Scotland travel guide

Banks, I, Raw Spirit: In Search of the Perfect Dram (Arrow, 2004). Slightly uneven but enjoyable romp around Scotland’s distilleries.

Bathurst, B, The Lighthouse Stevensons (Harper Collins, 1999). Well-documented account of Robert Louis Stevenson’s family

Boswell and Johnson, S, A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland (UK Penguin). If you only read one travelogue, make it this.

Crumley, J, A High and Lonely Place and Gulfs of Blue Air – A Highland Journey (Mainstream).

Duff, D (ed), Queen Victoria’s Highland Journal (UK Hamlyn). Another interesting read.

Fraser, A, Mary, Queen of Scots (UK Mandarin).

Grant of Rothiemurchus, Elizabeth, Memoirs of a Highland Lady (Canongate).

Maclean, F Bonnie Prince Charlie (Canongate).

Maxwell, G, The Ring of Bright Water (Penguin). One of the best known Highland memoirs, a tale of otters and other wildlife set in Glenelg.

Miller, K, Electric Shepherd: A Likeness of J ames Hogg (Faber & Faber, 2003). A study of the life and works of one of Scotland’s most enigmatic literary figures.

Morton, H V, In Search of Scotland (Methuen).

Nicolson, A, Sea Room (Harper Collins, 2002). Beautiful and lyrical ‘love letter’ to the Shiant Islands, written by the man who owns them.

Skinner Sawyers, J (ed), The Road North – 300 years of Classic Scottish Travel Writing, (The Inn Pinn, 2000). A selection of the best, including Daniel Defoe, Edwin Muir and Jan Morris .

Tomkies, M, A Last Wild Place, An account of life in a remote West Highland croft.

Herman A, The Scottish Enlightenment (Fourth Estate, 2001). A brilliant account of Scotland’s contribution to the world.

Kennedy, L, In Bed with an Elephant (Corgi, 1996). An entertaining account of Scotland’s often turbulent relationship with England.

Lawson, B, Harris in History and Legend (Birlinn, 2006). Essential read for all interested in the land of the Hearrachs.

Lynch, M, Scotland A New History (Pimlico 1999). A worthy contender.

Macdonald, M, Scottish Art (Thames & Hudson, 2000). Good overview.

Magnusson, M, Scotland the Story of a Nation (Harper Collins, 2000). A mighty tome.

McIntosh, A, Soil and Soul: People Versus Coporate Power (Aurum Press, 2004). Ecology, spirituality and politics woven into a spell- binding tale of the power of the community.

Nairn, T, The Break-up of Britain (Common Groundb, 2003). Radical perspective of independence. Scotland’s Story (Fontana).

Prebble, J, 1000 years of Scotland’s History, The Lion in the North, Glen Coe, Culloden and The Highland Clearances (Penguin). Emotive and subjective view of highland history.

Smout, T C, A History of the Scottish People (1560-1830) (Fontana, 1998); A Century of the Scottish People (1830-1950) (Fontana, 1997).

Smith Haswell, H, The Scottish Islands (2004, Canongate).A wonderful reference book to the history, wildlife and ownership of Scotland’s myriad of islands.

Black, G, The Surnames of Scotland: their origin, meaning and history (New York, 1940). Available in most public libraries.

HM Stationery Office, Exploring Scotland’s Heritage. A beautifully illustrated series of books on historic buildings and archaeo- logical sites in different regions of Scotland.

Jackson, M, The Malt Whisky Companion (UK Dorling Kindersley). Those wishing to bone up on their malt whiskies should refer to this.

MacDonald, Lady C, The Claire MacDonald Cookbook (UK Bantam). An excellent Scottish recipe book, Lady Claire, runs a hotel on Skye.

Prior, C, Scotland The Wild Places (Constable). Colin Prior’s stunning photographs of the nation’s landscape and wildlife.

Sinclair, C, Tracing your Ancestors (HM Stationery Office). For more detailed genealogical study.

Stuart, M and Balfour Paul, J, Scottish Family History (Edinburgh, 1930). For a comprehensive history of Scottish clans and families. In most public libraries.

McCaig, N Selected Poems. Challenging poet whose work is deeply rooted in the landscapes of the Highlands.

Crawford, R and Imlah, M (eds) The New Penguin Book of Scottish Verse, (2000). An excellent overview.

Crichton-Smith, I, Collected Poems. Bilingual (English and Gaelic) poet writing passionately about life in the Outer Hebrides.

McDiarmid, H, Selected Poems. A huge figure on the Scottish literary landscape. His nationalist views and use of Scots have been as influential as they have been provocative.

Morgan, E, New Selected Poems. Scotland’s new poet laureate is one of the country’s foremost living writers and both entertaining and experimental.

Muir, E, Collected Poems. One of the most distinguished poets of the last century.

Paterson, D, Landing Light. The latest work of an innovative voice in Scottish poetry.

Many of the handicrafts you’ll see during your visit to the Highlands and Islands, such as pottery and jewellery, though undeniably beautiful, are produced by non-indigenous residents. Two traditional craft skills which have survived are weaving and knitting. Two areas where these skills reach their apotheosis are Harris and Orkney and Shetland and Fair Isle.

Though the vast majority of Scots speak English, one ancient Scottish language which survives is Scottish Gaelic (Gaidhlig, pronounced ‘Gallic’). Preceded by the speech of the Celts, it is now Scotland’s oldest surviving language. Often referred to as the national language, it has been spoken the longest. Introduced to the country by Irish immigrants in the third and fourth centuries, its use soon spread and became well established. The language is spoken by about 60,000 people in Scotland (just over 1% of the population). This is in the Gaidhealtachd, the Gaelic-speaking areas of the Outer Hebrides, parts of Skye and a few of the smaller Hebridean islands. Gaelic is one of the Celtic languages, which has included Irish Gaelic, Manx, Welsh, Cornish and Breton. Today only Scottish and Irish Gaelic, Welsh and Breton survive.

Argyll (which means ‘coastland of the Gael’) was the prime Gaelic-speaking area from the time Columba landed there in 563. Scottish Gaelic expanded greatly from the fifth century to around the 12th century and became the national language, spoken throughout most of the country with the exception of the Norse-speaking Orkney and Shetland isles. Galloway had a Gaelic community which was separated from the Highlands, but the language died out there about the 17th century.

From that point, Gaelic began a steady decline over the following centuries and, even before Union with England, was being usurped by English as more and more wealth and power passed into non-Gaelic hands. This transfer of power was given a major boost by the Reformation in the mid-16th century, as strong anti-Gaelic feeling was to the fore in the Church of Scotland.

Gaelic culture still flourished in the Highlands, but the failure of two successive Jacobite rebellions in the 18th century helped to seal its fate. In the wake of Culloden, all features of traditional Gaelic culture were proscribed and the clean sweep by government and landlords culminated in the Highland Clearances of the 19th century. The final nail in the coffin came in 1872, with the Education Act that gave no official recognition to Gaelic.

After two centuries of decline, Gaelic is now staging a comeback, thanks to financial help from government agencies and the EU which has enabled the introduction of bilingual primary and nursery schools and a massive increase in broadcasting time given to ‘Alba’ – Gaelic-language digital broadcast programmes. This renaissance can also be seen, and heard, in the fields of music and literature, and the recent return of the Scottish Parliament and with the Scottish National Party (SNP) in power can surely only help to strengthen the position of Gaelic in Scottish society.

His poetry mainly concerned itself with life as he was living it. He was also keen to point out what he saw as a kinship between all living things, such as in his famous To A Mouse. The most frequently quoted lines of this poem; “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men – Gang aft a-gley,” has entered the language, as have many sayings originated by Burns, and is a perfect summing up of his point of view. His most celebrated work, Auld Lang Syne expresses the joys of human companionship and is practically an anthem when friends gather to celebrate New Year around the world. His love of the companionship of friends is also a focus of Tam O’Shanter, which also serves as a cautionary warning against overindulgence and is a ghost story in the tradition of the mythic, while his irritation against the assumed superiority of some was put into words in A Man’s A Man For A’ That, which also returns to his theme of kinship.

Any overview, no matter how brief, of Scotland’s literary tradition must begin with a poet who has become inextricably linked with the image of Scotland and all things Scottish across the globe. Robert Burns was born on 25 January 1759 in Alloway, Ayrshire, in very humble surroundings, later referring to himself as “a very poor man’s son”. Burns wrote in the dialect of plain country people and about the lives they led, but the emotions he described were so genuine that they appealed to all classes.

The ‘heav’n-taught’ Ayrshire ploughman died on 21 July 1796, and was buried in St Michael’s Churchyard, Dumfries. Such is his standing that his memory is celebrated every year on 25 January, his date of birth, now referred to as Burns Night.

Another writer forever associated with the Borders is Sir Walter Scott, who not only ruled the roost of his native Scotland but the world of literature in general. Born in 1771, the son of a wealthy Edinburgh lawyer, Scott spent much of his childhood in the Borders during which time he immersed himself in tales and ballads of Jacobites and Border heroes, giving him a passion for history which would infuse his later work. It was this material which would eventually become poems in his three volumes of Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border which established his name as a literary figure. Other romantic poetic works followed, such as The Lady of the Lake.

In 1811 Scott purchased Abbotsford, a farmhouse near Melrose, and during the following years developed the style which would remain his best-remembered contribution to literature, the historical novel. Collectively known as the Waverley novels, these included Old Mortality, Rob Roy and The Heart Of Midlothian. The original Waverley was a romantic tale of the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745 and the Highland society of the time. By 1819 Scott had moved beyond purely Scottish history and wrote Ivanhoe, set in 12th-century England. It remains his most enduring work, and he followed it with Kenilworth, Redgauntlet and The Talisman.

Scott died on 21 September 1832. His huge popularity was believed to have kept the spirit of Scotland alive and he is commemorated by the Scott Monument in Princes Street, Edinburgh.

A contemporary of Scott’s, though far less well known, was James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, born at Ettrickhall Farm in Selkirkshire in 1770. Like Burns before him, Hogg was of humble origins and did not receive a proper education he but inherited a vast store of balladry from his mother, Margaret, some of which Scott published in his Minstrelsy Of The Scottish Border. Like Burns, Hogg was lionized by the Edinburgh elite as another heaven-taught rustic with a flair for poetry, but that is to severely undermine his importance to the world of philosophy and psychology as well as literature. His writings dealt with the notion of a divided nature within a single individual, reflecting Hogg’s own double life as rough Border shepherd and sophisticated urban intellectual. Hogg’s thinking and writing reached their apotheosis is his extraordinary The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, published in 1824 and one of the true masterpieces of Scottish literature. There is nothing else like it and, prior to the Freudian era, nothing to match its insight into fractures of human nature.

This exploration of the dual nature of man received its quintessential expression in Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde, published some 50 years after Hogg’s death and one of the classics of horror literature. The tale was inspired by Edinburgh’s notorious Deacon Brodie, a seemingly respectable pillar of the community by day and a criminal, gambler and womanizer by night.

Stevenson’s fondness of the macabre is also apparent in stories like The Bottle Imp and The Bodysnatcher, but it is for his romantic historical adventures that he is best known. Born at 8 Howard Place, Edinburgh, on 13 November 1850, Stevenson was fond of travel which led to his employment as a writer of travel articles and essays. While staying in Braemar in 1881, Stevenson drew pirate maps of an island, and these became the basis of his tale, Treasure Island, published two years later. For Stevenson it was just the first of the many adventure tales, including Kidnapped, its sequel, Catriona and The Master of Ballantrae, he wrote before his death in Samoa on 3 December 1894. The tradition of the adventure story has continued throughout the 20th century in the works of Perth-born John Buchan, author of The Thirty-Nine Steps.

