The breathtaking scenery of its mountains and Iochs, the wild magnificence of its coastline and the inspiring architecture and lively pubs and clubs of its cities-like a fine single malt, Scotland is a country to be savoured.Discover all it has to offer with this comprehensive, fully updated guide.

Like a fine single malt, Scotland is a connoisseur's delight-a land of salt-tanged sea air, peaty waters and a rich, multi-layered history that reveals its true depth and complex flavours only to those who savour it slowly.

It's a place where you can watch golden eagles soar over the bare, rock peaks of the Cuillin, play golf on some of the world's most hallowed courses, or ride a high-speed boat through the surging white water of the Corryvreckan whirlpool. It's a place where every corner of the landscape is steeped in the past: a deserted croft on an island shore, a moor that was once a battlefield, a beach where Vikings hauled their boats ashore, a cave where Bonnie Prince Charlie once sheltered.

And it's a place that changes with the seasons, offering something new each time you visit. Spring means a lilac haze of bluebells in the woods around Loch Lomond, and a frenzy of seabirds on the cliffs around the coast. In summer the Hebridean island beaches flaunt their golden sands and turquoise waters like Caribbean imposters, while boat-trip passengers‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ at their first sight of a breaching minke whale.

In September the Loch Fyne oysters are at their juicy best, while October brings a riot of autumn colour to the Perthshire forests, and in the Highland hills you can hear the roaring of the red deer stags in rut. In winter a fresh layer of crisp snow lends grandeur to the mountains of Glen Coe. And what could be cosier than curling up in front of a log fire in a country-house hotel while the frost sparkles on the pine trees outside?

Highlights

Getting Started

Itineraries

The Authors

Snapshot

History

The Culture

Environment

Food & Drink

Edinburgh

Glasgow

Southern Scotland

Central Scotland

Northeast Scotland

Southern Highlands & Islands

Central & Western Highlands

Northern Highlands & Islands

Orkney & Shetland Islands

Directory

Transport

Health

World Time Zones

Language

Glossary

Behind the Scenes

Index

Map Legend