Fodor's Scotland 2001

Fodor's Scotland 2001"Fodor's guides cover culture authoritatively and rarely miss a sight or museum."- National Geographic Traveler "The king of guidebooks."- Newsweek No matter what your budget or whether it's your first trip or fifteenth, Fodor's Gold Guides get you where you want to go. Insider info that's totally up to date.Every year our local experts give you the inside track, showing you all the things to see and do -- from must-see sights to off-the-beaten-path adventures, from shopping to outdoor fun. Hundreds of hotel and restaurant choices in all price ranges-- from budget-friendly B&Bs to luxury hotels, from casual eateries to the hottest new restaurants, complete with thorough reviews showing what makes each place special. Smart Travel Tips A to Zsection helps you take care of the nitty gritty with essential local contacts and great advice -- from how to take your mountain bike with you to what to do in an emergency. Full-size, foldout mapkeeps you on course. We've compiled a helpful list of guidebooks that complementFodor's Scotland 2000. To learn more about them, just enter the title in the keyword search box. Fodor's Exploring Scotland:An information-rich cultural guide in full color.Fodor's Great Britain 2001Fodor's upCLOSE Great Britain:Designed for those who want to travel well and spend less.

Edinburgh

There may be no more gloriously dignified city in the world than Scotland's capital. It was outside the walls of looming Edinburgh Castle, on heights such as Castlehill that Scotland began. On these heights witches burned, in the days when faith could be ferocious. Today, the narrow walkways of the Old Town twist across this ridge, and along the area's Royal Mile you'll find splendid shopping and sprawling views that take in, among other things, Princes Street, a main drag of the New Town down below. The New Town's planned squares and classical facades make a perfect stage for buskers during summer's three-week-long Edinburgh International Festival, one of the world's great arts celebrations. Creative ferment abounds during this event, spilling over into the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the unofficial, sassy offspring of the Festival proper (and often an easier ticket). The rest of the year, Edinburgh's mini-mountain, Arthur's Seat, is an obligatory climb. And, except when the Royal Family is in residence, the Palace of Holyroodhouse is a must-see, with its fine paneling and plasterwork. Guided tours take you not only through some of the most imposing of these spaces but also down the corridors of Scottish and British history, and the story of Mary, Queen of Scots, comes stirringly alive -- intrigues, murders and all. With all the sights, museums, and shops worth frequenting by day you may want to retire early. Do so, and you'll miss the city's vibrant arts and nightlife. Sleep when you get home.

Glasgow

Warm as a pint with friends, but also bold and exuberant, Glasgow used to call itself the Second City -- not of Scotland but of the British Empire. It was a claim Glaswegians could back up. Commerce hummed and prosperity ruled through Victorian times, when the City Chambers went up, a reflection of Glasgow's self-confidence -- just before a long depression humbled the city's pride. These days the mood is upbeat again. Glasgow crackles with the energy of urban renaissance, complete with trendy stores and a thriving cultural life. George Square, at the heart of town, is a launch point for explorations that can yield surprises, such as the Art Nouveau enchantment of the Glasgow School of Art, designed by the great Charles Rennie Mackintosh while Glaswegians were still enthralled by Victorian pomp. A vibrant restaurant scene offers more surprises -- from around the world and, at the sterling Ubiquitous Chip, closer to home (try the venison haggis). With Glasgow less than an hour from Loch Lomond, Burns Country, and great golf on the Clyde Coast, it's easy to crown a day trip with a sumptuous, sophisticated dinner.

Borders and Southwest

Enter Scotland by car from England, and you enter it through the Borders. Here, England could be 500 miles away. The names of places, even of beers, are all inimitably Scottish. Sir Walter Scott, champion of Scotland, lived in the area at Abbotsford, and transformed a farmhouse into a romantic baronial mansion filled with Scottish artifacts. Here, in the pastoral reaches between the great Tweed and Teviot rivers, livestock clog the roads and seem to outnumber the occasionally kilted humans; fields are dotted by ruins such as those of roofless Jedburgh Abbey, razed by the English during Henry VIII's attempt to marry off his son to the infant Mary, Queen of Scots. In the highlands of Galloway, Scotland's southwest corner -- deeper yet into the Scottish past -- stand the remains of Threave Castle, former bastion of the Black Douglases, earls of Nithsdale and lords of Galloway. Poet Robert Burns spent theg loaming of his life in perfectly preserved Dumfries, nearby. Your deepest glimpse into the Scottish soul may come on the golf course. This part of Scotland is home to Prestwick, Royal Troon, Western Gailes, and Turnberry, hallowed names to any golfer, and hallowed ground in the land where golf was born.

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Excerpted from Scotland 2001 by Fodor's Travel Publications, Inc. Staff
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