One of Stevenson’s contemporaries at Edinburgh University was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Born at Picardy Place, Edinburgh, on 22 May 1859, Conan Doyle was schooled in Lancashire before returning to study medicine at Edinburgh University in 1876. It was while serving as an out-patient clerk at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary that Doyle met Doctor Joseph Bell, the man who was to influence most the creation of his famous character. “His strong point”, Doyle later noted, “was diagnosis, not only of disease, but of occupation and character”.

Doyle was living in London and had published several short stories and essays when memories of his former mentor, combined with a love of the detective fiction of Edgar Allan Poe, inspired him to write A Study In Scarlet, which first appeared in the 1887 edition of Beeton’s Christmas Annual. Doctor Watson recounted Sherlock Holmes’ unique detective skills in this, followed by a further three novels and 56 short stories, with all but The Sign Of Four making their initial appearance in The Strand Magazine.

Holmes became a phenomenon that not even Doyle could control. In fact, by 1893 he was so annoyed that his more serious literary endeavours were being neglected that he achieved what many criminals had failed to do. He killed Holmes. Following publication of The Final Problem, in which Holmes and his mortal foe, Professor Moriarty plunged over the Reichenbach Falls, there were public displays of grief and mourning. It was clear that the public were not going to let Holmes rest in peace, and eventually Doyle was forced to find an ingenious way of reviving the character. He penned his last Holmes story in 1927, a mere three years before his own death. Doyle’s other famous character was Professor Challenger, who famously discovered the Lost World, which later inspired Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park.

Another classic of literature was written by Doyle’s older literary friend, JM Barrie. Born in Kirriemuir in 1860, James Matthew Barrie was the son of a weaver. Educated at Glasgow Academy and Edinburgh University, Barrie spent some years in Nottingham as a journalist before returning to Kirriemuir to write. He moved to London in 1885, and it was there that he wrote his first novel, Better Dead. More novels and plays followed, best known of which is Peter Pan and The Lost Boys. First published in 1904, it was written for the children of a friend, Llewelyn Davis. Before his death in 1937, he bequeathed the copyright for Peter Pan to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.

It could easily be argued that, in its music, Scotland produces the finest and clearest expression of its culture. All tastes are currently catered for within its music scene, reflecting the cosmopolitan nature of a country standing at the threshold of a new era with its own parliament and a deep sense of love of its history and traditions, while keeping a weather eye on the future. Although the words ‘Scottish music’ often conjure up images of a tartan-clad piper on a mist-covered moor, that same piper is just as likely to be found supplying stirring melodies to the decidedly 1990s edge of ‘drums and bass’ styles heard in clubs around the country. And that’s not all – the sheer number of options available to those seeking any style of music, ranging from folk to funk, from ‘Tattoo’ to ‘T In The Park’, is truly remarkable.

Yet, despite the fact a new millennium has come and gone, bringing with it so many changes in music and technology, Scotland as a nation still responds, virtually as one, to the skirl of a full set of Highland bagpipes. Little wonder the pipes have been a dominant instrument for centuries – in celebration, in battle, in mourning – and are never far from the traveller’s notion of all things Scottish. The pipes’ unique sound is enjoyed the world over, not just in Scotland – witness the large numbers of pipe bands in the USA, Canada, across Europe, Australia and New Zealand. However, perhaps the best way to enjoy the pipes is to visit the country in summer when, accompanied by a full complement of drummers, many pipe bands can be seen taking part in competitions or playing at Highland Games in the open air. It would also be totally remiss not to mention the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, which takes place annually during August at the world- renowned Edinburgh Festival on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle.

Traditional Scottish music can be passionate or jocular, mournful or joyous. In the hands of a good player, few instruments compare to the violin, or ‘fiddle’. For confirmation, simply seek out the work of Ally Bain. With The Boys Of The Lough, Phil Cunningham or solo, his handling of all traditional Scottish styles is superb. The folk circuit is alive and well and, crucially, features many contemporary songwriters as well as tradionalists. Apart from those already listed above, the players worth checking out include Dougie Maclean, Eric Bogle, Hamish Imlach, the Battlefield Band, Dick Gaughan and the Tannahill Weavers, all of whom have a worldwide following.

Delving a little deeper into traditional Scotland’s music, you may come across Strathspey and Reel societies. These are groups of fiddlers, large or small, which are well attended across the length and breadth of Scotland. Most welcome visitors to their meetings to enjoy the music and, as most of these take place in pubs and hotels, to enjoy the local brew. On a more informal level, there are ceilidhs which often employ the help of a ‘caller’ to call out the moves to beginners and experienced dancers alike. The emphasis here is on enjoyment rather than precision and it is well worth seeking out some of the finest ceilidh dance bands, such as Tayside’s Benachally Ceilidh Band, featuring former members of Silly Wizard and Capercaillie, The Craigenroan Ceilidh Band, The Occasionals and Alisdair MacCuish and the Black Rose Ceilidh Band. Two rapidly emerging contemporary Scottish folk bands are the Vatersay Boys from Vatersay and Barra on the Outer Hebrides and Skipinnish from the Isle of Tiree.

There are also numerous Scottish music festivals, which range from the massive Celtic Connections and the well-respected Shetland Folk Festival, to smaller events which feature ceilidhs and more informal jam sessions.

In a long Liberal tradition dedicated to political reform, the issue of Home Rule reared its head repeatedly after the 1880s. The first stirrings of nationalism were heard after the First World War and voiced by writers in the 1920s, such as Lewis Spence, Hugh MacDiarmid and Neil Gunn. These sentiments took political shape as the Scottish National Party (SNP) in 1934. Support grew through the 1950s and 1960s, and in 1967 the SNP was revealed as a potent political force when Winifred Ewing won the Hamilton by-election.

By 1900 iron and later steel, mainly in the west, had become manufacturing mainstays, serviced by new canals, railways and roads. As well as emigrants, Scotland supplied goods to North America: locomotives, girders, bridges, textile machinery and tools. Shipyards flourished on the Clyde. The first iron steam ships were launched around 1800, although fast wooden clippers like the Cutty Sark were still competitive in the mid-19th century, when major shipping companies such as Cunard came to the fore. From 1880 skilled labour built steel ships for world markets as well as for the Royal Navy. Business boomed during the First World War, when political activity among skilled workers, inspired by the Bolshevik revolution and led by Marxist and Scottish Nationalist John Maclean, gave rise to the myth of ‘Red Clydeside’.

Post-war slump hit all industries in the 1920s, from which they never really recovered. A dangerous dependency on mining, metalworking and heavy engineering was a crucial factor in industrial decline, and the innovative spirit of the 19th century is only now re-emerging among pioneering computer software development companies in the central belt.

Nationalist fervour reached its height in the 1970s, roused by expectations that revenue from the oil and gas recently discovered in the North Sea would reverse economic decline. These hopes were dashed by oil revenues disappearing into the British Treasury at Westminster. In 1974, 11 SNP MPs were elected to Westminster – and, although many felt that this was a protest vote, Labour was concerned. In 1979 it held a referendum on the establishment of a Scottish Assembly. Turnout was low and support was luke warm, so no assembly was established.

Labour were soon ousted from office and the Thatcher government swept to power in 1979, bringing with it a disdain for Scotland that was to have far-reaching consequences. The new Conservative government also introduced policies that did not sit easily with most Scots. When the unpopular Poll Tax, which notoriously taxed ‘dukes the same as dustmen’, was introduced in Scotland a year earlier than in the rest of Britain, the country felt that it was increasingly being governed by politicians who cared little for its people. Years of Tory rule served only to widen the gap between Scotland and Westminster, and it was almost inevitable that some form of devolution would follow.

James believed in the Divine Right of Kings – the God-given right of monarchs to rule their subjects. It was a belief that he passed on to his son Charles I, who succeeded in 1625 and quickly proved that he had little desire to consult parliament in either Scotland or England. Although he was born in Dunfermline, he showed little interest in Scotland and was essentially an absentee monarch. He did not even bother to come to Scotland to be crowned until 1633, calling a parliament at the same time – and then overseeing proceedings, making sure that the voting went his way.

Charles also showed little tact and diplomacy in matters ecclesiastical, and by reasserting the powers of the bishops he rode roughshod over the authority of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Not surprisingly, the rumblings of revolution could soon be heard.

The struggle of the kirk (church) against the king erupted into full-scale civil war, with hostility towards bishops the recurrent theme. A riot in St Giles in Edinburgh expressed public feeling and resulted in The National Covenant, signed in Edinburgh in 1638, pledging faith to ‘the true religion’ and affirming the authority of the powerful General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in all matters spiritual. Covenanters and king came to blows, followed by an extremist group of Presbyterians allying with the English parliament against the king, in the Solemn League and Covenant. Battle-hardened Scots flooded back from European campaigns to take up arms.

A supporter of the original Covenant, Montrose, led a spirited but doomed campaign for the king against the extremists. At Ardvreck in Assynt he was betrayed to his arch-enemy ‘King Campbell’, Duke of Argyll, who gave him a traitor’s death in Edinburgh. After the Restoration Argyll found himself on the wrong side and met the same end on the same spot.

The Commonwealth under Cromwell lasted until 1660, when Charles II was restored to the English throne. The Scottish Parliament was revived and met again in 1661. This time the Presbyterian Covenanters, who had gained such control of Parliament prior to the Commonwealth, were tamed. The Scottish Parliament was again largely run by nobles loyal to the king.

Although Charles II was greeted with wild rejoicing, the reinstatement of the bishops once again proved problematic. Some unconsenting ministers of the church were outlawed and, finding a loyal following, especially in the southwest, they held illegal services, ‘Conventicles’, in the open air. Crippling fines and brutal persecution from officers of the crown, including Graham of Claverhouse, merely increased their resistance, and many died in the ‘Killing Times’ as martyrs to high principle.

Throughout the 17th century the dark side of religious idealism – fanaticism and paranoia – were epitomized by the ‘kirk sessions’: courts in which the church conducted an orgy of scapegoating and witch-hunts. Fundamental differences of ideology, constitution and culture between two countries only recently ‘twinned’, opened cracks in the alliance with the Parliamentarians. The following year Civil War broke out in England, with parliamentarians led by Oliver Cromwell fighting to wrest power from the king. In 1649 Charles was executed and England became a republic. The Scots, however, wanted to keep the monarchy and proclaimed his son, Charles II as their king, despite falling under Cromwell’s military ‘Protectorate’. Cromwell acted swiftly to bring the country under his control. In 1651 he forbade the Scots from holding their own parliament – forcing them to send representatives to Westminster instead.

Until around 1750 a large percentage of Scotland’s population lived north of the Clyde and Tay. Emigration to the Lowlands or North America was already a problem, as a money economy threatened traditional ways of life. The decision of landlords to resettle their tenants on the coasts, replacing black cattle with sheep, was a disastrous economic and social experiment, with brutal evictions in some areas – although popular myth forgets that famine, disease and overpopulation were rife and many went willingly. Eventually, in 1886, crofters’ rights were to some extent recognized .

The gap between Highland and Lowland life continued to widen as overgrazing, deforestation for industry, and deer ‘forests’, led to desolation in the Highlands, while improvements and drainage transformed Lowland agriculture.

At the same time industrialization was soon to bring a massive population shift. Wool, cloth and linen, long established as cottage industries, were undergoing mechanization. By 1820 mills were established in the coalfields of Lanark, Renfrew and Ayr. Linen declined in favour of cotton, spun and woven in Paisley and New Lanark, while tweed was first woven in Galashiels in 1830. Dundee substituted jute for linen and Kirkcaldy developed linoleum. Thriving on trade with America, Glasgow’s population mushroomed, absorbing many from the Highlands, as well as thousands of Irish refugees from the potato famine of the 1840s. Poor housing, overcrowding and disease became chronic.

Rebellion against the imposition of William of Orange began in 1689, when William’s government redcoats clashed with supporters of James II (the Jacobites) at Killiecrankie . They were led by Graham of Claverhouse, ‘Bonnie Dundee’, who was killed in the battle. In 1692 an expedition to weed out the Jacobites in the Highlands resulted in the Glencoe massacre, which provoked unprecedented public outcry .

