Take the high road or the low road - just get there.
Honed by long competition with its English neighbours, buoyant Scotland has survived encroachment, brass-monkey weather and invasion by stand-up comedians. Its people are feisty, opinionated and fiercely loyal. The countryside is a wild, beautiful tumble of raw mountain peaks and deep glassy lakes.
There's a plethora of tartan-checked beaten tracks across this land, but even in well-thumbed tourist hubs like Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Isle of Skye it's easy to veer off into one-of-a-kind adventures, usually involving extroverted locals. The brutal climate adds an edge to the whole experience.
In the wake of 2005's bombings in London and Glasgow, the British Home Office still rates the UK's terrorism threat level as severe. Travellers should exercise caution, monitor the media for any developments in the situation and expect delays at airports due to increased security measures.
Restrictions on airline cabin luggage are in place throughout the UK. For details check the UK Department for Transport website .
severity: High-level alert
Scotland
4,996,000
Name: Pound Sterling
Code: GBP
Symbol: £
240V 50Hz
Official: English
GMT/UTC 0
+44
Metric
article by Neil Wilson, April 2008
Genuine monster or moonlighting elephant? Despite no recent sightings, the legend of Loch Ness still reels 'em in. Read the full article ›
podcast by Poppy Stockell, October 2007
Got a hunger for fresh lobster, surfing and swimming with seals? Poppy Stockell finds all three on a tiny island off Scotland's west coast. Read the full article ›
Tags: Scotland
article by Lou McGregor, September 2005
Only the Scottish could invent a soft drink made from iron girders. It's Scotland's 'other' national drink, a hangover cure extraordinaire and it has Lou McGregor's heart. Read the full article ›
Tags: Eating & Drinking • Scotland
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