Scotland Journey

Scotland has had a separate parliament for a few years now. It was established after a referendum in 1997 which allowed the Scottish people to vote for a parliament and determine whether it should have tax raising powers. We voted overwhelmingly yes on both counts (74.3% for devolved parliament and 63.5% for tax varying powers). It still has a very limited range of powers and things like foreign policy are still dealt with on a UK basis at Westminster.

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The Scott Monument stands in Princes Street gardens close to Waverley Railway Station in Edinburgh. It is a Victorian Gothic monument to one of the most famous and well loved authors to come out of Scotland, Sir Walter Scott. Visitors to Edinburgh will find a number of place names including the railway station (Waverley) are named after the works of Scott or famous characters that he created.

He was an author, a poet and an accomplished historian born in 1771. He was educated in Edinburgh and worked as a lawyer before turning his hand to writing. He was interested in tradition and collected a number of songs and poems during his travels. He wanted to preserve the mythology of Scotland and his writing romanticised our history for a new generation helping to create a new sense of national pride.

Scott understood Victorian society very well and his writing style appealed to the people of the age like nothing before.

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Iona is a truly magical place with an enchanting atmosphere and a long and interesting history. It is a small island in the Inner Hebrides close to Mull off the West coast of Scotland. Well over 100,000 visitors make their way to Iona to every year and this tiny island has been a place of pilgrimage for centuries.

The island measures just 3.5 miles by 1.5 miles and in order to get there you have to make your way to Oban on the West coast. From Oban you take the ferry to Mull which is a larger island. Then you drive along the single track road to the far side of Mull where you can catch a ferry across to Iona from a place called Fionnphort. It can be a lengthy trip and progress on the single track roads of Mull is often slow and, in bad weather, hazardous. You can opt to book a day trip to Iona from Oban and go by coach instead.

However you get there just make sure that you do because there are few places in Scotland that provide such a tranquil and beautiful setting for exploration. Iona has a fascinating history which began in the 6th century when St.

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The National Museum of Scotland is an essential place to visit if you spend any time in Edinburgh. It has a wide ranging collection which covers various periods of Scottish history from the Picts through the Vikings, the times of Wallace and Bruce, the Jacobites and all the way up to the present day with an exhibit about the first cloned sheep in the world, Dolly.

You can see the intricately carved Lewis chessmen, early Scottish flags and maps and a replica of Mary, Queen of Scots tomb. There are also beautiful bronze figures sculpted by Eduardo Paolozzi, a gorgeous piece of Pictish jewellery known as the Hunterston Brooch and a frightening guillotine called the Maiden which despatched quite a few criminals over the years.

The Museum of Scotland was constructed in 1998 and added on to the end of the stunning Victorian Royal Museum on Chambers Street.

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