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Country within the United Kingdom
Photo: Janfrie1988, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Alba), the northern of the four constituent nations of the United Kingdom, is well known for its dramatic scenery of mountains, valleys and rugged coastline.
Best known for Ayrshire, home of national poet Robert Burns and the "Glasgow Riviera", as well as the beautiful Isle of Arran.
The eastern two-thirds of the districts north of the border with England, fought over for hundreds of years. The beautiful rolling hills and fields are dotted with pretty towns, ruined abbeys and battlefields.
Scotland's most urbanised region around and between the cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh. Most of the population of Scotland lives here.
Scotland's spectacular, mountainous north-west, encompassing the Great Glen and Loch Ness and at the furthest tip of Britain, John o'Groats. You can also visit the growing city of Inverness.
Centred on the cities of Aberdeen and the slightly smaller Dundee, this beautiful region stretches from the Grampian mountains at the heart of Scotland to the dramatic east coast. It's a region of scenic agricultural land, quaint fishing ports, rugged mountains and hills, and dramatic castles. It's also the centre of two important Scottish industries, North Sea oil and whisky.
The many islands off the north-west Scottish coast, divided into the groups of the Inner Hebrides and Outer Hebrides. 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 isles here. They share a language (Scots Gaelic) and much of their culture with the Highlands.
A group of islands immediately to the north of Scotland. The largest of the Orkney islands is known as the "Mainland" and islanders are called Orcadians. Inhabited for over 8000 years, they are the site of some of the best-preserved Neolithic sites in Europe, with UNESCO World Heritage Site status.
A group of islands north of the Orkney Islands, the northernmost inhabited parts of the United Kingdom. Like the Orkney Islands, they have been fought over by Scotland and Scandinavia and both aspects of their heritage are important today.
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Sites and prices, yearly membership starts at £47 adult, £87 family (properties include Edinburgh and Stirling Castles). Historic Scotland also offers a 3-day Explorer Pass. Summer 2021: Some manned sites are open, advance booking is required..
Sites and prices, yearly membership starts at £45 adult, £100 family (properties include Craigievar and Crathes Castles, numerous wilderness areas). Summer 2021: Most properties open, but advance booking is required and opening hours may be reduced..
By plane
International flights are mostly to Edinburgh or Glasgow, else connect via Manchester, the London airports or Amsterdam.
By train
Principal routes from England to Scotland are:
By car
The main road from England to Edinburgh and the east side of Scotland is the A1. This runs north via Scotch Corner, Newcastle, Morpeth, and Berwick-upon-Tweed then turns west past Dunbar to Edinburgh.
By bus
Bus and coach services are the cheapest transport to Scotland, with advance fares as low as £10 from London Victoria to Edinburgh St Andrew Square or Glasgow Buchanan Street.
By boat
Car ferries from Northern Ireland ply several times a day to Cairnryan near Stranraer, taking two hours from either Belfast or Larne.
By plane
Scotland is a small country, and rail travel in the lowlands is rapid, so there are no flights between Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen.
By train
Wikivoyage has a guide to Rail travel in Great Britain, including within Scotland.
By road
Like the rest of Britain and Ireland, cars drive on the left-hand side of the road.
By bus
Traveline Scotland is a government funded website and app for planning journeys by public transport.
By boat
Car ferries sail to the populated islands, usually at least daily. They have limited capacity so you should book in advance.
By thumb
Hitch-hiking is surprisingly easy in Scotland, but better to do outside the big cities. In the Highlands you might need to wait for a long time until a car comes by. General caution must be taken.
Choose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
Inverness, Highland · Regional · INV
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the capital of Scotland, home to the world's largest Arts Festival every August and the First European City of Literature. It is often known as the "Festival City". Most of the city centre, with the dramatic and contrasting architecture of its Old Town and New Town, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Scotland's largest and most vibrant city, with some of the best shopping in the UK outside London and some of its most exciting nightlife. At one time, it was the centre of the largest shipbuilding industry in the world.
Scotland's third largest city. Known for its impressive granite buildings, it is known as the "Granite City", the oil capital of Europe, and home to a large harbour and two renowned universities.
vibrant city with high population of students and one of the most distinct (perhaps incomprehensible) accents you'll hear. It is known as the city of "jute, jam and journalism", and the "City of Discovery" for its history of scientific activities and the home of Scott and Shackleton's Antarctic vessel, the RRS Discovery.
the fast-growing capital of the Highlands, located on the River Ness and close to Loch Ness, where many tourists try (and fail) to find the monster. It is Britain's most northerly city.
a royal fortress city dominated by the historic and dramatic castle, it was said that whoever controlled the castle, controlled Scotland (and many have tried!). Today, it also has a vibrant modern outlook.
an ancient royal burgh (i.e. a status of autonomous town/city granted by royal charter). It is the county seat of Perthshire. Much smaller than its Australian counterpart to whom it gave its name, it is sometimes known as "The Fair City" following a novel by Walter Scott. Once a major centre of the court of Scottish kings and queens, its city status was restored by Queen Elizabeth II in 2012.
a historic city in Fife, 3 miles north of the Firth of Forth in central Scotland. It became a royal residence, ecclesiastical centre and effective capital of Scotland from the 11th century, and many monarchs are buried here. It's also the birthplace of tycoon philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. In 2016 the population was 53,100.
The Cairngorms are a range of mountains between the Highlands region and Aberdeenshire, plus smaller areas of Angus, Perth and Kinross, and Moray. The national park, established in 2003, is by far the largest in Britain – it's named for the Cairn Gorm or "Blue Mountain" near Aviemore, but also includes the Monadhliath and Grampian ranges to the east, the Angus Glens, and the upper valleys of the Spey, Dee and Tay.
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park straddles between Argyll and Bute to the west and Stirlingshire to the east. It's highland in nature and very scenic, though being on the doorstep of Glasgow it can feel busy and touristy.
Glencoe (Scottish Gaelic: Gleann Comhann) is a hauntingly scenic valley in the western Scottish Highlands, a branch of The Great Glen which carves coast to coast. It's also the name of the village at its foot, where the glen meets the sea at Loch Leven.
Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the United Kingdom, at 1344.527 m / 4413 ft - it gained about a metre during a 2016 official survey. It's near the town of Fort William in the Scottish Highlands, at the southwest end of the Great Glen.
Torridon (Gaelic Toirbheartan) is an area on the west coast of Ross and Cromarty in the Scottish Highlands. The settlement straggles along the shores of Loch Torridon and takes in Torridon village (also known as Fasaig), Inveralligin and Diabaig to the north of the loch, Annat to the south-east, Shieldaig to the west, and Kinlochewe to the east.
Skye (Gaelic: An t-Eilean Sgitheanach) is the largest and most northerly of the Inner Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland, linked to the mainland by a toll-free bridge. It's a rugged mountainous island with spectacular scenery.
Islay (Gaelic Ìle, say "eye-la") is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, with a population of 3,228 in 2011. It's mostly low-lying grazing land and heath, with Port Ellen and Bowmore the main settlements.
The Isle of Arran is part of Ayrshire in southwest Scotland. It lies in the Firth of Clyde, the broad reach of sea southwest of Glasgow and enclosed by the Ayrshire coast to the east and the Kintyre peninsula to the west.
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