Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
quite different in character. Once a sprawling industrial
metropolis, it now has a lively social and cultural life to
match its impressive architectural heritage. Other urban
centres are inevitably overshadowed by the big two,
although the transformation from industrial grey to
cultural colour is injecting life into
Dundee
, while there's
a defiant separateness to
Aberdeen
, with its silvery granite
architecture and port. Other centres serve more as
transport or service hubs to the emptier landscapes
beyond, though some contain compelling attractions such
as the wonderful castle in
Stirling
or the Burns'
monuments in
Ayr
.
You don't have to travel far north of the Glasgow-
Edinburgh axis to find the first hints of
Highland
landscape, a divide marked by the Highland Boundary
Fault, which cuts across central Scotland. he lochs, hills
and wooded glens of the
Trossachs
and
Loch Lomond
are
the most easily reached and correspondingly busier.
Further north,
Perthshire
and the Grampian hills of
Angus
and
Deeside
show the Scottish countryside at its
richest, with colourful woodlands and long glens rising
up to distinctive mountain peaks. South of Inverness the
Cairngorm
massif hints at the raw wilderness Scotland
still provides, which is at its most spectacular in the north
and western Highlands. To get to the far north you'll have
to cross the
Great Glen
, an ancient geological fissure
which cuts right across the country from Ben Nevis to
Loch Ness
, a moody stretch of water rather choked with
tourists hoping for a glimpse of its monster. Arguably,
Scotland's most memorable scenery is to be found on the
jagged west coast, stretching from
Argyll
all the way north
to
Wester Ross
and the hills of Assynt.
Not all of central and northern Scotland is rugged
Highlands, however. he east coast in particular mixes
fertile farmland with pretty stone-built fishing villages
and golf courses - none more famous than that at the
university town of
St Andrews
, the spiritual home of the
game. Elsewhere, the whisky trail of
Speyside
and the
castles and Pictish stones of the
northeast
provide themes
for exploration, while in the southern part of the country,
the rolling hills and ruined abbeys of the
Borders
offer a
refreshingly untouristy vision of rural Scotland.
FACT FILE
•
Scotland contains over
31,460
lochs
, and of its
790
islands
, 130 are
inhabited. The highest
point is the summit of Ben
Nevis (4406ft), while the
bottom of Loch Morar is
1017 feet below sea level.
•
Scotland itself has a
population
of 5.3 million
(1.2 percent of whom,
roughly 60,000 people,
speak
Gaelic
). However,
nearly 28 million
Americans
define
themselves as having
Scottish ancestry too,
including both Presidents
Bush. Other famous
names with Scots blood
include Theodore
Roosevelt, Jack Daniels,
John Wayne, Marilyn
Monroe and Jim Morrison.
•
Between 2009 and 2010,
four groups of
beavers
were released in Knapdale
Forest, Argyll. If some
environmentalists have
their way,
lynx
,
wolves
and even
bears
will be
reintroduced into
Scotland too. The
argument goes that they
can help control deer
numbers, and so protect
woodland. Unsurprisingly,
sheep farmers aren't quite
so keen.
•
Never mind Nessie,
midges
are the real
monsters of the Highlands.
These tiny summer
blood-suckers bite hardest
from mid-May to August
in calm cloudy conditions,
especially at dawn and
dusk. There's even a Midge
Forecast (
W
midgeforecast
.co.uk).
FROM TOP
DEER, WESTER ROSS
P.452
; SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART, EDINBURGH
P.80
