I did.
It starts and ends in Inverness and you pass through small coastal villages, mountain ranges, lakes and rugged coastal scenery. I would recommend stopping off in Thurso as I did.
Crime
Crime rates in the highlands and islands of Scotland are amongst the lowest in the world and even the cities have lower crime rates than most cities their size. Even Glasgow is considered very safe for tourists. There is a drugs problem in Glasgow but this rarely impacts tourists, other than the normal petty crime you can get in any city.
For more information on Scotland see this tourism link
Photos below are ones I took at loch Ness and Leaving Inverness.
Photos below are ones I took at loch Ness and Leaving Inverness.