Insight Guides Pocket Scotland (Travel Guide eBook)

Insight Guides

• Publisher: Insight Guides
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781789192971
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Travel

Insight Pocket Guides: ideal itineraries and top travel tips in a pocket-sized package.

Plan your trip, plan perfect days and discover how to get around - this pocket-sized guide is a convenient, quick-reference companion to discovering what to do and see in Scotland, from top attractions like Edinburgh Castle, Glencoe and the Isle of Skye, to hidden gems, including the dramatic Smoo Cave and the peaceful islands of the Inner Hebrides.

- Compact, concise, and packed with essential information about Where to Go and What to Do, this is an ideal on-the-move companion when you're exploring Scotland
- Covers Top Ten Attractions, including Loch Lomond, Urquhart Castle and the Burrell Collection and Perfect Day itinerary suggestions
- Offers an insightful overview of landscape, history and culture
- Contains an invaluable pull-out map, and essential practical information on everything from Eating Out to Getting Around
- Inspirational colour photography throughout
- Sharp design and colour-coded sections make for an engaging reading experience

About Insight Guides: Insight Guides is a pioneer of full-colour guide books, with almost 50 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides with user-friendly, modern design. We produce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps, as well as phrase books, picture-packed eBooks and apps to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure.

Where To Go

Scotland’s spectacular and varied scenery and rich historical heritage make it a fascinating country to explore. The country is about 565km (350 miles) from north to south and stretches in some parts as wide as 258km (160 miles), not counting the many islands of the Inner and Outer Hebrides. It is best to concentrate on a few areas, unless your time is unlimited. Scotland has a good network of roads in the Border country and motorways connecting major cities; however, the many winding roads in central Scotland and the single-lane roads in the Highlands can be slow going (for more information, click here). It’s easy to explore Scotland via its excellent bus system (for more information, click here) or on one of the many tours to places of interest (for more information, click here).

Statue of Greyfriars Bobby on Candlemaker Row

Mockford & Bonetti/Apa Publications

In a country so rich in sights and experiences, only a selection can be presented below, but you’ll find worthwhile sights, unspoiled villages, and spectacular scenery wherever you go, as well as plenty of chances for outdoor sports and adventure.

Edinburgh

The ancient, proud capital of Scotland is, of course, at its most lively during the Edinburgh Festival in August, but all year round it provides many sights and entertainments to enjoy – particularly when the sun is shining. Both the Old Town up against the rock of Edinburgh Castle and the New Town across the way are full of impressive architecture. And you’ll find a remarkably congenial atmosphere – an unexpected bonus in a city of just over half a million people.

The seven hills of Edinburgh 1 [map] look northward over the great Firth of Forth estuary or southward to gentle green countryside that rises into hills. Tour guides boast that Edinburgh is probably over 1,500 years old and certainly it has been the capital of Scotland since 1437.

Despite all the echoes of the past, the city today seems decidedly young and vibrant. Most of the city’s principal sights are within easy walking distance of each other or can be reached by public bus.

Edinburgh’s elegant rooftops

Mockford & Bonetti/Apa Publications

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh’s landmark and Scotland’s most popular tourist attraction stands on an extinct volcano, high above the city. It is not known exactly how long ago the history of this great rock began, but there is archaeological evidence that there was human habitation here as early as the 9th century BC. A stone fortification was definitely erected late in the 6th century AD and the first proper castle was built in the 11th century.

The entrance to Edinburgh Castle A [map] (tel: [phone]; www.edinburghcastle.gov.uk; daily Apr–Sept 9.30am–6pm, Oct–Mar 9.30am–5pm) lies just beyond the Esplanade, which was once a site for the execution of witches, later a parade ground, and is now a car park and site of the famous Military Tattoo, performed during the annual Edinburgh International Festival.

The famous Military Tattoo

David Cruickshanks/Apa Publications

Edinburgh Military Tattoo

In 1950 the city established a Military Tattoo at the same time as the Festival. The event features a highly polished show of military marching, pageantry, mock battles and horsemanship, accompanied by the sounds of pipe-and-drum bands from around the world. All this happens nightly (except Sunday) against the backdrop of the magnificently floodlit castle in an arena erected in the Esplanade.

Tickets (which sell out months in advance) can be bought from the ticket office at 1–3 Cockburn Street or by phoning tel: [phone] (credit cards only). They can also be bought online at www.edintattoo.co.uk.

The black naval cannons poking through the ramparts inside the gate have never been fired, but you’ll see the cannon that booms out over the city every day (except Sunday) at one o’clock.

Tiny St Margaret’s Chapel is the oldest church in use in Scotland. Said to have been built by David I in the early 12th century in honour of his mother, it has survived assaults over the centuries that destroyed the other structures on Castle Rock. The chapel, which has been simply restored with a plain white interior, is kept decorated with flowers by Scotswomen named Margaret. Close by, in a niche overlooking the city, is the Cemetery for Soldiers’ Dogs, with the tombs of regimental mascots.

Further up the hill in Palace Yard is the Great Hall, claiming the finest hammer-beam ceiling in Britain. Built in 1503, the oak timbers are joined together without a single nail, screw or bolt. It is here that Scotland’s Parliament met for a century. In the State Apartments is Queen Mary’s Room, the very small chamber in which Mary, Queen of Scots gave birth to James VI (later James I of England).

The castle’s greatest treasures – the crown, sceptre and sword of Scotland and the Stone of Destiny – are in the Crown Room, reached through a series of rooms with displays detailing Scottish history. The rooms are often extremely crowded. On a busy day, more than 10,000 viewers file through here to see the oldest royal regalia in Europe. The gold-and-pearl crown was first used for the coronation of Robert the Bruce in 1306. It was altered in 1540, and Charles II wore it for the last time in 1651. The sword and sceptre were given to James IV by popes Alexander VI and Julius II. The Stone of Destiny, on which Scottish monarchs were traditionally crowned, was only returned to Scotland from captivity in Westminster Abbey in 1996; it had been carried away from Scone in 1296 by English king Edward I, as a symbol of his conquest of Scotland (for more information, click here).

In the back vault of the French prisons is kept Mons Meg, a stout cannon that was forged in Mons (hence the name) in the 15th century. The 6.6-ton monster ingloriously blew up 200 years later while firing a salute to the Duke of Albany and York.

The Royal Mile

The Royal Mile runs along the ridge from Edinburgh Castle downhill to the royal Palace of Holyroodhouse. The Old Town’s famous thoroughfare, its cobbles now mostly smoothed, is actually about 2km (1.2 miles) long (the Scottish mile was longer than the English). As it descends, the Royal Mile takes five names: Castlehill, Lawnmarket, High Street, Canongate and Abbey Strand.

The Royal Mile

Mockford & Bonetti/Apa Publications

In medieval times, this was Edinbur...

Table of contents

• Scotland’s Top 10 Attractions
• A Perfect Day in Edinburgh
• Introduction
• A Brief History
• Where To Go
• What To Do
• Eating Out
• Restaurants
• A–Z Travel Tips
• Recommended Hotels