Scotland Travel Guide 2012

Although compact, Scotland is studded with an impressive number of ancient monuments and structures, tracing many millennia of history. The Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage lets you take a trip back 5,000 years and wonder at primitive settlements and burial tombs. Alternatively, gaze in awe at the Calanais standing stones in Lewis, or delve into Scotland's turbulent past and explore hundreds of castles, be they thoroughly restored strongholds such as Eilean Donan Castle or ruined strongholds where you can easily let your imagination run wild.
Scotland's biggest cities, Edinburgh and Glasgow, are chock-full of exceptional galleries and galleries and sophisticated specialty shops, with appealing architecture at every turn. Hip hotels and innovative restaurants spring up consistently, and advanced physical activities sites are being established for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, including a brand new sphere and velodrome.
Beyond the cities, quite towns and towns attract visitors with their blend of picturesque buildings, scenic walks and warm welcomes; right here's where you'll experience captivating Border abbey towns, alluring Fife seaside towns and remote Gaelic-speaking Highland communities.
Scotland is a mecca for outside enthusiasts too. Whether you're into hard-core adrenaline action, hiking and cycling, or favor an even more non-active experience, Scotland has it covered. You can easily hurtle down rapids on a river bug in Perthshire or test your nerves ascending ice falls in Glencoe. You can easily hike through remarkable glens along the exceptional West Highland Way or deal with a tough single-track woodland trail in one of the 7stanes mountain bike parks. You can easily seek the elusive wildcat on a wildlife safari of Cairngorms National Park or float past picturesque islands on a Hebridean cruise. Then there's the remarkable sensation of landing your first salmon on the River Tweed or scoring a hole-in-one at St Andrews.