The Act of Settlement was not forgotten, and dwindling trade and increased taxation fuelled dissatisfaction with the Union. A lively underground resistance, aided by long- standing French connections, revolved around the Jacobite court in exile at St Germain. Sympathy also came from English quarters.

Four attempts ensued to reinstate a Stewart monarchy, supported erratically by France, and culminating at Culloden in 1746 . Much support came from north of the Tay, which was Catholic and Episcopalian country. The term ‘Jacobite’ popularly denoted anti-establishment and Episcopalian. There was also a linguistic, social and cultural divide between Lowlander and Highlander which had grown since the 15th century.

Highland culture and independence was not diminished after the demise of the Lords of the Isles, hence the rise of the Campbells to enormous power as government agents, dealing for instance with the troublesome MacGregors. Claiming descent from Kenneth MacAlpin, the MacGregors were almost annihilated in 1603, and outlawed until 1774. They played a significant part in the Jacobite rebellions.

Although traditionally indifferent to the monarchy, many clans came out in support of Prince Charles (of ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’ fame) in 1745. After defeat at Culloden, savage reprisals were led by the ‘Butcher’ Cumberland. Rebels were beheaded or hanged, estates confiscated, and the pipes and Highland dress proscribed until 1782. Clansmen were enlisted into Highland regiments and 1150 were exiled, swelling the ranks of emigrants to the colonies. Gaelic culture was effectively expunged and Scotland as a whole suffered disgrace.

After Elizabeth’s death, Mary’s son became James VI of Scotland. Jacobean Scotland was vibrant and vigorously European. Religious extremists were checked by James VI, the ‘Wisest fool in Christendom,’ and unprecedented peace allowed Renaissance culture to blossom. But trouble was brewing. In 1603 James VI ascended to the English throne as James I, with the Union of Crowns. At this time the Scottish Parliament had so little power that James VI/I was able to write from his palace in London: “Here I sit and govern Scotland with my pen. I write and it is done.” In contrast, the English parliament had begun to assume some genuine power.

Macbeth, the earl-king of the vast land of Moray, rose to high kingship with popular support, reigning for a relatively long (1040-1057) and peaceful time with his queen Gruoch, grand-daughter of Kenneth III of Scots. The popular image of Macbeth as portrayed by Shakespeare is, in fact, a false one. The great bard vilified Macbeth in order to please his James VI, who claimed descent from Duncan, Macbeth’s rival. But it was Duncan who was the nasty piece of work, and he was slain not at Glamis, as in the play, but on the battlefield, while invading Macbeth’s territory. Duncan features in the Orkneyinga saga, a Viking history, as Karl Hundason, ‘low-born son of the hound’.

Competition for the throne was a part of Pictish custom. A suitable ‘tanist’ or candidate was elected from anyone whose great-grandfather had been king, and the candidates would then fight it out: in practice, survival of the fittest. This competition for the right to be king was complicated by the ancient dynastic rivalry among the Dalriadic Scots and perpetuated when they merged with the Picts under Kenneth MacAlpin. This later precipitated the Wars of Independence.

One part of Shakespeare’s Macbeth which is historical fact is the Birnam Wood incident, when Malcolm, Duncan’s son, and his Northumbrian allies used tree branches as camouflage to advance on Macbeth in his Dunsinnan stronghold near Perth. He was later hunted down and slain at Lumphanan by Malcolm’s ally, MacDuff, Earl of Fife, and is buried on Iona.

Macbeth, the last truly Celtic king, was also one of the most able early kings. He was the first to establish and implement a fair legal system and, a firm supporter of the Celtic church, he went on pilgrimage to Rome where an Irish monk observed him liberally scattering money to the poor; further evidence of the great disservice done to his memory by Shakespeare.

There is no more tragic and romantic figure in Scottish history than Mary, Queen of Scots. Raised in France for safekeeping as a Catholic, her brief reign was dogged by bad luck, bad judgement and bad timing. She arrived back in Scotland in 1561, a young widow, at the height of Reformation turmoil in which both France and Catholicism were inimical. Something of a loose cannon, she was embroiled in a power struggle not helped by her disastrous choice of husbands. Implicated in the celebrated murder of the first husband, her cousin, Henry Lord Darnley, she then swiftly married one of the chief suspects, the Earl of Bothwell, incurring the fury of everyone else. Imprisoned after the Battle of Carberry on the island fortress of Loch Leven, she escaped only to throw herself on the mercy of her cousin Queen Elizabeth I, who, mindful that in Catholic eyes Mary had the better claim to the English throne, locked her up at Fotheringhay for 19 years before deciding to do away with her altogether.

Scotland’s earliest known inhabitants are the hunter-gatherers of around 6000-5000 BC. By 2000-1500 BC these Mesolithic people had been joined by Beaker folk, so named from their distinctive pottery, and grain-cultivating Megalithic people, arriving by sea via Spain and Portugal, who were tempted to settle by a then prevailing near-Mediterranean climate. Several climate changes for the worse triggered much population movement and also, along with extensive deforestation, caused the formation of peaty soil, now characteristic of much of Scotland, by around 1000 BC.

The pottery and other artefacts of the Beaker people have been found in burial mounds or cairns, such as Maes Howe on the Orkney Mainland . They suggest a complex social structure and perhaps, more importantly, a belief in the afterlife, as do the prehistoric settlements and monuments in Caithness, Orkney, Shetland and the Outer Hebrides, notably at Skara Brae , Stenness, and the Ring of Brodgar on Orkney Mainland, and Callanish on Lewis . But throughout Scotland there are hundreds of standing stones and circles, a legacy of the megalithic peoples. In Aberdeenshire surveys reveal precise orientations indicating their use as observatories charting lunar cycles and eclipses. The layout of Clava Cairns, near Inverness , bears similarities to the great temple at Newgrange in Ireland. And at Kilmartin in Argyll , cup and ring marks, stone alignments and burial cairns, formed in a complete ‘landscape temple’, suggest a geomantic sophistication that has now been forgotten.

At the beginning of the first millennium BC, Bronze Age traders from far afield were busy around the coasts. Celts arrived from Germany, bringing with them new agricultural technology and weaponry such as swords and shields, which in turn necessitated impressive earthwork defences in the form of hillforts and crannogs as competition for land increased. In about 200-100 BC more Celts arrived with superior iron-working skills, and consequently, more fortifications were also built. The brochs, or towers, the remains of many of which can still be seen dotted along the west coast and in the islands, date from this time .

The Reformation, converting the Catholic church to Protestant, came relatively late to Scotland and the motives were as much political as religious, though, of course, in 16th-century terms the two were inextricably linked. A pro-English Protestant faction had grown over decades, opposing the French Catholic Regent, Mary of Guise, and in 1560 a rebel parliament banned Catholic Mass, thus shattering for good the Auld Alliance with France, first formalized in 1295.

The casualties of the Reformation were countless, and included religious buildings, works of art and even whole libraries. It amounted to a complete obliteration of the past over which even today amnesia prevails, though, unlike in England, there were very few martyrs. So began 100 years of bitter struggle to establish the reformed church. Cue the Protestant exile, John Knox, a Calvinist rabble-rouser of dubious character and little diplomacy who was prone to blasting his trumpet off against the ‘monstrous regiment of women,’ namely Mary, Queen of Scots. Knox’s skills as a colourful orator, and his self- appointed role as official historian of the Reformation, have allowed him to eclipse the real hero, Andrew Melville, who sacrificed his career of reforming university education to devote himself to the nuts and bolts of church reform.

Schooling for all as a passport to intellectual freedom and moral probity was a dream of the reformers. While grammar and song schools already existed, by the end of the 17th century most parishes had schools using the bible as textbook. The ‘Dominie’ (schoolmaster) was, until recently, a hugely influential community figure. Prior to the Reformation the Universities of St Andrews (1412), Glasgow (1451) and Aberdeen (1495) had been established, and Edinburgh University was added to the list in the 1580s.

Scotland and England continued to disagree, both about the succession and about religion. Charles II’s brother and successor, James VII/II, was a Roman Catholic, and in 1687 he tried to introduce more tolerant policies towards Catholics. His actions were seen as a threat to the privileged position held by the Church of England, which since the time of Henry VIII had been the official church in England, and also displeased Presbyterians in Scotland. At first the feeling was that this state of affairs wouldn’t last: James was ageing, and as both his daughters were Protestants, the Protestant succession seemed safe. However, when his heir James Francis Edward was born and brought up as a Catholic, a crisis was precipitated, James was ousted from the throne, and fled ignominiously in 1689. His Protestant daughter, Mary, and her husband William of Orange, were invited to take the throne of England, and were later reluctantly accepted by the Scots under the terms of the Revolution Settlement.

Charles Edward Stuart, the ‘Young Pretender’, grandson of James II, was born in Italy. First setting foot on Scottish soil aged 23 with seven companions (the Seven Men of Moidart), his forceful personality persuaded reluctant clan chiefs to join him in raising the Standard for his father at Glenfinnan in 1745. Inadequately prepared government troops under ‘Johnny Cope’ enabled his swift progress to Edinburgh, where he held court at Holyrood, dazzling the populace with a grand ball. Edinburgh was charmed but embarrassed.

With sights set on the English throne, he reached Derby. Encouraging reports about panic in London were offset by news of advancing government troops which prompted retreat. The pursuing redcoats were outwitted as far as Inverness, and the ensuing bloodbath at Culloden, though Charles’ only defeat, was decisive. Fleeing to the Hebrides, he was given shelter by Flora MacDonald and then spent a summer as a lone fugitive. Despite a £30,000 reward for his capture, he managed to escape on a French frigate in 1746. Too late by just a fortnight, 40,000 Louis d’ors then arrived from France, enough to have revived the whole campaign.

This failure has been ascribed to a fatal weakness of character and a collapse of resolve at Derby. He ended his days a degenerate and broken man, ensuring the complete collapse of the Jacobite cause. But Bonnie Prince Charlie is remembered in numerous nostalgic songs, a toast to ‘the King over the Water’, and a host of memorabilia.

Macbeth’s usurper, the uncouth Malcolm III, Canmore (meaning ‘big head’), was an illegitimate son of Duncan and a miller’s daughter. In 1067 Malcolm married Margaret, a Saxon princess born in Hungary and sister of Edgar Atheling, the English heir to the throne, who had fled north with his family to escape William the Conqueror and the Norman conquest. Margaret was a devout Catholic and was largely responsible for introducing the religious ideas of the Roman Catholic Church into Scotland, for which she was canonized in 1251. In 1072 she founded Dunfermline Abbey and introduced southern manners to the Scottish court.

Malcolm’s belligerent instincts were not curbed by the influence of the saintly Margaret, however, and one of his many raids into Northumberland provoked a visit from William the Conqueror. The result was that Malcolm was forced to swear allegiance to William, an oath he didn’t take too seriously, as he continued to raid England at whim, but one which would lead to a greater degree of southern interference in Scottish constitutional matters.

The Normans began to exert their influence over Scotland in many other ways. They were granted land as far as the Highland fringes, establishing a feudal system based on loyalty to the crown. The traditional patriarchal tribal culture was eroded, causing constant rebellions in the North and Galloway. The Norman successor to the Scottish throne, David I, like many of his Norman friends, had English estates, acquired through his wife. This wealth built the great Border abbeys and established the Roman church more fully. New parishes and dioceses revolutionized administration, and burghs were founded to develop international trade, attracting Flemish settlers. Society in medieval Scotland became more typically European than England or even France.

One of the depressingly familiar themes running through Scottish history has been the unwillingness of the Scots nobility to resist English ambitions towards Scotland. This has always been their Achilles heel and, in 1290, it provoked a crisis of succession, when the new child queen, Margaret, Maid of Norway, died en route from Norway. Margaret had been recognized as heiress of Scotland, the Hebrides and the Isle of Man, and the planned child marriage to the prince who would become Edward II, son of Edward I, was not to be. Following her death, no fewer than 13 rival contestants materialized. Two main factions emerged: the Balliols and Comyns against the Bruces. But instead of reverting to the traditional method of tanistry, or ‘natural selection’, the pusillanimous Scots nobles appealed to Edward I of England to adjudicate.

