Some Fun Facts About Scotland

The Gaelic word for Scotland is Alba.

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom (in the North West of Europe), occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain.

Scotland is a mountainous country and shares a border with England to the South and is bounded by the North Sea to the East, the Atlantic Ocean to the North / West, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the South West.

Scotland consists of over 790 islands (with around 130 inhabited) in addition to the mainland, including the Northern Isles, (sometimes known as the Shetland Islands) and the Hebrides.

Edinburgh is the country’s capital and second largest city as well as one of Europe’s largest financial centres. It was also the first city in the world to have its own fire brigade.

The largest city in Scotland is Glasgow.

The highest point in Scotland is Ben Nevis at 1,343m.

Scotland is famous for its fresh water lochs (lakes) – there are over 600 square miles of them. The most famous is Loch Ness where a dinosaur like monster is said to lurk in the water but this has not been proven.

Famous Scottish inventors include Alexander Graham Bell (Telephone) and Alexander Fleming (Penicillin).

Culture lovers from around the world come to Edinburgh for its famous arts festival.

The national flag of Scotland is known as the Saltire or St. Andrew’s Cross.

“Flower of Scotland” is popularly held to be the National Anthem of Scotland. Scotland the Brave is used for the Scottish team at the Commonwealth Games.

The largest lake in Scotland is Loch Lomond: 60sq km (40 km long).
St Andrew’s Day (30 November) is the national day, although Burns’ Night tends to be more widely observed.

Scotland currently has a population of just over 5 million.

Edinburgh, like Rome, was built on seven hills.

Tourism is recognised as a key contributor to the Scottish economy. A briefing published in 2002 by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) for the Scottish Parliament’s Enterprise and Life Long Learning Committee stated that tourism accounted around 5 of GDP and 7.5 of employment in Scotland.

Famous musicians from Scotland include Annie Lennox, Wet Wet Wet, Travis and Simple Minds.

Members of the European Union can apply for jobs in Scotland and other nationalities can apply for a visa subject to meeting requirements.

The most famous football teams in Scotland are Glasgow Celtic and Glasgow Rangers.

Scottish music is an important aspect of the nation’s culture, with both traditional and modern influences. A well known traditional Scottish instrument is the Great Highland Bagpipes, a wind instrument consisting of three drones and a melody pipe (called the chanter), which are fed continuously by a reservoir of air in a bag.

The thistle is Scotland’s Floral emblem.

There are many famous universities in Scotland including the University of St. Andrews, Edinburgh University and Glasgow University.

The currency in Scotland is Pound Sterling.

The longest river is the Tay at 121 miles.

Scotland is in the Greenwich Mean Time time zone.

About the Author:
Albert Beetons wrote this article about Scotland on behalf ofhttp://www.creageiridh.co.uk Scottish Holiday Houses and http://www.casaphoenix.co.uk/ Spanish Villa Rental

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