Culture

Scotland has been handing down its traditions for close to a thousand years now, since the earliest days of the clans in the 12th century. However, Scottish traditions are not something sterile under glass and steel in a cold museum. They are vibrant, living things, constantly growing and evolving, and every generation adds the thumbprint of its own particular Scottish culture to the whole. Take, for example, the 60 Highland Games that still take place all across Scotland annually - those are a uniquely Scottish mix of culture, sports, music and community. Everybody knows the cliché of the piper on the shortbread tin. But have you experienced the breath-taking reality of a hundred pipers skirling in uplifting unison? This isn't an image from Scotland's cultural past: it happens every August at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo and on Glasgow Green.

History

The history of Scotland is fascinating and complex; there are Roman soldiers, Vikings, noble clansmen, powerful ruling monarchs and even enlightened philosophers. Scotland has experienced extraordinary growth and change during the course of its lifetime - it’s a place that has been invaded and settled many times and that has made mighty contributions to culture and society. Explore thousands of years of people and events that highlights some of the most significant moments in Scotland’s fascinating history at Scottish History.

Landscape

The geography of Scotland is varied, from rural lowlands to barren uplands, and from large cities to uninhabited islands. Located in Northern Europe, Scotland comprises the northern one third of the island of Great Britain as well as 790 surrounding islands encompassing the major archipelagoes of the Shetland Islands, Orkney Islands and the Inner and Outer Hebrides. Scotland's only land border is with England, which runs for 60 miles (97 km) in a northeasterly direction from the Solway Firth in the west to the North Sea on the east coast. Separated by the North Channel, the island of Ireland lies 13 miles (21 km) from Mull of Kintyre on the Scottish mainland. Norway is located 190 miles (310 km) to the northeast of Scotland across the North Sea. The Atlantic Ocean, which fringes the coastline of western and northern Scotland and its islands, influences the temperate, maritime climate of the country. The more rugged Highland region contains the majority of Scotland's mountainous terrain, including the highest peak, Ben Nevis. Lowland areas, in the southern part of Scotland, are flatter and home to most of the population, especially the narrow waist of land between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth known as the Central Belt. Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland, although Edinburgh is the capital and political centre of the country.