Although both countries shared a monarch, England was growing significantly wealthier than Scotland. Like other European countries, it was thriving economically through trade generated by its colonies. Scotland, however, had no colonies of its own. To remedy this, a monopoly company was founded with the approval of the king, modelled on the English East India Company. Wealthy Scots helped to fund it, but much of the capital was raised in England. However, the English East India Company exercised its considerable power to protect its monopoly. Strings were pulled and the House of Commons soon threatened to prosecute the Scottish company’s English directors. The king, who had agreed to its establishment, now came under pressure to oppose it. Not surprisingly, most of the English backers withdrew and Scotland saw it as a matter of national pride to raise the starting capital itself – a sum of £400,000, roughly half the nation’s capital.

The intention of the scheme was to establish a permanent colony at Darién, on the Panama Isthmus in Central America. Darién was a strategically important site, and the plan was that goods sent to and from Europe would sail to Panama, be carried overland across the isthmus, then reshipped – the new Scottish company carrying out this lucrative work.

However, the project had not been thoroughly researched. For one thing, the land was owned by Spain, a major world power who King William could not afford to offend. Consequently, he ordered English colonists in the area not to help the Scottish settlers defend their new home against the Spanish. In addition the terrain was hostile (which was why the Spanish had not set up a similar scheme already), and diseases like malaria and yellow fever were rife. Within months large numbers of colonists had died. Another attempt was made and was also unsuccessful, and by 1700 the colony had been abandoned.

The consequences were far reaching. Scotland lost a vast proportion of her wealth; national pride and confidence were dented; and the country lost faith in the dual monarchy. The king had sided with his wealthiest subjects – and Scotland felt betrayed.

Some claim Joseph of Arimathea brought Christianity to Whithorn in Galloway, which had been a religious centre since the first century. Around AD 397 Ninian founded a Christian Mission in Whithorn, along eastern Mediterranean monastic lines vastly different from the Roman model. From here he and countless missionaries such as Kentigern, Moluag and Comgan went north to convert the Picts, as far as St Ninian’s Isle in Shetland. Their communities, oak churches and cells are remembered in innumerable place names, wells and simple cross-marked stones, often established on pre-Christian sacred sites.

In AD 563 Columba arrived on Iona , where he went on to found the Celtic Church, or the Church of the Culdees, with centres throughout Scotland, which differed in many ways from the Church of Rome. Iona became known as the ‘Cradle of Christianity in Scotland’, but the arrival of the Vikings inhibited sea travel and the monks were driven from Iona. About this time, the Scots took over the Pictish nation and the Columban church moved to Dunkeld, with Columba’s relics transported in the breacbannoch, or Monymusk reliquary. This was carried at Bannockburn and is now in the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

St Andrews later became the principal seat of the church, although Iona retained special status. Communities of Culdees (one of which was at St Andrews) survived into the 13th century, outwith the Columban and later Roman church. These were thought to be adherents of Ninian’s church, preserving elements of pre-Christian druid religion.

A common origin for the cross symbol found on both the Pictish cross slabs and the free standing crosses of Iona and Islay is the chi-ro, or wheeled cross, as found at Whithorn. However, the enigmatic symbols, vivid hunting scenes and mythical beasts of the Pictish stones found throughout Pictland are unique, and their function remains a mystery. Another mystery is the brief flourishing in the early 13th century of an accomplished school of sculptors around Loch Awe, in Argyll. In ancient burial grounds throughout Knapdale are found grave slabs depicting swords, warriors and foreign ships, thought to mark the graves of the Knights Templar who fled here from France.

Intellectual life flourished in late 18th-century Scotland. Embracing all the arts, its roots lay in the philosophical nature, shaped by European thought, underlying Scots law, education and the church. The sceptic David Hume (1711-1776) was the foremost of a school of philosophers, best known for his Treatise on Human Nature and Essays, Moral and Political. Kirkcaldy-born Adam Smith pioneered political economy in his Wealth of Nations (1776), a powerful impetus to later political reform.

An emphasis on research and practicality in the sciences fostered inventiveness in applied science, contributing much to industry and agriculture. James Watt developed the steam engine which powered the machinery of the Industrial Revolution, medicine flourished at Edinburgh University, and further generations spawned engineers and inventors like Alexander Graham Bell and John Logie Baird, inventors of the telephone and television.

Classicism was espoused in architecture and by painters like Allan Ramsay, Raeburn and Naysmth, and gave way in literature to the Romanticism of Robert Burns whose work profoundly influenced popular culture and notions of democracy.

Sir Walter Scott’s best selling historical novels worked miracles for Scotland’s public image. It was he who stage-managed the visit of George IV, who sportingly donned a kilt and, for modesty’s sake, pink tights for the occasion. Later on, Queen Victoria was inspired to adopt a Highland home and, with the craze for ‘Balmorality’, the Highlands assumed a romantic glamour, becoming a fashionable resort for southern sportsmen.

Twenty years on, the Scots voted emphatically in favour of devolution, and the Scottish Parliament reconvened after 292 years on 12 May, 1999. The new Parliament has 129 MSPs (Members of the Scottish Parliament) who were elected by proportional representation. It has the power to pass legislation and to alter the rate of taxation. However, defence and foreign affairs are still handled by Westminster. The early years of the parliament have not been without controversy, and its relationship with Westminster has at times proved frosty. The most pressing issue is the so-called ‘West Lothian Question’, the anomaly that allows Scottish MPs at Westminster to vote on issues solely affecting England, while English MPs cannot vote on solely Scottish issues. MSPs, for example, recently voted to fund personal care for the elderly in Scotland. Yet this went against the policy of the Labour government, leading to the possible scenario of Scottish Labour MPs at Westminster voting against such funding for the elderly in England. As one commentator said: “The English have been the silent and uninvited guests at the devolutionary feast”. In addition, Scotland still benefits from higher spending per head than any other part of Britain – a situation which is almost certain to change in the near future.

The bold, stunning new parliamentary building, which finally opened in October 2004, has more than its fair share of critics and was even subject to a public inquiry into why its costs increased tenfold (from an estimated £40 million to over £400 million), and why it opened three years later than planned. Blame was eventually apportioned to beaurocrats and politicians (so what’s new?). But now, at least, it’s there, fittingly overshadowing the queen’s residence. Whether devolution is a step on the road to full independence remains to be seen. However, despite the economic downturn and ensuing dent in confidence that since 2008 has afflicted Scotland and it’s neighbours, with the Scottish National Party (SNP) sweeping to power in 2007 (their detractors are quick to point out it’s a minority government) it may now be far from a political pipe-dream that Scotland will in the near future go to the polls to vote for independence.

Indigenous Iron Age tribes inhabited most of the country and were identified by the Romans as ‘Picts’ – possibly meaning ‘painted, or tattooed, people’. They thwarted Roman imperial ambition in Alba, the land north of the Forth and Clyde, in around AD 80, and a string of Roman military outposts along the Highland line remain from this abandoned campaign. At Fortingall near Aberfeldy, the ancient yew tree is said to mark the birthplace of Pontius Pilate, possibly the son of a Roman soldier who later found preferment in Rome. To add credence to this theory, a gravestone marked ‘PP’ was found.

Defensive walls built by Emperors Hadrian (circa AD 123 from the Solway Firth to the Tyne) and Antoninus (from the Clyde to the Forth circa AD 143) against the Picts inadvertently set a precedent for the eventual polarization of Scotland and England, beginning around the ninth century, out of the mass of tribal kingdoms. An endlessly disputed border led to centuries of retaliatory raids and devastation on either side.

Picts south of the Antonine wall became semi-Romanized and were known as Britons, kin to the Welsh. Their kingdom of Strathclyde, with a stronghold on Dumbarton Rock near Glasgow, once extended into Lancashire and retained a separate identity into the 11th century. The Lothians, territory of the British Gododdin, was overrun by Anglians from Northumbria. In the seventh century the Anglians challenged the Picts in Alba and were finally defeated at Dunnichen.

Meanwhile an Irish tribe, the Scots, who claimed descent from an Egyptian Pharaoh’s daughter, had been settling in Pictish territory in Argyll from around the fourth century. Once in Argyll, the sons of the Scots’ leader, Erc, established a kingdom called Dalriada, sharing it between themselves under a high king at Dunadd . When their fellow countryman, Columba, arrived in the sixth century on Iona, they were aided in their cause by his diplomatic skills at the hostile Pictish court of King Brude, in Inverness. In the ninth century the Scots under Kenneth MacAlpin took over the Picts. Although their written records were destroyed, or falsified by the conquering Scots, they left a rich legacy of unique sculptured stones denoting a civilized and artistic culture. When Kenneth set up at Scone, and Alba became Scotland, the seven kingdoms of Pictland in the north and east survived as great earldoms.

From Robert the Bruce’s title of ‘High Steward’ sprang the dynasty of Stewart kings. The early Jameses (of whom there were seven in all) all followed a tragic pattern: succeeding as infant kings, imprisoned throughout childhood, and suffering untimely deaths. James I and III were both murdered, and James II blew himself up accidentally with a cannon. Unscrupulous regents frequently took charge, and hugely powerful nobles like the house of Douglas competed both amongst themselves and against the king. James II hot-bloodedly murdered the Earl of Douglas over dinner at Stirling Castle by throwing him out of the window. The Lords of the Isles were put down by the Earl of Mar and his followers in one of the bloodiest battles of all, ‘Red Harlaw’ near Inverurie. Like the Douglases, they too were finally forfeited, in 1543.

However, the early Stewarts made progress towards rescuing the country from anarchy by laying the foundations for a modern state through a series of constitutional reforms. Mostly cultured and progressive, they found time to write poetry (James I wrote the King’s Quair), to build Renaissance palaces, and to father sufficient illegitimate ‘James Stewarts’ to fill numerous ecclesiastical sinecures (James IV and V). James IV was a true Renaissance prince with a glittering court, but a self-destructive streak led to his early death – along with most of the nobility – at Flodden, in 1513, sacrificed for the long-standing ‘Auld Alliance’ with France.

Pagan Norsemen in dragonships are first heard of in Argyll in AD 795, the first of many such coastal raids of unimaginable savagery, which included ritual killings. Colonies of monks were not spared; 68 suffered the ‘red martyrdom’ on Iona in 807, and its library, ‘a shop window crammed with the loot of centuries’ was a magnet for raiders. By the late ninth century Norsemen had colonized Orkney , and from Birsay Palace Earl Sigurd wielded power as far south as Moray. A renegade bunch of mixed Norse and Gaelic ancestry, the Gall-Gaels, appeared in the Hebrides and Galloway. Some of these, like chieftain Ketil Flatnose’s family, became early settlers of Iceland.

Once surrounded by aggressive Norse colonies, now also in Dublin and York, the newly formed ‘Scotland’ survived through a combination of fighting spirit and a network of shifting alliances with the various Norse powers. Some of these alliances were enduring. In the ninth century ‘Torf’ Einar, credited with introducing peat cutting, founded a dynasty from which sprang the Earls of Angus.

After the Dublin colony collapsed in 1014, a Viking kingdom of ‘Man and the Sudreys’ (Hebrides) filled the vacuum, and the isles continued to be ravaged by warring Norsemen. By around 1100 Norwegian king Magnus Barelegs’ empire included the entire northern and western seaboard. Against this backdrop, pursuing his own interests, appears Somerled, Hebridean hero of Norse-Gaelic blood, progenitor of Clan Donald and the powerful Lordship of the Isles. In 1153 he supported a rebellion against the Scottish crown. Later, in the early 13th century, he built a series of castles around the coast, such as Sween, Tioram, Mingary and Dunstaffnage, which foiled the intermittent attempts made by the Scottish crown to assert control.

