Scotland - Scozia

Scotland
Scotland - Loch Ness lake
Location
Scotland - Location
Coat of arms and flag
Scotland - Coat of Arms
Scotland - Flag
StateUK
CapitalEdinburgh
Surface 78,772 km²
Inhabitants5.168.500
Tourism site
Institutional website

Scotland is one of the four "Home Nations" that make up the UK.

To know

Spoken languages

The languages ​​spoken in Scotland they are: English, called SSE (Scottish Standard English); the English of Scotland, a Germanic language that developed differently from the English of England and also called Scots or Lallans and Scottish Gaelic. The norn of the Shetland Islands is now considered extinct, although Gaelic is now practically relegated to the extreme west of the Highlands and Islands, given that in the north and east of the Highlands, being the inhabitants of Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian origin, they speak English. English of Scotland, many elements are present, often in Anglicized form, in several toponyms, for example aber (mouth), baile, bal (city), beinn, benn (mountain, lit. head), innis (island), loch ( lake), slogan (slogan). However, a small percentage of Scots, just over 1%, still have Gaelic as their first language. The administrative area of ​​Na h-Eileanan Siar (Outer Hebrides) is the only one where Gaelic is still the most widely spoken language by the population.


Territories and tourist destinations

Map divided by regions
      South West Scotland - Including also Dumfries and Galloway (Dumfries and Galloway) and the beautiful Isle of Arran.
      Scottish Borders - Land with a rural flavor, devoid of large urban centers with a short stretch of coastline on the North Sea. There are castles and abbeys built on a land that for hundreds of years has been the battlefield of numerous wars.
      Central belt - The region of Stirling, an ancient village and a magnificent castle, e Lothian, the region of Edinburgh. It also corresponds to the most urbanized area.
      Scottish Highlands - Sparsely populated mountainous land sprinkled with "loch", a term that in Scottish indicates both the lakes of glacial origin that occupy the deep and narrow valleys and the fjords that deeply affect the west coast. The most famous of the lochs is the Ness in whose depths would dwell a mythical monster affectionately called "Nessie" or "Beastie" by the Scots. Inverness it is the main center from which to discover the Highlands. Numerous archipelagos dot its coasts. To the west the Hebridean Islands, north le Orkney and the Shetland.
      North East Scotland - Focused on the cities of Aberdeen is Dundee, this beautiful region also covers the Grampian mountains in the heart of Scotland to the sensational east coast. It is also home to two major Scottish industries: North Sea Oil and Whiskey. The Monti region Grampians includes magnificent castles located in the valleys of the Don and Deen rivers. Aberdeen is its largest city.
      Hebridean Islands - Archipelago in the northwest of the Scottish coast, divided into two groups: Inner Hebrides ed Outer Hebrides. The well known islands such as: Skye, Mull, Islay, and Colonsay in the Inner Hebrides and Lewis, North Uist, South Uist and Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides are just some of the spectacular islands that can be visited. With the Scottish Highlands they share both the language (Scottish Gaelic) and much of their culture.
      Orkney Islands - Group of islands immediately north of Scotland. The largest of the Orkney Islands is known as Mainland. Inhabited for over 8,000 years, they are home to some of the best preserved Neolithic sites in Europe protected byUNESCO.
      Shetland Islands - Group of islands north of the Orkney Islands, the most remote inhabited land of the UK. Like Orkney, they have been the subject of clashes between Scotland and Scandinavia in fact they have absorbed important cultural aspects from both.

Urban centers

  • Edinburgh (Edinburgh. Gaelic: Dùn Èideann) - Capital of Scotland, Edinburgh has a historic center that appears on the list of World Heritage Sites of HumanityUNESCO. Throughout the year, a series of cultural festivals take place, culminating in the International Theater Festival and the Fringe, among the most important for theater and world-renowned.
  • Aberdeen - Third largest city in Scotland (despite having just over 200,000 inhabitants), Aberdeen it is an important oil center.
  • Dumfries - Center of Southern Scotland.
  • Dundee - University town, very lively.
  • Glasgow - Scotland's largest city with around 620,000 inhabitants in its metropolitan area.
  • Inverness - Main center of the "Highlands".
  • Stirling - Famous for its mighty fortress overlooking the River Forth from above, Stirling officially acquired the title of city in 2002.

Other destinations

Scotland is famous for its natural beauty, as well as its cities. Below is a collection of interesting destinations; both the main ones but also those that are not normally part of the paths trodden by tourists.

