Scotland Explained

24/01/2015

This continues to be my favorite series of scotch commercials ever. I love that Laproaig admits their taste isn't for everyone and has fun with it.

12/01/2015

June is a fabulous time to come to Scotland. The temperatures are rising and the country's outdoor wonders are a little more accessible, but the crowds of August have not yet arrived:

Once you decide to go to Scotland (and well done on that!), one of the first decisions to make is when to go. Though the winter has its charms, it can be daunting, and I usually recommend first-time travelers go in the less challenging summer. Scotland is never going to top anyone’s list of beach de…

05/01/2015

We've just added four more events to our calendar of 2015 Scottish clan gatherings: Clans Menzies, McGillivray, MacPherson and Ranald. If you know your clan, check back as we regularly update this list. There's no better way to connect with your Scottish heritage than attending your clan's biggest event each year.

Scottish clans are often talked about as historical relics, something your ancestors might have belonged to, but just about everyone with Scottish heritage still belongs to a clan, whether they realize it or not. Some clans are still very active both online and off, involved not only in research on…

01/01/2015

The scenes in Edinburgh last night. Hogmanay in the capital is always something special.

Edinburgh 2015

31/12/2014

Happy Hogmanay to the Scots and all the Scotland lovers abroad. Have fun and keep safe tonight.

29/12/2014

Though Gaelic is spoken in relatively few homes in Scotland these days, it has left a permanent mark in the names of places throughout the country. Use this short introduction to know your gairs from your glens, your kips from your kils, and your next look at a Scotland map will be much more informative:

One of the questions that comes up when planning any trip abroad is how much you need to know about the language. Scotland, of course, is still associated (for better and worse) with the rest of the United Kingdom, and English is spoken in all corners of the country, albeit with an accent that can t…

22/12/2014

Our greatest condolences to the families of six dead and best wishes to the eight injured in today's lorry crash in Glasgow. There's no good time for such a terrible accident, but it's especially tough to swallow around the holidays. Be careful out there.

Six people are killed and a number of others injured after an out-of-control bin lorry crashed into pedestrians in central Glasgow.

08/12/2014

It's a hard choice with Scotland, but one that I advise people to make early on: do you want to live on the road or pick a home base and make smaller trips out from there?

As I’ll repeat again and again on this site, with a few particularly offensive exceptions, there is no wrong way to visit Scotland. But there are options that will fit your particular style and priorities better or worse. One big one, maybe the biggest one when planning a trip to Scotland or frankly…

07/12/2014

Nick Offerman: comedian, master woodworker, and defender of great whisky.

What happens when you try to pull a fast one on a Lagavulin lover. (Hint: it makes your friend who sent back that bottle of Chateaux Whatever because it migh...

02/12/2014

Many foreigners only know it as a brand of whisky, but there's so much more to Oban. Whether you want to explore the nearby islands, watch whales and basking sharks, or dine on some of Scotland's best seafood, Oban is a gem on the west coast that far too many travelers miss.

Oban isn’t one of Scotland’s biggest cities, nor among its biggest tourist draws. But a combination of natural beauty, history and a central location along Scotland’s west coast makes it a wonderful choice for visitors. Oban is probably best known among foreigners as home to its namesake whisky dist…

30/11/2014

Happy St. Andrew's Day to all.

Happy St Andrews Day everyone!

14/11/2014

Well done to Scotland's national football team on a huge win over Ireland today in European championship qualifying. As it stands, Scotland would qualify, but there's still a long road ahead, not least the return match in Dublin next June, when the Irish will want some revenge.

08/11/2014

Sir Tommy Macpherson once single-handedly forced a German armored regiment to surrender during World War II. His life reads like a film. A modern Scottish war hero has passed away.

A SCOT who became Britain’s most decorated soldier for his audacious exploits during the Second World War – which included single-handedly forcing a column of German troops and SS Panzer tanks to surrender – has died at the age 94.

31/10/2014

Happy Samhain / All Hallow's Eve / Halloween, from this particularly dapper Highland cow.

22/10/2014

Some great tips for visiting one of Scotland's most popular attractions, Edinburgh Castle, from a local tour guide:

This is the first in a series where I’ll be asking knowledgeable locals for inside tips on visiting Scotland. Today, I’m lucky to have Gareth from Edinburgh Expert to answer some questions about Edinburgh Castle.