The last of the great Norse kings, Hakon, was defeated by the Scots in 1263 at Largs, with the aid of bad winter weather. Orkney and Shetland were only returned to Scotland in the 15th century. A Norse dialect was spoken there into the 18th century, and vestiges of Norwegian law still survive, as does the Viking St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall.

While Darién produced much anti-English feeling, a number of Scots began to feel that greater co-operation with England could be economically advantageous. At around the same time a further constitutional crisis was brewing. William of Orange had no children and was to be succeeded by James VII/II’s daughter, Anne, who was Protestant. However, Anne had no surviving children and English politicians began to search for an heir – who had to be both Protestant and have Stuart blood. They decided on the Hanoverians, who were descended from the daughter of James VI/I. In 1701 the English parliament passed the Act of Settlement, ruling that on Anne’s death the throne should pass to the House of Hanover. In 1702 William died and the throne passed to Anne.

The assumption was that the Scots would follow England’s lead and accept the Hanoverian succession. But the nation was still smarting over Darién and, as Anne turned out to have little interest in Scotland, relations were strained. The difficulties over having two separate governments under one monarch would not go away. In 1703 the Scottish parliament passed the Act of Security which declared that on Anne’s death Scotland would take a different successor to England, unless some settlement could be agreed upon that restored “the honour and sovereignty of this Crown and Kingdom”. They wanted to guarantee the power of the Scottish parliament; the freedom of Scottish religion; and freedom of trade. In addition Parliament ordered people to arm themselves and prepare to fight. It was sabre rattling that the English could hardly ignore.

Although Anne signed the Act of Security, Scotland’s triumph was shortlived. England passed the Alien Act, which declared that all Scots except those resident in England should be treated as aliens, and Scottish trade with England was to be blocked. The act was to remain in force until Scotland agreed to make moves towards parliamentary union, or accepted Hanoverian succession.

There were obvious economic advantages to closer ties with England, and Scotland was in a vulnerable position. Not only had the Darién venture weakened the economy, the country was also suffering from several years of harvest failure which had led to famine. Although public opinion was against Union with England, it counted for little. It certainly appealed to many in parliament. Financial inducements were offered – and accepted – causing Robert Burns to comment later that Scotland had been “bought and sold for English gold”. The Church of Scotland, initially suspicious of Union, withdrew its objections when it was assured that Presbyterianism would be safeguarded. A propaganda campaign was carried out on both sides of the border, many of the pamphlets being written by the author Daniel Defoe. The English were assured that Union would end the threat of invasion from Scotland; the Scots assured of great economic benefits.

The people were not swayed. There were violent demonstrations in the streets, and riots in Glasgow, Dumfries and Edinburgh. Opponents even went as far as claiming that Union would be sinful. The riots in Edinburgh were particularly violent, causing Defoe, who was acting as a spy for the English government, to say: “A Scots rabble is the worst of its kind.” The Scots – he said – were a “hardened and terrible people”. Pro-Union MPs were attacked, and plans were made in Lanarkshire to raise an army to march on Edinburgh. But public opinion was not of consequence. The Duke of Argyll, for instance, stated that anti-Union petitions were only fit to make paper kites out of. Although some members, notably Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun, were opposed to Union, the treaty was comfortably passed by the Scottish Parliament on 16 January 1707. It had to be signed in secret in Edinburgh to protect politicians from the mob.

In April the act was passed in the English Parliament, and on 1 May 1707 the Union came into effect. The Kingdoms of Scotland and England were united into Great Britain, though Scotland preserved its separate legal system, educational system and church. Despite the vigorous opposition, threats and bribery assured that a bankrupt and exhausted Scotland was, in popular mythology, sold to England for £398,085 – part compensation for Darién, part wages for the Commissioners who closed the deal.

Edward eventually chose John Balliol, and he was crowned king at Scone in June 1292. Balliol was anxious to prove to his fellow Scots that he was not as weak as they claimed him to be. He negotiated a defensive agreement with the French, the beginning of the Auld Alliance. He then invaded Cumberland in 1296, but in retaliation Edward attacked Berwick and slaughtered its inhabitants. The Scottish army was then defeated at Dunbar, and thereafter the castles of Edinburgh, Roxburgh, Perth and Stirling were captured.

In the same year, Balliol abdicated at Stracathro and went into exile. Edward then destroyed the great Seal of Scotland and, worse still, moved the Stone of Destiny, the traditional crowning throne for all Scottish kings, to Westminster Abbey, where it lay under the Coronation Chair for 700 years. Scotland, as a result, was left in disarray.

However, resistance found a leader in William Wallace, son of a Renfrew laird. He began a revolt against the English in 1297 and built up a substantial army. By September of that year he he had secured a small but strategic victory against English forces at Stirling Bridge. This galvanized support, and he was quickly declared ‘Guardian of the Realm’. Following his defeat at Falkirk he was betrayed to Edward by one of the Scots noblemen, captured and taken south to be executed (disembowelled, then hung, drawn and quartered) in Smithfield, London, in 1305.

This stirred Robert the Bruce to take up the cause of independence. Encountering his treacherous rival, ‘Red’ Comyn, in a Dumfries church, he seized the initiative, stabbing him at the altar. With Comyn dead, and the support of patriotic church leaders, as well as Sir James, ‘The Black Douglas’, Bruce was able to consolidate his gains, and he was crowned king with full ceremony at Scone before the inevitable blow of Papal excommunication fell. But it was not only that Rome refused to recognize Bruce as king. Edward I, the self-proclaimed ‘Hammer of the Scots’, was not best pleased, and for the next seven years Bruce was a virtual outlaw fighting a guerrilla campaign against Edward from hiding in the west.

During this time the indomitable Edward died, and Bruce felt bold and confident enough to raid the northern counties of England as far south as Appleby and Richmond. Of his castles captured by the English, only Stirling remained to be wrested from Edward’s successor, Edward II. So the scene was set for the most significant battle in Scottish history: in 1314 at Bannockburn, near Stirling, Bruce confronted Edward II’s vastly superior army. His incredible victory, aided by Angus Og of the Isles, and a number of Knights Templar recently arrived seeking sanctuary from persecution in France, has ensured him a place in the heart of every patriotic Scot.

Bannockburn brought the Scots a rare victory over their southern enemy, and led to the ‘signing’ of the Declaration of Arbroath, manifesto of Scotland’s independence, in 1320. There followed a temporary peace with England, and Bruce was finally recognized as king by the Pope, before he died in 1329. His friend Douglas, as requested, took Bruce’s heart on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, but when Douglas died en route it was returned to Melrose Abbey.

The Scottish countryside plays host to some of Europe’s rarest and most celebrated wildlife, though much of it has disappeared over the centuries. The ancient Caledonian forests were once home to wildlife that we now identify with other far-flung countries: including the brown bear, lynx, wolf, reindeer and beaver to name but a few. Small numbers of beaver and reindeer have been reintroduced in recent years and there is the ongoing controversial debate regarding the reintroduction of the wolf in the far northeast of Scotland. Meanwhile, wildlife enthusiasts and nature conservation body’s continue to press for tighter legislation and resources to tackle illegal hunting and baiting of Scotland’s birds of prey.

Beer is the alcoholic drink of choice in Scotland. The most popular type of beer is lager, which is generally brewed in the UK, even when it bears the name of an overseas brand, and is almost always weaker in both strength and character than the lagers in mainland Europe. However, examples of the older and usually darker type of beers, known as ales, are still widely available, and connoisseurs should try some of these as they are far more rewarding. Indeed, the best of them rival Scotland’s whiskies as gourmet treats.

Traditionally, Scottish ales were graded by the shilling, an old unit of currency written as /-, according to strength. This system is still widely used by the older established breweries, though many of the newer independents and ‘micros’ have departed from it. 70/- beers at around 3.5% ABV (alcohol by volume), known as ‘heavy’, and 80/- beers (4.5% sometimes known as ‘export’), are the most popular, while 60/-, ‘light’ (3-3.5%) is harder to find. Very strong 90/- beers (6.5% + ABV), known as ‘wee heavies’, are also brewed, mainly for bottling.

The market is dominated by the giant international brewers: Scottish Courage with its McEwans and Youngers brands; Interbrew with Calders and Carslberg; and Tetley with Tennents lagers. Tennents was the first British brewery to produce a continental-style lager commercially back in the 19th century, and, despite a competitive marketplace, remains a favourite for many Scots.

Much better are the ales from smaller independent breweries. Edinburgh’s Caledonian is a world-class brewer producing many excellent beers, including a popular 80/- and a renowned golden hoppy ale, Deuchars IPA. Belhaven, an old, established family brewery in Dunbar, has some superb traditional beers including a malty 80/-, once marketed as the Burgundy of Scotland. Broughton, a microbrewery in the Borders, produces the fruity Greenmantle and an oatmeal stout. Another micro, Harvieston of Clackmannanshire (once an important brewing country) offers a wide and adventurous range of specialities, including Ptarmigan 80/- and a naturally brewed cask lager, Schiehallion. The Heather Ale Company, near Glasgow, has the spicy and unusual Fraoch (pronounced ‘Frooch’), which is flavoured with real heather as well as hops.

Draught beer in pubs and bars is served in pints, or half pints, and you’ll pay between £2.50 and £3.50 for a pint (unless you discover a ‘Happy Hour’ offering good deals on drinks, usually for much more than one hour! Happy hours usually apply in late afternoon or early evening). In many pubs the basic ales are chilled under gas pressure like lagers, but the best ales, such as those from the independents, are ‘real ales’, still fermenting in the cask and served cool but not chilled (around 12°C) under natural pressure from a handpump, electric pump or air pressure fount. All Scottish beers are traditionally served with a full, creamy head.

No visit to the Scottish Highlands would be complete without availing oneself of a ‘wee dram’. There is no greater pleasure on an inclement evening than enjoying a malt whisky in front of a roaring log fire whilst watching the rain outside pelt down relentlessly. The roots of Scotland’s national drink (uisge beatha, or ‘water of life’ in Gaelic) go back to the late 15th century, but it wasn’t until the invention of a patent still in the early 19th century that distilling began to develop from small family-run operations to the large manufacturing business it has become today. Now more than 700 million bottles a year are exported, mainly to the United States, France, Japan and Spain.

There are two types of whisky: single malt, made only from malted barley; and grain, which is made from malted barley together with unmalted barley, maize or other cereals, and is faster and cheaper to produce. Most of the popular brands are blends of both types of whisky – usually 60-70% grain to 30-40% malt. These blended whiskies account for over 90% of all sales worldwide, and most of the production of single malts is used to add flavour to a blended whisky. Amongst the best-known brands of blended whisky are Johnnie Walker, Bells, Teachers and Famous Grouse. There’s not much between them in terms of flavour and they are usually drunk with a mixer, such as water or soda.

Single malts are a different matter altogether. Each is distinctive and should be drunk neat to appreciate fully its subtle flavours, though some believe that the addition of water helps free the flavours. Single malts vary enormously. Their distinctive flavours and aromas are derived from the peat used for drying, the water used for mashing, the type of oak cask used and the location of the distillery. Single malts fall into four groups: Highland, Lowland, Campbeltown and Islay. There are over 40 distilleries to choose from, most offering guided tours. The majority are located around Speyside, in the northeast. The region’s many distilleries include that perennial favourite, Glenfiddich, which is sold in 185 countries. Recommended alternatives are the produce of the beautiful and peaceful Isle of Islay, whose malts are lovingly described in terms of their peaty quality and the produce of the island known as ‘Scotland in Miniature’, Arran, whose 10-year-old malt, distilled in Lochranza, has won recent international acclaim. Scots tend to favour the 10-year-old Glenmorangie, while the most popular in the USA is The Macallan.