Off the beaten path

  • An Sgurr - A hill on the island of Eigg of the Hebridean group. An Sgurr was formed about 60,000,000 years ago following the eruption of a volcano which today makes up the nearby island of Rùm.
  • Bay of Carsaig - Solitary and rocky, it opens onto the coast of the Isle of Mull, not far from the village of Tayvallich. It is surrounded by heavily eroded rocks.
  • Lora waterfalls (Falls of Lora)
  • Measach Falls (Falls of Measach)
  • Fingal cave (Fingal's Cave) - Formed following a volcanic eruption, the sea cave of Fingal is similar in composition and geological history to the Giant's Causeway in the nearby northern Ireland. It is located on the uninhabited island of Staffa in the Hebridean group. It is accessed from the sea through an imposing arch that seems to be produced by the hand of man so perfect is it. Some tourist agencies offer boat trips to the island. The interior of the cave is large and solemn. Its particular acoustics contribute to its suggestion with the roar of the waves and other barely perceptible sounds that are reproduced in delicate echoes. Its name in Gaelic is Uamh-Binn which means Cave of the Melody. Fingal's Cave inspired artists and writers who had the opportunity to visit it, from the composer Felix Mendelssohn to the novelist Giulio Verne.
  • Corryvreckan reel (Corryvreckan Whirlpool) - A narrow stretch of sea between the islands of Jura and Scarba, off the west coast of Scotland. Strong Atlantic currents together with high tide combine to produce a marine eddy of exceptional proportions in the strait. Corryvreckan's whirlpool forms around a pyramid-shaped basaltic spike that emerges from the depths of the sea. The reel produces waves 9m high. that crash to the shore producing an audible roar up to 16 km away. Writer George Orwell who lived in the nearby village of Barnhill risked his life by venturing with his boat into the Corryvreckan Strait.
  • Old Man of Hoy - A red sandstone rock that emerges from the sea reaching 137 meters in height. It is located on the west coast of the island of Hoy, in the Orkney group and many people climb it. Nearby is another natural curiosity, the Dwarfie Stane.
  • Smoo Cave
  • Stac Pollaidh
  • The Quiraing


How to get

By plane

Below is the list of airlines that in June 2009 operated flights from Italian cities to airports in Scotland

Airport of Edinburgh
Airport of Glasgow
Airport of Inverness

On the train

The route between London and Edinburgh is served by a daytime service operated by EastCoast with fast trains leaving Kings Cross every half hour arriving in about 4 and a half hours at Weavery (Edinburgh central station, a few minutes walk from the castle). Tickets for this type of train start at 40 pounds.

The most romantic way to arrive by train from London however, it consists in booking a berth or a sleeping cabin on the "Caledonian Sleeper" of the Scottish Citylink Coaches Ltd, the company that operates Scottish trains.

Caledonian Sleeper is one of only two night trains still in service on the railways of Great Britain (the other is the "Night Riviera"). Under the label "Caledonian Sleeper" there are actually two distinct trains for departure times and routes followed. The trip takes 8 hours

  1. "Highland Caledonian Sleeper" departs London Euston between 8pm and 9.15pm every day except Saturday for Inverness, Aberdeen is Fort William
  2. "Lowland Caledonian Sleeper" leaves from the same station and with the same frequency but a little later (between 11pm and midnight) for Edinburgh is Glasgow

You can choose from three classes: "First Class" (single cabin), "Standard Class" (cabin with two bunk beds) and "Seated Sleeper" (reclining seats). The first-class cabins are identical in all respects to those of the standard. The difference is that you travel alone.

Places can be booked at the agency or by phone or on the website of the Scottish Citylink Coaches Ltd or even in the station close to your place of residence thanks to the unified European reservation system.

Tickets are expensive. The cheaper ones called "Bargain Berths" are sometimes offered in limited numbers only on the web.

From London and other cities ofEngland There are several day trains a day to major cities in Scotland. The following are the companies that manage the railway connections:

By bus


How to get around

On the train

The Scottish train operator is First ScotRail. On his site you will find information on timetables, ticket types and tourist passes.

Two railway lines in vogue among tourists for the extraordinary landscapes they cross, are the "West Highland Line" and the "Kyle of Lochalsh Line". The first goes from Queen Street Station to Glasgow to Mallaig, the port where you embark for the island of Skye. One of its branches touches instead Oban, seaport for many ferries to / from Inner Hebrides. To the delight of tourists a vintage train (The Jacobite) pulled by a steam locomotive runs along the final stretch from Fort William to Mallaig. Some of the most scenic points are the Glenfinnan Viaduct, between Locheilside and Glenfinnan, The Horse Shoe Curve between Upper Tyndrum and the Bridge of Orchy

There Kyle of Lochalsh Line begins in the locality of the same name, at one end of the bridge that connects the island of Skye to the mainland. It is a single-track railway that terminates in ad Inverness. At the station Dingwall connects with the Far North Line, a railway that goes from Inverness to Thurso, near the small port where ferries leave for Orkney Islands.

