What are the must-see places in Scotland?
So many people ask me for the top five places to see in Scotland.
And I think, ‘Really? You want me to pick just five?’. Choosing just five must-see places in Scotland is almost impossible. What if I picked a famous golf course - and you don’t enjoy golf?
Choosing a must-see destination in Scotland is entirely subjective, so instead, I like to suggest the Scottish highlights based on your interests.
Top five places in Scotland - it’s your choice
I do not have an answer. The top places to visit in Scotland depend on what interests the person asking the question. For one person it might be The Royal and Ancient Golf Course at St Andrews; for the descendant of an emigrant a ruined, roofless but and ben at the far side of Mull.
I prefer to answer the question by breaking up Scotland’s story into chapters of time, and let my visitors choose.
Scotland - in the beginning
In the beginning was the land. The landscape of Scotland is very varied. In the highlands are some of the oldest rocks on the planet- black, grey, red granite formed deep beneath the earth’s core, thrust upward and then eroded. In the centre of the country is the low lying sandstone belt, red and blonde sandstone, and in the south gently rolling hills. The glaciers carved out the lochs and widened the rivers. It is a land formed by ice and fire. No matter where you go the land is a Must See.
Nowhere in Scotland is further than seven miles from water, and so when people settled here, they did so on the sides of lochs and rivers. Scotland abounds in prehistoric sites; burial sites and standing stones in Argyll, Orkney, near Inverness and on Lewis, some of which predate Stonehenge. In the museums are pieces of jewellery dating from these times. If you want prehistory, Scotland has plenty to see.
Scotland - after the Romans left
When the Romans left, the vacuum of power was occupied by warring tribes. 600 years on the Scottii emerged on top with their capital at Dunadd in Argyll. Kenneth MacAlpin the first king of Scotland moved to Scone, and the nation came into being in the mid 9th century. Both places are wonderful to visit. The focus then turned to defending the country from invasion by the Vikings and then the English. Great castles were built along the access routes ie the rivers, and on the top of extinct volcanoes eg Edinburgh and Stirling. These castles, built as residences to protect the royal family, have different and overlapping stories.
Scotland in the Middle Ages
In The Middle Ages villages grew and trading centres were formed. They were called burghs. Trade was not just local, but international. We sent wool and salt abroad. Visit any small town on the side of a river and you are likely to find a mercat cross, the symbol of the right to trade. Culross in Fife with its pantile roofs and its tiny windows is a wonderful example of a medieval town. At the same time there were other travellers also. Pilgrims came from all over northern Europe to St Andrews and the abbeys of the borders – Melrose and Jedburgh, Kelso and Dryburgh. The monks were heavily involved in the wool trade. Indeed Melrose Abbey was at one point the biggest sheep farm in Europe! Traders and pilgrims- an economic link. In the west the centres of pilgrimage were Glasgow, and of course the island of Iona. If the Middle Ages is your interest, then the whole country with its houses and its churches is the place for you.
Scotland - the 18th Century
The eighteenth century was a century like no other. Scotland joined with England to become Great Britain, the last claim of the Scottish royal family to the British crown was crushed and agricultural changes took place alongside the industrial revolution. Trade was expanded to the New World, and Glasgow began to grow to the point that by the mid nineteenth century it was the second city of the empire. Built on slave money, Glasgow was also a main force for abolition. Glasgow and Edinburgh were central to the Enlightenment, the movement of philosophical thinking which swept Europe in the eighteenth century. With buildings which tell a story of the rise of a city, Glasgow’s power is writ in stone. For Scotland’s influence across the world look no further than Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Scotland - the present day
And then there is Scotland now. Anywhere you go you can see the land, find the medieval story, visit a castle and a cathedral along the way, or see us as we are today - the continuum of that story with our scones, our whisky, our sense of humour, our universities, our politics, our music both ancient and modern, our sense of who we are, our Scottishness.
The best place to visit in Scotland
So if I can’t answer what the top five places in Scotland to visit are - how on earth can I give an answer to the question ‘What’s the best place in Scotland to visit?’
But actually, for me, that’s easy.
It is sunset by any loch or river. The sky turns gold and then pink as the sun dips over the mountain top, and we listen to the water lapping, the birds falling silent and the wind whispering through the trees, ‘There is always tomorrow.’
Fancy a Scottish adventure with me, Margaret Hubbard?
I might not be able to give you the ‘Top Five Places to Visit in Scotland’, but I sure can help you see five of the best places to visit - based on the sights, stories and history you enjoy most.
If you’d like to go on a bespoke tour around Scotland to visit those places - give me a call and let’s begin a tour around Scotland that you’ll never forget.