The main British daily and Sun newspapers are widely available in Scotland and some of them publish special Scottish editions, among them the Scottish Daily Mail, Scottish Daily Express and Rupert Murdoch’s notorious scandal sheet, The Sun.

The Scottish press produces 2 main ‘quality’ newspapers, The Scotsman, published in Edinburgh, and The Herald, published in Glasgow, which is the oldest daily newspaper in the English-speaking world, dating from 1783. The biggest-selling daily is the Daily Record, a tabloid paper. The Press and Journal, published in Aberdeen, also enjoys one of the highest circulations in the country. The weekend equivalents of the dailies are Scotland on Sunday from the Scotsman stable, the Sunday Herald and the Sunday Mail, published by the Daily Record, while the rather couthy The Sunday Post, is popular with the older generation. Provincial newspapers are widely read in Scotland. The main Highlands varieties are the weekly Oban Times and the radical, crusading West Highland Free Press published on Skye.

There are 5 main television channels in Scotland; the publicly funded BBC 1 and 2, and the independent commercial stations, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5. The main commercial TV network in Scotland is STV, providing national coverage.

The BBC network also broadcasts several radio channels, most of which are based in London. These include: Radio 1 aimed at a young audience; Radio 2 targeting a more mature audience; Radio 3 which plays mostly classical music; Radio 4 which is talk-based and features arts, drama and current affairs; and Radio 5 Live which is a mix of sport and news. Radio Scotland (92-95FM, 810MW) provides a Scottish-based diet of news, sport, current affairs, travel and music. It also provides an ever-expanding Gaelic network in the northwest, and local programmes in Orkney and Shetland. There are also a number of local commercial radio stations, stretching from Shetland in the north to the Borders.

The larger towns and villages have a branch of at least one of the big 4 high street banks – Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale and TSB Scotland. Bank opening hours are Mon-Fri from 0930 to between 1600 and 1700. Some larger branches may also be open later on Thu and on Sat mornings. In small and remote places, and on some islands, there may be only a mobile bank which runs to a set timetable. This timetable will be available from the local post office.

Banks are usually the best places to change money and cheques. You can withdraw cash from selected banks and ATMs (or cashpoints as they are called in Britain) with your cash and credit card. Though using a debit or credit card is by far the easiest way of keeping in funds, you must check with your bank what the total charges will be; this can be as high as 4-5% in some cases. In more remote parts, and especially on the islands, ATMs are few and far between and it is important to keep a ready supply of cash on you at all times and many guesthouses in the remoter reaches of Scotland will still request payment in cash. Outside the ferry ports on most of the smaller islands, you won’t find an ATM. Your bank will give you a list of locations where you can use your card. Bank of Scotland and Royal Bank take Lloyds and Barclays cash cards; Clydesdale takes HSBC and National Westminster cards. Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale and most building society cashpoints are part of the Link network and accept all affiliated cards. In addition to ATMs, bureaux de change can be used outside banking hours. These can be found in most city centres and also at the main airports and train stations. Note that some charge high commissions for changing cheques. Those at international airports, however, often charge less than banks and will change pound sterling cheques for free. Avoid changing money or cheques in hotels, as the rates are usually very poor.

The Highlands and Islands of Scotland can be an expensive place to visit, and prices are higher in more remote parts, but there is plenty of budget accommodation available and backpackers will be able to keep their costs down. Petrol is a major expense and won’t just cost an arm and a leg but also the limbs of all remaining family members. Expect to pay up to 15p per litre more than in central and southern parts of Scotland and don’t pass a fuel station in the Highlands and Islands if short of fuel. Accommodation and restaurant prices also tend to be higher in more popular destinations and during the busy summer months.

The minimum daily budget required, if you’re staying in hostels, very cheap B&Bs or camping, cycling or hitching (not recommended), and cooking your own meals, will be around £25-30 per person per day. If you start using public transport and eating out occasionally that will rise to around £35-40. Those staying in slightly more upmarket B&Bs or guesthouses, eating out every evening at pubs or modest restaurants and visiting tourist attractions, such as castles or museums, can expect to pay around £50-60 per day. If you also want to hire a car and use ferries to visit the islands, and eat well, then costs will rise considerably and you’ll be looking at least £75-80 per person per day. Single travellers will have to pay more than ½ the cost of a double room in most places, and should budget on spending around 60-70% of what a couple would spend.

Most hotels, shops and restaurants accept the major credit cards such as MasterCard and Visa and, less frequently, Amex, though some places may charge for using them. They may be less useful in more remote rural areas and smaller establishments such as B&Bs, which will often only accept cash or cheques.

Visa card holders can use the Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and TSB ATMs; Access/MasterCard holders the Royal Bank and Clydesdale; Amex card holders the Bank of Scotland.

If you need money urgently, the quickest way to have it sent to you is to have it wired to the nearest bank via Western Union, T0800-833 833, http://www.westernunion.co.uk, or Money- gram, T0800-8971 8971. Charges are on a sliding scale; ie it will cost proportionately less to wire out more money. Money can also be wired by Thomas Cook, www.thomas exchangeglobal.co.uk, or transferred via a bank draft, but this can take up to a week.

The safest way to carry money is in traveller’s cheques. These are available for a small commission from all major banks. American Express (Amex), Visa and Thomas Cook cheques are widely accepted and are the most commonly issued by banks. You’ll normally have to pay commission again when you cash each cheque. This will usually be 1%, or a flat rate. No commission is payable on Amex cheques cashed at Amex offices, http://www.americanexpress.co/feefree. Make sure you keep a record of the cheque numbers and the cheques you’ve cashed separate from the cheques themselves, so that you can get a full refund of all uncashed cheques should you lose them. It’s best to bring sterling cheques to avoid changing currencies twice. Also note that in Britain traveller’s cheques are rarely accepted outside banks or foreign exchange bureaux, so you’ll need to cash them in advance and keep a good supply of ready cash.

There are various official youth/student ID cards available. The most useful is the International Student ID Card (ISIC). For £9 the ISIC card gains you access to the world of student travel with a series of discounts, including most forms of local transport, cheap or free admission to museums, theatres and other attractions, cheap meals in some restaurants and discounted fares on certain ferry, rail and even Scotland tour operators. You’ll also receive the ISIC handbook, which ensures you get the most out of services available. ISIC cards are available at student travel centres. US and Canadian citizens are also entitled to emergency medical coverage, and there’s a 24-hr hotline to call in the event of medical, legal or financial emergencies.

If you’re aged under 26 but not a student, you can apply for an International Youth Travel Card (IYTC), which for £7 gives you much the same discounts. If you’re 25 or younger you can qualify for a Go-25 Card, which gives you the same benefits as an ISIC card. These discount cards are issued by student travel agencies and hostelling organizations .

If you want to study in Scotland you must first prove you can support and accommodate yourself without working and without recourse to public support. Your studies should take up at least 15 hrs a week for a minimum of 6 months. Once you are studying, you are allowed to do 20 hrs of casual work per week in the term time and you can work full-time during the holidays. In North America full-time students can obtain temporary work or study permits through the Council of International Education Exchange (CIEE), 300 Fore St, Portland, ME 01401, T1-800-40-STUDY, http://www.ciee.org. For more details, contact your nearest British embassy, consulate or high commission, or the Foreign and Common- wealth Office in London, T020-7270 1500, http://www.fco.gov.uk. See also http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk.

Adventure Specialists, 69 Liverpool St, Sydney, T02-9261 2927. Adventure tours.

Escape Travel, T1300-556855, www.escape travel.com.au. A one stop-shop for travel and sightseeing in Scotland.

Saga, Level 1, 10-14 Paul St, Milsons Point, Sydney 2061. General sightseeing tours.

Scottish Dream Tours, 841 McDonald Rd, Cle Elum, WA 98922, T206-331 3824, http://www.scottishdreamtours.com. Specializes in running small-group tours around Scotland.

Abercrombie & Kent, T1-800-554 7016, http://www.abercrombiekent.com. General sight- seeing tours and, it claims, even the chance to sup tea with a clan chief on Mull.

Above the Clouds Trekking, T800-233 4499, http://gorptravel.away.com. Walking tours in the Scottish Highlands.

British Coastal Trails, T800-462 2848, http://www.bctwalk.com. Walking tours.

Golf International Inc, T1-800-833 1389, http://www.golfinternational.com. American-based operator offering golfing tours of Scotland.

Jerry Quinlan’s Celtic Golf, T1-800-535 6148, http://www.jqcelticgolf.com. Organizes golfing packages from the USA.

Prestige Tours, T1-800-890 7375. Offers general sightseeing tours ranging from 1 to 6 days.

Saga, 222 Berkeley St, Boston, MA 02116, USA. General sightseeing tours.

Tauck, T1-800-788 7885, http://www.tauck.com. Sightseeing itineraries that include Loch Lomond and highland Perthshire.

Travel and Company, T1-800-888 2247, http://www.travelandcompany.com. Boston- based operator offering a 9-day Links and Leisure tour.

About Argyll Walking Holidays, Letters Lodge South, Strathlachlan, Argyll, T01369- 860272, http://www.aboutargyll.co.uk. As its name suggests, this operator specializes in offering guided and self-guided walking trips of Argyll and the islands.

Cape Adventure International Limited, Ardmore, Rhiconich, by Lairg, Sutherland IV27 4RB, T01971-521006, www.cape venture.co.uk. Whether you want to spend a weekend sea kayaking and climbing, or a week trekking the wilds of northwest Scotland, this acclaimed operator offers bags of adventure for families and individuals.

Classique Tours, Glasgow, T0141-889 4050, http://www.classiquetours.co.uk. For those who prefer something a wee bit different, tartan- free tours of the ‘real Scotland’ in a vintage bus. Try a 6-day tour of the West Highlands including Skye from £395. A 7-day Grand Hebridean Tour is £610.

Cndo Scotland, 32 Stirling Enterprise Park, Stirling, T01786-445703, www.cndoscotland. co.uk. A highly reputable walking holiday specialist with diverse itineraries across the Highlands and Islands, including a £259, 4-day walk in Perthshire to a £1200 and a 14-day wilderness experience in the far northwest of Scotland.

Escape 2 Scotland, 27/10 Maxwell St, Edinburgh EH10 5HT, T/F0131-447 2570, http://www.escape2scotland.co.uk. Organizes tailor-made trips for groups and individuals.

Gael Connexions, T01855-841219, T0776- 992 2463 (mob), http://www.gaelconnexions.co.uk. Fort William-based company organizing genealogy tours for foreigners wishing to trace their ancestors. Their guide and researcher will point you in the right direction or plan your entire journey. Free consultation offered.

Haggis Backpackers, 11 Blackfriars St, Edinburgh EH1 1NB, T0131-557 9393, http://www.haggisadventures.com. Award-winning operator specializing in offering a variety of day and week-long tours for independent travellers including backpackers. Tours include the 7-day Island Explorer for £249.

Heart of Scotland Tours, T01828-627799, http://www.heartofscotlandtours.co.uk. Runs 1-day coach tours, priced from £30 and departing from Edinburgh city centre. Loch Ness and highland castles are among the guided itineraries.

HF Holidays, 720 Centennial Court, Elstree, Hertfordshire WD6 3SY, T0208-732 1220, http://www.hfholidays.co.uk. Holiday operator organizing a variety of self-guided and supported trekking packages including of the Rob Roy Way and West Highland Way.

Macbackpackers, Edinburgh, T0131-558 9900, http://www.macbackpackers.com. Well- established tour operator for independent budget travellers with 2-5 day minibus tours ranging from £50-125 of the Highlands and Islands that depart from Edinburgh and use a network of hostel accommodation.

National Trust for Scotland (NTS), 28 Charlotte Sq, Edinburgh EH2 4ET, T0844-4932100, http://www.nts.org.uk. With over 300 historic properties and landscapes under its care, Scotland’s largest conservation charity also offers the chance to stay in historic cottages and country houses or participate in archaeological digs and conservation weekends.