By bus

Where the train does not arrive you will have to resort to the bus. The bus lines that operate on domestic routes are Scottish Citylink

What see

Exploring Scotland is something very subjective and it is good to try to clarify how to get around to explore it, especially if the time available is limited. Choosing what to see comes after the "how do I want to see" question. You can tackle Scotland trying to visit all of its best kept castles or ruins, or rather follow the world famous Scottish whiskey route, or look for the traces of the Celts and of I shook, others will prefer natural exploration, far from civilization and tourist destinations, up to the explorations of Orkney Islands and of Shetland islands which, alone, are worth the entire trip to Scotland. Surely the ideal is to travel through Scotland in a clockwise direction, starting from Edinburgh and continuing along the west coast to the Highlands. Sleeping in Thurso (Scrabster) or a John o'Groats to reach Orkney where you can spend at least one or two nights. Finally return to Inverness and quickly get off the fast Eastern motorways to Edinburgh. By following this ideal path it is possible to deviate or deepen both Hebridean islands and some gems of the hinterland.


The city of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is certainly one of the most interesting Scottish destinations and alone can keep the traveler busy for several days. Home to a series of cultural festivals culminating in August, it is an educated city, rich in history and architecture and with a surprising amount of museums and galleries to visit. For those who prefer a more permanent holiday, it can be the basis for excursions to Glasgow (which is only an hour by train), Rosslyn is Lanark with its industrial archeology sites.

What to do

Events and parties

  • April
    • Melrose Rugby Sevens Match (Melrose)
  • May
    • Feis Ile (Islay Festival; Isle of Islay)
    • Burns an ’a’ That (Ayr),
  • June
  • September


At the table

Traditional Scottish cuisine is based on a few poor ingredients, the harsh and rainy climate in fact severely limits the crops in the area. Among the most important products there are certainly meat: beef (Angus breed) is among the finest in the world, while the prevalence of sheep farming makes sheep meat very popular. Also notable is the use of salmon and oysters.

Among the most popular dishes of Scottish cuisine it is worth mentioning thehaggis, a sausage traditionally consisting of a sheep stomach (modernly a synthetic substitute is used) stuffed with sheep entrails (heart, lungs, liver) ground and mixed with onion, oats, pork fat and spices. This sausage is boiled over low heat for 3 hours and then served with neeps (rutabaga puree) e tatties (mashed potatoes). The birth of the national poet is celebrated every year on 25 January in Scotland Robert Burns with the Burns supper, during which haggis is served with its side dishes and abundantly washed down with whiskey.

For those looking for a lighter and cheaper meal, as well in England almost everywhere you can have lunch with a citole of the soup of the day (soup of the day), served with a portion of bread. The most traditional of Scottish soups is the Cock-a-leekie, composed of leeks cooked in chicken broth, enriched with chicken meat and thickened with cereals. The original version of the soup was enriched with a julienne of prunes at the end of cooking.

The Scots have always had a clear preference for fried foods. If the scotch eggs (hard-boiled eggs wrapped in minced meat which turns them into meatballs, passed in egg and flour and then deep fried) have become a classic of pub cooking throughout the British Isles. Much more recent is the passion for frying practically anything, not just traditional fish fish and chips (which in Scotland is served sprinkled not with vinegar but with sauce, a watery mixture of malt vinegar and brown sauce) but also sausages and even chocolate bars (deep fried Mars).

Finally, in the field of sweets, we cannot fail to mention shortbread, thick shortcrust pastry biscuits flavored with almond and very rich in butter.

Of course, Scotland's major cities are also home to a large immigrant population, making it easy to find Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Indian restaurants and the ubiquitous kebabs.

Drinks

Scotland's national drink definitely is Scotch whiskey, of pure malt or blended. The production of beer.Those who prefer non-alcoholic drinks cannot avoid a taste of Irn-Bru, a (very) carbonated soft drink, very sweet and with a peculiar flavor (critics say it looks like a cough syrup for children). Almost impossible to find outside of Scotland, in Scotland it is the best-selling carbonated soft drink of all.

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