11/10/2014

It wasn't pretty and it was far from safe, but a win's a win. Scotland beat Georgia 1-0 today in the Euro 2016 football qualifiers, keeping pace with groupmates Ireland, Germany and Poland.

10/10/2014

The first in our series of clan-specific travel guides, here are some tips on planning a Scotland trip for members of Clan Hunter:

This is the first in a series of clan-specific guide posts, which I hope will be a starting point for members of Clan Hunter across the world to plan their Scotland trip.

09/10/2014

Cuillin Ridge, Isle of Sky. Photo by Thierry Gregorius.

My mate Alan standing on the tiny platform stretching out behind Sgurr Dubh Mor, on the Cuillin Ridge, Isle of Skye. It's hard to see on the photo, but the platform is only about a foot wide, with steep drops on all sides - it feels exhilaratingly airy! Last month we finished off all Munros on the C…

07/10/2014

Researching your Scottish genealogy is a great reason to visit the country. But there's no reason to wait to get there. You can do so much (though not all) online, and here are some resources to get you started:

But before you set off for Scotland to rediscover your roots, you can get a huge amount of information from home.

07/10/2014

If you ask a random sample of people who don't want to go to Scotland why they don't, a good chunk are likely to say the weather, especially the rain. But how much rain does Scotland really get?

There are a thousand reasons to visit Scotland, but when I talk to someone who doesn’t have it on their travel list (a challenge!), the top reason they always cite is the weather, specifically the rain. It certainly does get wet, which is why it stays so green all year long. But the idea that a visi…

04/10/2014

Cheaper and less crowded than August, and the best chance for sun in some regions of the country. May is a great month to visit Scotland:

One of the hardest decisions you have to make when planning your Scotland trip is when to visit. Scotland certainly has different charms different times of the year.

03/10/2014

Castles, lochs, the coast, the mountains. Even a little taste of the Highlands. This four-day driving itinerary, based in Glasgow, contains all this and more:

This four-day itinerary takes you from Glasgow northwest to the coastal town of Oban, then farther north into the Highlands, through one of the densest concentrations of Scottish castles to Fort William.

02/10/2014

Trials cyclist Danny Macaskill returns to his native Scotland in his new film "The Ridge". Check out some beautiful scenery, and some tricks you should definitely not try, at home or elsewhere.

is The brand new film from Danny Macaskill... For the first time in one of his films Danny climbs aboard a mountain bike and returns to his native ...

02/10/2014

Too many Scotland travel guides start in Glasgow and Edinburgh and work their way north. The Borders are far too beautiful and interesting to be ignored.

The truth is, a big and important chunk of Scotland lies south of the cities. Two council areas (the major political districts of Scotland) touch the border with England.

30/09/2014

For fans of Speyside whisky, the little town of Dufftown is heaven on Earth. Six major distilleries are here, along with one of the oldest stone castles in Scotland and a fabulous golf course:

Every town in Scotland has its own unique charms. Dufftown, halfway up the road between Aberdeen and Inverness, has several. There are a couple of castles in the area, a few excellent golf courses, and no end of fantastic scenic views.

30/09/2014

Don't expect to see it all. Even in a small country like Scotland, that will never happen, and freeing yourself from the need to accumulate every possible experience will let you enjoy the ones you have.

My good friend and fellow European-nation-explainer Jessica Spiegel posted something over at Italy Explained that I would recommend anyone interested in travel to read. “You haven’t seen Italy until you’ve seen…” is a wonderfully ranty response to a whole genre of travel snobbery. It got me thinking…

30/09/2014

I helped a Twitter follower identify and start to research her clan today. She's a Gunn! That's going to be a very fun aspect of this site.

29/09/2014

Stirling may be Scotland's smallest city, but it houses some of her greatest historical and cultural treasures, among them the castle where Mary Queen of Scots was crowned and William Wallace's actual sword.

Of the seven cities of Scotland, Stirling is the smallest. But like Inverness to the north, Stirling is far more important both historically and as a tourist destination than its population would suggest. One of the country’s greatest castles is here, along with a monument to its most famous rebel.

27/09/2014

Thatched roof cottages! This one's in Culloden, just outside Inverness.

thatched Leanach Cottage near Culloden ... Inverness-shire, Scotland

27/09/2014

Scottish astronomers are helping to map the Milky Way with a new probe called MOONS.

EXPERTS at the Royal Observatory have won a £7 million contract to help probe the secrets of the universe.