Scotland is one of four constituent nations that form the United Kingdom (the other three are England, Wales and Northern Ireland). Scotland forms the northern part of the island of Great Britain. The land of cakes, Scotland is famous for its oatmeal cakes. Caledonia is the poetic name of Scotland.

The official language of Scotland is English, although Gaelic is spoken, primarily in the North and West of Scotland. Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and Glasgow is the largest city. The other major cities include Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness and Stirling.

Scotland is divided into three main regions; the Highlands, the Midland Valley and the Southern Uplands.

Scotland includes 787 islands, of which most belong to groups known as the Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland. Tay, Spey, Clyde, Tweed, Dee, Don and Forth are famous rivers of Scotland.

The Caledonian countryside is a wild, beautiful tumble of raw mountain peaks and deep glassy lakes. Scotland is a place where one can watch golden eagles soar over the rocky peaks of the Cuillin and play golf on some of the world’s most hallowed courses. Scotland is a connoisseur’s delight – she unveils her true depth and complex flavors only to those who relish her slowly.

Scotland is well known for its mountainous and beautiful scenery. Much of the upland within the UK is contained within the borders of Scotland, along with the highest peaks. The highest mountains in Scotland include Ben Nevis (1343m or 4406 feet high), Ben Macdhui (1309m or 4296 feet), Braeriach (1296m or 4252 feet), Cairntoul (1293m or 4241 feet), Cairngorm (1245m or 4084 feet), Ben Lawers (1214m or 3984 feet).

Scotland is also known for its lochs (this name is generally used for lakes in Scotland). Loch Lomond, Loch Ness and Loch Awe are famous lochs of Scotland.

Scotland is one of the hot tourist spots in the world. The scotland vacation, scotland golf vacation and scotland vacation packages are famous all over the world. Scotland hotels are known for their quality, comforts and luxuries. They offer the exquisite scenic views full of romances.

If you are planning for scotland vacation, bookscotlandhotelsonline.info can help you find scotland hotel. The website offers tons of info on scotland hotels, hotel accommodation scotland, honeymoon hotel scotland, romantic hotel scotland, luxury hotels in scotland, quality hotel scotland, wedding hotel scotland,
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By: Sardool Sikandar

About the Author:

Scadoosh-x asked:


What would exams be called that are at the same levels as intermediate 2, highers and advanced highers in scotland?? Also if I am in S4 in scotland what year would I be in down in england? x

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dancing_s7 asked:


Im from Canada, i want to go to scotland for a fieldhockey tournment for 1 week! how much do you thik it may cost me?
if possible can you break down all the costs for everything?

KDiddy101 asked:


On the 2009 Scotland fooball top, what is the font in which the palyers names are written on the back of the tops? Its really cool with a diamond in the o?
Its not really a diamond, is a square in the middle of the O…….. And its not the SPL logo.

* asked:


Carlisle is a city in Cumbria, in the north-west of England. It has a history as a military stronghold because it is only 10 miles from the Scottish border. The name of the city seems to be a form of “Llewellyn’s castle” – Llewellyn is a Welsh name derived from the Celtic warrior god of light and sunshine, Lugh.

Sebastian means “man from Sebaste”. Sebaste was an ancient Roman town on the coast of Anatolia (in modern-day Turkey). The name Sebaste is the Greek equivalent of Latin “Augusta”, meaning “majesty”, and the town was named in honor of the Emperor Augustus. The ruins of the town can still be viewed today.

Both of these are geographic names, in honor of particular towns – which one do you like better?

Andrea <3 asked:


What is there to see or do in both Scotland and Holland in August of 2010? I’ve never been to Europe before, but my family (2 parents, 3 teenage kids) is visiting these two countries for a few weeks next summer to do all the sightseeing stuff and visit relatives in Edinburgh and Helmond. What are the main places that we should visit?

When I was young in a small town in Scotland, Halloween was a special night for all youngsters. We would be looking forward to this magical night for weeks before. In Scotland,the children who were going out to “Trick or Treat” had a bigger task than those in North America.

We had to have a “Party Piece” ready to perform at each house that we went to, this would be a dance, a song, a piece of poetry
or some other form of art that we were capable of dreaming up.!


When the householder would open the door, we would be invited inside, and there, in the living room, we would face our audience
ready to criticize our performance. My knees would be knocking so hard I was sure everyone could hear them and thought that that might get by as my “act” for the night, but not so.

I was a hopeless singer and could not remember any poetry so I had to dance. As the rooms in most houses were very small, and I am very tall, this was no mean feat.I decided, as I was dressed
as a “Black Watch soldier” with my proper uniform of a kilt and
sporran ,I should dance the “Highland Fling”.

This choice proved to be a disaster.!!! I started off well enough but then I lost my balance, tripped on the carpet and fell
on my face.I could hear the laughter all around me which added to my embarrassment, I just wanted to die!!!