North-West Frontiers, Viewfield, Strathpeffer IV14 9DS, T/F01997-421474, www.nwfront iers.com. Offers a good range of guided and self-guided hiking and walking tours across north of Scotland and islands including a trip focused on Assynt’s world reknown geology. See also http://www.highland-tours.co.uk

Out and About Tours, 25 Valasay, Great Bernera, Isle of Lewis HS2 9NB, T01851- 612288. Offers day and 4-night walking and sightseeing packages that reveal the wildlife, archaeology and history of Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides.

Rabbie’s Trail Burners, 207 High St, Edinburgh, T0131-226 3133. From Glasgow and Edinburgh runs insightful 1- and multi- day, minibus based tours of the Highlands and Islands for independent travellers.

Scottish Cycling Holidays, 87 Perth St, Blairgowrie, T01250-876100, www.scot cycle.co.uk. Perthshire based operator that for over 30 years has offered guided and self-guided 2-day to 8-day pedal powered trips throughout Scotland. Prices from £130 with options for accommodation and luggage transportation.

Timberbush Tours, 555 Castlehill, Edinburgh, T0131-226 6066, www.timberbush-tours. co.uk. Award winning, family-run run operator offering a variety of 1-3 day guided coach tours around the country £29-112 with some trips including a free dram of whisky.

Walkabout Scotland, 2F2, 70 Strathearn Rd, Edinburgh EH9 2AF, T0845-686 1344, http://www.walkaboutscotland.com. Day, weekend and week-long walking tours around Scotland including day jaunts up Ben Lomond or Ben Lawers.

Wild in Scotland, 9 South St Andrew St, Edinburgh, T0131-478 6500, www.wild- in-scotland.com. Run various coach tours from 3 days (£89) to 6 days (£165).

Wilderness Scotland, T0131-625 6635, http://www.wildernessscotland.com. Specialist Edinburgh-based adventure tour operator offering excellent walking, climbing, kayaking, hiking and photographic trips into Scotland’s wild places, plus tailor-made and self-guided trips.

The best way of finding out more information for your trip to Scotland is to contact Visit Scotland (aka the Scottish Tourist Board). Alternatively, you can contact VisitBritain, the organization that is responsible for tourism throughout the British Isles. Both organizations can provide a wealth of free literature and information such as maps, city guides and accommodation brochures. If particularly interested in ensuring your visit coincides with a major festival or sporting event, it’s also worthwhile having a look at EventScotland’s website, http://www.eventscotland.org. Travellers with special needs should also contact Visit- Scotland or their nearest VisitBritain office. If you want more detailed information on a particular area, contact the specific tourist boards.

Most of Scotland’s tourist attractions, apart from the large museums and art galleries in the main cities, are open only from Easter- Oct. Full details of opening hours and admission charges are given in the relevant sections of this guide.

Over 100 of the country’s most prestigious sights, and 75,000 ha of beautiful countryside, are cared for by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS), 26-31 Charlotte Sq, Edinburgh EH2 4ET, T0844-493 2100, http://www.nts.org.uk. National Trust properties are indicated in this guide as ‘NTS’, and entry charges and opening hours are given for each property.

Historic Scotland (HS), Longmore House, Salisbury Pl, Edinburgh EH9 1SH, T0131-668 8600, http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk, manages more than 330 of Scotland’s most important castles, monuments and other historic sites. Historic Scotland properties are indicated as ‘HS’, and admission charges and opening hours are also given in this guide. Historic Scotland offers an Explorer Pass which allows free entry to 70 of its properties including Edinburgh and Stirling castles. A 3-day pass (can be used over 5 consecutive days) costs £20, concessions £15, family £40, 7-day pass (valid for 14 days) £28.50, £21.50, £57, 10-day pass (valid for 30 days) £34, £25.50, £68. It can save a lot of money, especially in Orkney, where most of the monuments are managed by Historic Scotland.

Many other historic buildings are owned by local authorities, and admission is cheap, or in many cases free. Most fee-paying attractions give a discount or concession for senior citizens, the unemployed, full-time students and children under 16 (those under 5 are admitted free everywhere). Proof of age or status must be shown. Many of Scotland’s stately homes are still owned and occupied by the landed gentry, and admission is usually between £4 and £8.

Tourist offices – called tourist information centres (TICs) – can be found in most Scottish towns. Their addresses, phone numbers and opening hours are listed in the relevant sections of this book. Opening hours vary depending on the time of year, and many of the smaller offices are closed during the winter months. All tourist offices provide information on accommodation, public transport, local attractions and restaurants, as well as selling books, local guides, maps and souvenirs. Many also have free street plans and leaflets describing local walks. They can also book accommodation for you, for a small fee.

VisitScotland and the various area tourist board sites have information on accommodation, transport and tourist sights as well as outdoor activities such as walking, mountain biking, fishing, etc.

See http://www.volunteerscotland.org.uk.

The British Trust for Conservation Volunteers, Sedum House, Mallard Way, Doncaster DN4 8DB, T01302-388883, http://www.btcv.org. Get fit in the ‘green gym’, planting hedges, creating wildlife gardens or improving footpaths.

Earthwatch, 57 Woodstock Rd, Oxford OX2 6HJ, T01865-318838. Team up with scientists studying our furry friends.

Jubilee Sailing Trust, Hazel Rd, South- ampton, T023-804 9108, www.jst. org.uk. Work on deck on an adventure holiday.

National Trust for Scotland, Wemyss House, 28 Charlotte Sq, Edinburgh EH2 4ET, T0844- 493 2100, www. Nts.org.uk. Among a number of Scotland based charities that offer volunteering opportunities. You could find yourself helping restore buildings on St Kilda or taking part in an archaeological dig on Loch Lomondside.

As in the rest of the UK, hitching is never entirely safe, and is certainly not advised for anyone travelling alone, particularly women travellers. Those prepared to take the risk should not find it too difficult to get a lift in the Highlands and Islands, where people are far more willing to stop for you. Bear in mind, though, that you will probably have to wait a while even to see a vehicle in some parts.

Travelling around Scotland by bus takes longer than the train but is much cheaper. There are numerous local bus companies, but the main operator is Scottish Citylink (T08705-505050, http://www.citylink.co.uk) . Bus services between towns and cities are good, but far less frequent in more remote rural areas. To identify bus times and the myriad of operators in the Highlands it’s worthwhile visiting http://www.rapsons.co.uk, and downloading the relevant timetable. Note that long-distance express buses are called coaches. There are a number of discount and flexible tickets available and details of these are given on the Citylink website, which is fast and easy to use.

Available to overseas passport holders, the Brit Xplorer Pass offers unlimited travel on all National Express buses. Passes cost from £79 for seven days, £139 for 14 days and £219 for its month-long Rolling Stone pass. They can be bought from major airports and bus terminals. Scottish Citylink runs a daily bus service between Scotland’s six cities and strategic ports including Oban, Uig (Skye) and Ullapool. It offers a diverse range of discount and saver cards including an Explorer Pass that offers unlimited travel on its routes for a specified number of days. Passes start from £35 for three days.

Many parts of the Highlands and Islands can only be reached by Royal Mail postbuses. Admittedly, in recent years many routes have disappeared to be replaced by Dial-a-Bus services, such as in Gairloch. These operate on demand and don’t follow a fixed timetable, see http://www.highland.gov.uk. However, in places you can still find the friendly, red postbus. These are minibuses that follow postal delivery routes and carry up to 14 fare-paying passengers. They set off early in the morning from the main post office and follow a circuitous route as they deliver and collect mail in the most far-flung places. They are often very slow on the outward morning routes but quicker on the return routes in the afternoons. It can be a slow method of getting around, but you get to see some of the country’s most spectacular scenery, and it is useful for walkers and those trying to reach remote hostels or B&Bs. There’s a restricted service on Saturdays and none on Sundays. The best means of finding a service in the Highlands is to visit http://www.postbus.royalmail.com.

Travelling with your own private transport is the ideal way to explore the country, particularly the Highlands. This allows you to cover a lot of ground in a short space of time and to reach remote places. The main disadvantages are rising fuel costs (around £1.30 per litre for diesel at the price peak), traffic congestion and parking, but the latter two are only a problem in the main cities and on the motorways in the Central Belt. Roads in the Highlands and Islands are a lot less busy than those in England, and driving is relatively stress-free, especially on the B-roads and minor roads. In more remote parts of the country, on the islands in particular, many roads are single track, with passing places indicated by a diamond-shaped signpost. These should also be used to allow traffic behind you to overtake. Remember that you may want to take your time to enjoy the stupendous views all around you, but the driver behind may be a local doctor in a hurry. Don’t park in passing places. A major driving hazard on single track roads are the huge number of sheep wandering around, blissfully unaware of your presence. When confronted by a flock of sheep, slow down and gently edge your way past. Be particularly careful at night, as many of them sleep by the side of the road (counting cars perhaps). Also keep a sharp lookout for deer, particularly at night.

To drive in Scotland you must have a current driving licence. Foreign nationals also need an international driving permit, available from state and national motoring organizations for a small fee. Those importing their own vehicle should also have their vehicle registration or ownership document. Make sure you’re adequately insured. In all of the UK you drive on the left. Speed limits are 30 miles per hour (mph) in built-up areas, 70 mph on motorways and dual carriageways, and 60 mph on most other roads.

It’s advisable to join one of the main UK motoring organizations during your visit for their 24-hour breakdown assistance. The two main ones in Britain are the Automobile Association (AA) (T0870-6000371, http://www.theaa.com) and the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) (T08705-722722, http://www.rac.co.uk) . One year’s membership of the AA starts at £45 and £39 for the RAC. They also provide many other services, including a reciprocal agreement for free assistance with many overseas motoring organizations. Check to see if your organization is included. Both companies can also extend their cover to include Europe. Their emergency numbers are: AA, T0800-887766; RAC, T0800-197 7815. You can call these numbers even if you’re not a member, but you’ll have to a pay a large fee. In remote areas you may have to wait a long time for assistance. Also note that in the Highlands and Islands you may be stranded for ages waiting for spare parts to arrive.

Car hire need not be expensive in Scotland if you shop around for the best deals. AVIS offers weekend rates from around £45 and £126 for the week, though which- ever operator you choose be wary of high charges for additional mileage. Even without deals you should be able to hire a small car for a week from £150. Local hire companies often offer better deals than the larger multi-nationals, though easyCar can offer the best rates, at around £10 per day, if you book in advance and don’t push up the charges with high mileage. They are based at Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness airport. Many companies such as Europcar offer the flexibility of picking up in Glasgow and leaving in Edinburgh, and vice versa. Most companies prefer payment with a credit card, otherwise you’ll have to leave a large deposit (£100 or more). You’ll need a full driver’s licence (one or two years) and be aged over 21 (23 in some cases).

Alternatively, why not hire your own transport and accommodation at the same time by renting a campervan. Campervans can be rented from a number of companies and it’s best to arrange this before arriving as everything gets booked up in the high season (June-August). The largest operator is Kira Rentals whilst Inverness based Highland Camper Vans is another good bet with its new two-berth ‘Adventure Van’ starting at around £385 per week and £75 per day, or £525 per week for its four-person touring van.

Because of the much larger number of flights to London, it is generally cheaper to fly there first and get an onward flight. For low season Apex fares, expect to pay around US$500-700 from New York and other East Coast cities, and around US$700-900 from the West Coast. Prices rise to around US$700-1000 from New York, and up to US$1000 from the West Coast in the summer months. Low season Apex fares from Toronto and Montreal cost around CAN$700-900, and from Vancouver around CAN$800-900, rising during the summer. East Coast USA to Glasgow takes around six to seven hours direct. To London it takes seven hours. From the West Coast it takes an additional four hours.

There are direct flights to Glasgow International from many European capitals, including Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Paris (Beauvais), Dublin, Frankfurt, Stockholm, Brussels, Milan, Oslo and Barcelona. There are flights to Edinburgh from Paris (CDG), Zurich, Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen and Frankfurt; direct flights to Aberdeen from Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Stavanger; and to Inverness from Amsterdam and Zurich.

