Sights in Scotland
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Devorgilla Bridge
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Culbin Forest
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City Observatory
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Church of St Andrew & St George
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Burns Monument
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Fish Market
From 4am until about 7:30am the colourful fish market on Albert Basin operates as it has done for centuries.
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Holyrood Park
In Holyrood Park Edinburgh is blessed with a little bit of wilderness in the heart of the city. The former hunting ground of Scottish monarchs, the park covers 263 hectares of varied landscape, including crags, moorland and a loch. The highest point is the 251m summit of Arthur's Seat, the deeply eroded remnant of a long-extinct volcano. Holyrood Park can be circumnavigated by car or bike along Queen's Dr, and you can hike from Holyrood to the summit in around 45 minutes.
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The Scores
From the castle, the Scores follows the coast west down to the first tee at the Old Course. Family-friendly St Andrews Aquarium has a seal pool, rays and sharks from Scottish waters and exotic tropical favourites. Once introduced to our finny friends, you can snack on them with chips in the cafe.
Nearby, the British Golf Museum has an extraordinarily comprehensive overview of the history and development of the game and the role of St Andrews in it. Favourite fact: bad players were formerly known as 'foozlers'. Interactive panels allow you to relive former British Opens (watch Paul Azinger snapping his putter in frustration), and there's a large collection of memorabilia…
reviewed
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Skara Brae & Skaill House
A visit to extraordinary Skara Brae, one of the world's most evocative prehistoric sites, offers the best opportunity in Scotland for a glimpse of Stone Age life. Idyllically situated by a sandy bay 8 miles north of Stromness, and predating Stonehenge and the pyramids of Giza, Skara Brae is northern Europe's best-preserved prehistoric village.
Even the stone furniture – beds, boxes and dressers – has survived the 5000 years since a community lived and breathed here. It was hidden until 1850, when waves whipped up by a severe storm eroded the sand and grass above the beach, exposing the houses underneath. There's an excellent interactive exhibit and short video, arming…
reviewed
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Sharmanka Kinetic Gallery & Theatre
Great fun for kids and often surprisingly moving for adults, this extraordinary mechanical theatre is located at the Trongate 103 arts centre. Originally from St Petersburg, it brings inanimate objects to life, as sculptured pieces of scrap and tiny carved figures perform humorous and tragic stories of the human spirit, set to haunting music. It's joyful, ironic theatre: inspirational one moment and macabre the next, but always colourful, clever and thought-provoking. Full performances are at 7pm Thursday and Sunday, and there are shorter daily performances (£5 with two kids free) from Wednesday to Sunday (check by phone or online for times). The gallery is also open…
reviewed
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Prehistoric Sites
The major archaeological sites are clearly labelled from the road ringing the island. Heading west from the ferry, you soon come to Taversoe Tuick, an intriguing burial cairn constructed on two levels, with separate entrances – perhaps a joint tomb for different families; a semidetached solution in posthumous housing. Squeeze into the cairn to explore both levels, but there's not much space. Not far beyond are two other significant cairns; Blackhammer, then Knowe of Yarso, the latter a fair walk up the hill but with majestic views.
Six miles from the ferry, mighty Midhowe Cairn has been dubbed the 'Great Ship of Death'. Built around 3500 BC and enormous in size, it's…
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Old Town
Below the castle, the steep Old Town has a remarkably different feel to modern Stirling, its cobblestone streets packed with 15th- to 17th-century architectural gems. Stirling has the best surviving town wall in Scotland. It can be explored on the Back Walk, which follows the line of the wall from Dumbarton Rd (near the tourist office) to the castle. You pass the town cemeteries (check out the Star Pyramid, an outsized affirmation of Reformation values dating from 1863), then the path continues around the back of the castle to Gowan Hill where you can see the Beheading Stone, now encased in iron bars to prevent contemporary use.
The Church of the Holy Rude has been the…
reviewed
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Old Town
Below the castle, the steep Old Town has a remarkably different feel to modern Stirling, its cobblestone streets packed with 15th- to 17th-century architectural gems. Its growth began when Stirling became a royal burgh (about 1124), and in the 15th and 16th centuries rich merchants built their houses here.
Stirling has the best surviving town wall in Scotland. It was built around 1547 when Henry VIII of England began the 'Rough Wooing' – attacking the town in order to force Mary, Queen of Scots to marry his son so the two kingdoms could be united. The wall can be explored on the Back Walk, which follows the line of the wall from Dumbarton Rd to the castle. You pass the…
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Lighthouse
Mackintosh's first building, designed in 1893, was a striking new headquarters for the Glasgow Herald. Tucked up a narrow lane off Buchanan St, it now serves as Scotland's Centre for Architecture & Design, with fairly technical temporary exhibitions, as well as the Mackintosh Interpretation Centre, a detailed if dryish overview of his life and work. On the top floor of the 'lighthouse', drink in great views over the rooftops and spires of the city centre.