As to my audience, they just wanted to see if I had any underwear
beneath my kilt ( an act that many to this day still practice!)
I stood on my feet, mustered as much dignity as I could and held
out my hand for my “sweet” reward. This disaster was not repeated at other houses, as I decided I would pretend that I had a sore throat, and could not perform at all.

We had a lot of fun in those days, one could enter the house of a stranger and not be afraid that we would never be seen again.
We cheered up a lot of elderly people’s lives as they would not normally have many visitors, even from family, so they looked forward to “All Hallows Eve” with as much anticipation as we did.
These day’s are gone now, we all live in such fear of our neighbours, not knowing who they really are. Not trusting our children to be out on their own, to celebrate this holiday.

When I talk to my children about the “good old days” they look at me with a cynical grin on their face, but we, as children, had the freedom that today’s generation, just dont have. So are we moving forward in this world, and just where are we going to end up?

As the world has got smaller through travel, our fears have got bigger as our neighbourhoods get diversified. I lived on a street, when I was young, where I knew everyone and I could walk down that street knowing no fear, of man nor beast,I felt secure
and safe. Now we are almost prisoners in our homes, fearful for
our children’s safety, their lives so threatened at every turn.
OH! to go back to those ” Good Old Days”.

By: Ena Clewes

About the Author:

When I was growing up in Scotland, I was excited about Christmas.
My mother would have our mantelpiece decorated with holly and mistletoe and I would hang up my stocking (usually my dad’s as they were bigger!) and I would take off to bed at an early hour, waiting for the magic of christmas morning.

As all young children do, I woke up at an early hour, worried about going into our living room, in case Santa Claus was still there, or even worse, he had not come yet! I would lie in my bed, counting the minutes until I thought it was safe to get up.

After the festivities of opening gifts and then eating large quantities of food, Christmas day would draw to a close. Now the
real holiday spirit would take place, at New Year’s Eve.

The planning for this special event would just about take all of the preceding week to complete. Mother would be busy baking all week, so many scrumptious cakes and delicacies, that we were not allowed to touch, under peril of our lives! The main meat dishes at New Years Eve, were a large leg of Pork, a Turkey, and a Virginia
Ham. They were usually cooked the day before, so that they could be sliced cold, as in a buffet. They would be accompanied by home made
Apple sauce, Cranberry relish and other pickles.

Our vegetables would be mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, turnip,
greens, parsnips and carrots. We did not have broccoli or corn, at that time in Scotland, as a vegetable. There would be fruit cakes, especially Dundee cake, Cherry cake, Sultana cake, and of course, Black Bun! Now Black Bun is very spicy, it is a fruit filling encased in pastry, and has to be made days in advance to let the liquor seep though into the filling. It was a traditional
cake to give those people that entered your home after the stroke of midnight.

At about 7pm on New Years eve, my mother would set up our dining room table full of all these wondrous dishes, and mixed aroma would fill the room. My father would then get out the bottles of
alcohol and mixes, that would then be displayed on our coffee table, along with all of the appropriate stemware.
We would all get dressed in our “best” clothes and wait for the clock to chime midnight. My father would step outside our front door, just before the chimes would sound from our local church,
and he would wait there until the chimes had ceased. He would be carrying a lump of coal and a bottle of whisky, as this was our tradition. A dark haired man(which he was) was to be the first person through
the door after midnight, and he must carry coal to give to the occupants. If a fair haired person was the first to knock your door, then they would not be allowed in until a dark haired person came. Too bad if it was really cold or snowing, but tradition must be upheld!

After his entry into the house, we would all wish each other a
Happy New Year, and then wait for our visitors to come. They would start to arrive shortly after, family and friends, bringing
some sort of gift with them, and often would have gifts for the children, who were allowed to stay up on that special night.
My father would often go out into the street and meet neighbours
and invite them into our home, the streets were very busy, full of people walking to house parties and singing and laughing as they went. It was a time of joy and friendship and created a feeling of belonging.

I would try to keep my eyes open to enjoy all the food and laughter, but I would not be able to stay awake very long, and my father would lift me up and take me to my bed. I would sleep through all the noise and bustle, as young children do.

The next day, being New Year’s Day, we would put on our winter coats and go visiting those relatives who had not managed to come
the previous night. We did not have a car in those days, so we went
by public transport, which was usually a tramcar that ran on tracks, not very smoothly, so we all felt a little shaky when we would get off. What fun we had, sharing our food and tall tales, with our housebound relations.

On New Years Night, we would go to church, to give thanks for our blessings and to pray that the next year would bring us health
and happiness.

I do not know if these traditions are still held in my home country, I rather think not, as time changes many things that were
held dear to us, new ideas take their place and the sense of family is perhaps, not as strong, many family members now, living away from home.

I will never forget those days as they were among the happiest I have ever known, being so at one with my parents, seeing my loved
ones happy and carefree, if only for that one magical night,

HOGMANAY!

By: Ena Clewes

About the Author:

BenSkulj asked:

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