There are direct flights to Scotland’s four main airports – Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness – almost hourly from London Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton airports. There are also daily flights from provincial UK airports and from Dublin. To fly on to the smaller airports, you’ll need to change planes. The cheapest flights leave from London Luton or Stansted, plus a few provincial airports, with Ryanair and easyJet. If you book online, fares can be as little as £5 one-way during promotions (excluding taxes), but usually you can expect to fly for under £70 return if you can be flexible with dates and times. These tickets are often subject to rigid restrictions, but the savings can make the extra effort worthwhile. Cheaper tickets usually have to be bought at least a week in advance and apply to only a few midweek flights. They are also non-refundable, or only partly refundable, and non-transferable. A standard flexible and refundable fare from London to Glasgow or Edinburgh will cost at least £150-200 return. The flight from London to Glasgow and Edinburgh is roughly one hour.

There are also flights to Inverness from London and from many regional UK airports, including new services from Belfast City, Southampton and Nottingham. There are also flights from several UK airports to Wick, Kirkwall (Orkney) and Sumburgh (Shetland), including the recently launched Atlantic Airways service from London Stansted to Sumburgh, http://www.flyshetland.com. For full details of all flights to Highlands and Islands airports from the rest of the UK, visit the Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd website, http://www.hial.co.uk. Loch Lomond Seaplanes also run a seaplane service, linking Glasgow with many Highlands and Islands destinations. For further information, T0870-242 1457 (UK), T(+44)1436- 675030 (international), http://www.lochlomondseaplanes.com.

Glasgow International (T0870-040 0008) is 8 miles west of the city, at junction 28 on the M8. It handles domestic and international flights. Terminal facilities include car hire, bank ATMs, currency exchange, left luggage, tourist information (T0141-848 4440), and shops, restaurants and bars. There’s also a Travel Shop, T0870-273 5248, and a Barrhead Travel Reservations desk in the International Arrivals concourse (T0141-842 7557). Edinburgh airport (T0870-040 0007 for general enquiries) has all facilities, including a tourist information desk, currency exchange, ATMs, restaurants and bars (first floor), shops (ground floor and first floor) and car hire desks in the terminal in the main UK arrivals area. For details of facilities and amenties at all Highlands and Islands airports, visit http://www.hial.co.uk.

National Rail Enquiries (T08457-484950, http://www.nationalrail.co.uk) are quick and courteous with information on rail services and fares but not always accurate, so double check. They can’t book tickets but will provide you with the relevant telephone number. The website, http://www.qjump.co.uk, is a bit hit-and-miss but generally fast and efficient, and shows you all the various options on any selected journey, while http://www.thetrainline.co.uk, also has its idiosyncrasies but shows prices clearly. For advance card bookings, contact National Express, T08457-484950, http://www.nationalexpresseastcoast.com; ScotRail, T08457-550033, http://www.firstgroup.com/scotrail; and Virgin, T08457-222333, http://www.virgintrains.co.uk.

To describe the system of rail ticket pricing as complicated is a huge understatement and impossible to explain here. There are many and various discounted fares, but restrictions are often prohibitive, which explains the long queues and delays at ticket counters in railway stations. The cheapest ticket is an Advance ticket or Value Advance (Virgin), which must be booked in advance, though this is not available on all journeys. A GNER London–Edinburgh Advance Single costs between £14-100. Advance Singles with ScotRail on this route start from £39.50 for direct trains. All discount tickets should be booked as quickly as possible as they are often sold out weeks, or even months, in advance. A Caledonian Sleeper ‘Bargain Berth’ single ticket from London to Edinburgh or Glasgow costs from £19, while an Anytime Return is £162.

There are a variety of railcards which give discounts on fares for certain groups. Cards are valid for one year and most are available from main stations. You need two passport photos and proof of age or status.

Young Person’s Railcard For those aged 16-25 or full-time students aged 26+ in the UK. Costs £24 for one year and gives 33% discount on most train tickets and some other services (http://www.16-25railcard.co.uk). A three-year railcard is now available for £65.

Senior Citizen’s Railcard For those aged over 60. Same price and discounts as above (http://www.senior-railcard.co.uk).

Disabled Person’s Railcard Costs £18 and gives 33% discount to a disabled person and one other. Pick up an application form from stations and send it to Disabled Person’s Railcard Office, PO Box 163, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE12 8WX. It may take up to 21 days to process, so apply in advance (http://www.disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk).

Family Railcard Costs £24 and gives 33% discount on most tickets for up to four adults travelling together, and 60% discount for up to four children.

Road links to Scotland are excellent, and a number of companies offer express coach services day and night. This is the cheapest form of travel to Scotland. The main operator between England and Scotland is National Express (T08717-818181, www.national express.com) . There are direct buses from most British cities to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness. Tickets can be bought at bus stations or from a huge number of agents throughout the country. Fares from London to Glasgow and Edinburgh with National Express start at around £20 return for a Funfare return. Fares to Aberdeen and Inverness are a little higher. The London to Glasgow/Edinburgh journey takes around eight hours, while it takes around 11 to 12 hours for the trip to Aberdeen and Inverness. From Manchester to Glasgow takes around 6½ hours.

There are two main routes to Scotland from the south. In the east the A1 runs to Edinburgh and in the west the M6 and A74(M) runs to Glasgow. The journey north from London to either city takes around eight to 10 hours. The A74(M) route to Glasgow is dual carriageway all the way. A slower and more scenic route is to head off the A1 and take the A68 through the Borders to Edinburgh. There’s an Autoshuttle Express service to transport your car overnight between England and Scotland and vice versa while you travel by rail or air. For further information and reservations, T08705-502309.

There are hundreds of campsites around Scotland. They are mostly geared to caravans, and vary greatly in quality and level of facilities. The most expensive sites, which charge up to £15 to pitch a tent, are usually well-equipped. Sites are usually only open from April to October. If you plan to do a lot of camping, you should check out www.scottish camping.com, which is the most comprehensive service with over 500 sites, many with pictures and reviews from punters. North Americans planning on camping should invest in an international camping carnet, which is available from home motoring organizations, or from Family Campers and RVers (FCRV) (4804 Transit Rd, Building 2, Depew, NY 14043, T1-800-245 9755, http://www.fcrv.org) . It gives you discounts at member sites.

One of the most cost-effective ways to holiday in the Highlands and Islands is to hire a cottage with a group of friends. There are lots of different types of accommodation to choose from, to suit all budgets, ranging from luxury lodges, castles and lighthouses to basic bothies with no electricity.

The minimum stay is usually one week in the summer peak season, though many offer shorter stays of two, three or four nights, especially outside the peak season. Expect to pay at least £200-400 per week for a two-bedroom cottage in the winter, rising to £400-1000 in the high season, or more if it’s a particularly nice place. A good source of self-catering accommodation is the VisitScotland’s guide, which lists over 1200 properties and is available to buy from any tourist office, but there are also dozens of excellent websites to browse. Amongst the best websites are the following: www.cottages-and- castles.co.uk; http://www.scottish-country-cottages.co.uk; http://www.cottages4you.co.uk; www.rural retreats.co.uk, http://www.assc.co.uk. If you want to tickle a trout or feed a pet lamb, www.farm stay.co.uk, offer over a thousand good value rural places to stay around the UK, all clearly listed on a clickable map.

The National Trust for Scotland (28 Charlotte Sq, Edinburgh, T0844-493 2100, http://www.nts.org.uk) owns many historic properties which are available for self-catering holidays, sleeping between two and 15 people. Prices start at around £300 per week in high season rising to £1000 for the top of the range lodges.

Details of most independent hostels (or ‘bunkhouses’) can be found in the annual Independent Hostel Guide, http://www.independenthostelguide.co.uk. The Independent Back- packers Hostels of Scotland is an association of nearly 100 independent hostels/bunkhouses throughout Scotland. This association has a programme of inspection and lists members in their free ‘Blue Guide’. Independent hostels tend to be more laid-back, with fewer rules and no curfew, and no membership is required. They all have dormitories, hot showers and self-catering kitchens. Some include continental breakfast, or provide cheap breakfasts. All these hostels are listed on their excellent website, http://www.hostel-scotland.co.uk.

The Scottish Youth Hostel Association (SYHA) (7 Glebe Cres, Stirling, T0870-155 3255, http://www.syha.org.uk) is separate from the YHA in England and Wales. It has a network of over 60 hostels, which are often better and cheaper than those in other countries. They offer bunk-bed accommodation in single-sex dormitories or smaller rooms, kitchen and laundry facilities. The average cost is £10-20 per person per night. Though some rural hostels are still strict on discipline and impose a 2300 curfew, those in larger towns and cities tend to be more relaxed and doors are closed as late as 0200. Some larger hostels provide breakfasts for around £2.50 and three-course evening meals for £4-5. For all EU residents, adult membership costs £9, and can be obtained at the SYHA National Office, or at the first SYHA hostel you stay at. SYHA membership gives automatic membership of Hostelling International (HI). The SYHA produces a handbook (free with membership) giving details of all their youth hostels, including transport links. This can be useful as some hostels are difficult to get to without your own transport. You should always phone ahead, as many hostels are closed during the day and phone numbers are listed in this guide. Many hostels are closed during the winter, details are given in the SYHA Handbook. Youth hostel members are entitled to various discounts, including 20% off Edinburgh bus tours, 20% off Scottish Citylink tickets and 33% off the Orkney Bus (Inverness–Kirkwall).

B&Bs provide the cheapest private accommodation. At the bottom end of the scale you can get a bedroom in a private house, a shared bathroom and a huge cooked breakfast for around £20-25 per person per night. Small B&Bs may only have one or two rooms to let, so it’s important to book in advance during the summer season and on the islands where accommodation options are more limited. More upmarket B&Bs have en suite bathrooms and TVs in each room and usually charge from £25-35 per person per night. In general, B&Bs are more hospitable, informal, friendlier and offer better value than hotels. Many B&B owners are also a great source of local knowledge and can even provide OS maps for local walks. B&Bs in the Outer Hebrides and other remote locations also offer dinner, bed and breakfast, which is useful as eating options are limited, especially on a Sunday.

Some places, especially in ferry ports, charge room-only rates, which are slightly cheaper and allow you to get up in time to catch an early morning ferry. However, this means that you miss out on a huge cooked breakfast. If you’re travelling on a tight budget, you can eat as much as you can at breakfast time and save on lunch as you won’t need to eat again until evening. This is particularly useful if you’re heading into the hills, as you won’t have to carry so much food. Many B&B owners will even make up a packed lunch for you at a small extra cost.

Guesthouses are often large, converted family homes with up to five or six rooms. They tend to be slightly more expensive than B&Bs, charging between £30 and £50 per person per night, and though they are often less personal, usually provide better facilities, such as en suite bathroom, colour TV in each room and private parking. In many instances they are more like small budget hotels. Many guesthouses offer evening meals, though this may have to be requested in advance.

At the top end of the scale there are some fabulously luxurious hotels, often in spectacular locations. Many of them are converted baronial mansions or castles, and offer a chance to enjoy a taste of aristocratic grandeur and style. At the lower end of the scale, there is often little to choose between cheaper hotels and guesthouses or B&Bs. The latter often offer higher standards of comfort and a more personal service, but many smaller hotels are really just guesthouses, and are often family-run and every bit as friendly. Note that some hotels, especially in town centres or in fishing ports, may also be rather noisy, as the bar can often be the social hub. Rooms in most mid-range to expensive hotels almost always have bathrooms en suite. Many upmarket hotels offer excellent room-only deals in the low season. An efficient last-minute hotel booking service is http://www.laterooms.com, which specializes in weekend breaks. Also note that many hotels offer cheaper rates for online booking through agencies such as http://www.lastminute.com.