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Falls of Clyde
The Falls of Clyde Wildlife Centre is also by the river in New Lanark. This place has child-friendly displays focused on badgers, bats, peregrine falcons and other prominent species. In season, there's a live video feed of peregrines nesting nearby. Outside is a bee tree, where you can see honey being made.
From the centre, you can walk up to Corra Linn and Bonnington Linn (one hour), two of the Falls of Clyde that inspired Turner and Wordsworth, through the beautiful nature reserve managed by the Scottish Wildlife Trust.
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Earl's Palace & Bishop's Palace
Near the cathedral, these two ruined palaces are worth poking around. The better of the two, Earl's Palace, was once known as the finest example of French Renaissance architecture in Scotland. One room features an interesting history of its builder, Earl Patrick Stewart, who was executed in Edinburgh for treason. He started construction in about 1600, but he ran out of money and it was never completed.
The Bishop's Palace was built in the mid-12th century to provide comfortable lodgings for Bishop William the Old. There's a good view of the cathedral from the tower, and a plaque showing the different phases of the cathedral's construction.
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Botanic Gardens
A marvellous thing about walking into these beautiful gardens is the way the noise of Great Western Rd suddenly recedes into the background. Amazingly, the lush grounds don't seem that popular with locals (except on sunny weekends) and away from the entrance you may just about have the place to yourself. The wooded gardens follow the riverbank of the River Kelvin and there are plenty of tropical species to discover. Kibble Palace, an impressive Victorian iron and glass structure dating from 1873, is one of the largest glasshouses in Britain; check out the herb garden, too, with its medicinal species. The gorgeous hilly grounds make the perfect place for a picnic lunch.…
reviewed
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Bannockburn
Though Wallace's heroics were significant, it was Robert the Bruce's defeat of the English on 24 June 1314 at Bannockburn, just outside Stirling, that eventually established lasting Scottish nationhood. Exploiting the marshy ground, Bruce won a great tactical victory against a much larger and better-equipped force, and sent Edward II 'homeward, tae think again', as the song 'Flower of Scotland' commemorates.
The Bannockburn Heritage Centre is due to reopen after a big refurbishment in spring 2014, in time for the 700th anniversary of the battle.
The battlefield itself (which never closes) will hopefully receive a bit of work too; at present, apart from a statue of the…
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Glenfiddich
This distillery is big and busy, but handiest for Dufftown and foreign languages are available. The standard tour starts with an overblown video, but it’s fun, informative and free. An in-depth Connoisseur’s Tour must be prebooked. Glenfiddich kept single malt alive during the dark years.
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New Lanark Visitor Centre
You need to buy a ticket to enter the main attractions. These include a huge working spinning mule, producing woollen yarn, and the Historic Schoolhouse, which contains an innovative, high-tech journey to New Lanark's past via a 3D hologram of the spirit of Annie McLeod, a 10-year-old mill girl who describes life here in 1820. The kids will love it as it's very realistic, although the 'do good for all mankind' theme is a little overbearing.
Included in your admission is entrance to a millworker's house, Robert Owen's home and exhibitions on 'saving New Lanark'. There's also a 1920s-style village store.
reviewed
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Falls of Clyde Wildlife Centre
The wildlife centre is also by the river in New Lanarkm and features child-friendly displays focused on badgers, bats, peregrine falcons and other prominent species. In season, there's a live video feed of peregrines nesting nearby. Entry is a pound cheaper if you buy it together with the New Lanark Visitor Centre entrance. The centre also organises various activities in summer, including badger-watching (adult/child £8/4).
From the centre, you can walk through the beautiful nature reserve up to Corra Linn (30 minutes) and Bonnington Linn (one hour), two of the Falls of Clyde that inspired Turner and Wordsworth. You could return via the muddier path on the opposite bank,…
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Craignethan Castle
This castle has a very authentic feel – it hasn't been restored beyond recognition – and is in a stunning, tranquil spot. You'll feel miles from anywhere, so bring a picnic and make a day of it.
With a commanding position above the River Nethan, this extensive ruin includes a virtually intact tower house and a caponier – a small gun emplacement with holes in the wall so men with handguns could pick off attackers. The chilly chambers under the tower house are quite eerie.
Craignethan is 5 miles northwest of Lanark. If you don't have your own transport, take an hourly Lanark–Hamilton bus to Crossford, then follow the footpath along the northern bank of the River…
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Orkney Brewery
Famous for its rich, chocolatey Dark Island ale, and the dangerously strong Skull Splitter.
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An Talla Solais
An Talla Solais is a community-run gallery that stages changing exhibitions of works by Highlands artists, from paintings and photography to ceramics and textiles. Opening hours can vary, so check the website or local flyers for the latest exhibition dates and times.
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Wheeling Steen Gallery
Situated about 2 miles north of Pierowall near the airfield, this appealing gallery showcases the photographs and paintings of local farmer-turned artist Edwin Randall, and crafts created by his daughter. There's a cafe too, serving tea, coffee, hot chocolate and cakes.
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