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Perthshire, Angus and Dundee, The Kingdom of Fife

Argyll, The Isles, Loch Lomond, Stirling and The

Trossachs

Parts of Scotland

SCOTLAND

Aberdeen and Grampian Highlands

Outer Islands and Western Isles

Highlands of Scotland

SCOTLAND

The Thistle

Alongside tartan, the thistle is perhaps the most identifiable symbols of all things Scottish and nowadays, it can be seen promoting the 'Scottishness' of a wide variety of products, services and organisations.

The Saltire

The Scottish national flag is a white-on-blue saltire (a

diagonal cross on a coloured background) and it derives from the shape of the cross on which Scotland's patron

saint, St Andrew, was crucified.

WhiskyAsk people what they associate most with

Scotland and you'll probably get a variety of answers - tartan, golf and Robert Burns would certainly all be mentioned. But the most common answer is likely to be whisky.

Acknowledged as Scotland's national drink, whisky - in the Gaelic, uisge beatha (pronounced oosh-ga beh-huh), meaning water of life - has been produced here for longer than anyone can remember. Something that began centuries ago as a way of using up rain-soaked barley after a wet harvest, the whisky industry has now grown into one of the country's biggest earners, bringing in hundreds of millions of pounds every year.

St AndrewSt Andrew is the patron saint of

Scotland, a task he shares with Greece, Russia and Romania. The brother of St Peter and one of the original Apostles, Andrew was reputedly martyred at Patras in Greece, having petitioned the Roman authorities who had sentenced him to death not to crucify him on the same shape of cross as Christ. His request was granted and Andrew was duly crucified on the x-shaped cross (or saltire) which has subsequently become his symbol.

The Honours of Scotland

The Scottish Crown Jewels, known as the Honours of Scotland, are the oldest regalia in the British Isles. They comprise a crown, a sword and a sceptre, all of which date from the 15th and 16th centuries. Together with the Stone of Destiny, these symbols of Scottish nationhood are on permanent public display at Edinburgh Castle.

The Kilt

The skirt-like kilt which is familiar to us today evolved around the middle of the 18th century from the more commonly worn and functional belted plaid (in Gaelic, feileadh breacan or feileadh mor, 'the big kilt')

TartanTartan is, without doubt, one of the

nation's major 'brands' - instantly recognised the world over as uniquely Scottish. What makes tartan different from other chequered materials is the history and romance of the Highlands that is seemingly woven into every aspect of the fabric. In reality however, this mythologising of tartan is a surprisingly modern development and although tartan has come to be identified as particularly Scottish, any individual, family or institution can commission and register their own tartan.

Gaelic

Gaelic is the longest-standing language used in Scotland and can boast one of the richest song and oral traditions in Europe. It is part of a family of Celtic languages which today are spoken in six separate areas: Scotland, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Wales, Cornwall and Brittany in France.

The BagpipesIt's perhaps a little ironic to feature bagpipes in this

section since one thing that is certain about the early history of the instrument is that it was definitely not uniquely Scottish.

Early History In fact, the earliest recorded reference to bagpipes is on a Hittite slab from Asia Minor which has been dated to1000 BC while by the 1st century AD, bagpipes existed in many countries from India to Spain and from France to Egypt. It's also clear that bagpipes were popular throughout the rest of the British isles prior to their documented appearance north of the border. When, and how, they did first appear in Scotland is a hotly contested topic with competing theories claiming they were either a Roman import or that the instrument came from Ireland.

GeographyPerched on the outer rim of Europe, Scotland

forms the northern part of Great Britain and is about two-thirds the size of England and Wales which occupy the remaining portion. It is surrounded by sea on three sides: to the west and north by the Atlantic Ocean and on the east by the North Sea. Its only land border, that with England, runs for approximately 60 miles (96 km) along the line of the Cheviot Hills.

Scotland's geography has been integral to its political, social, economic and cultural development, themes which are explored elsewhere on the site. In this section, you can discover more about the physical make-up of the country, together with some facts and figures about its people.

Physical CharacteristicsGeographically, Scotland can be divided into three distinct

areas: the Southern Uplands, the Central Lowlands and the northern Highlands and Islands.

The Southern Uplands The Southern Uplands are the fertile plains and hills bordering England. The region boasts magnificent scenery, albeit of a gentler nature than that found in the Highlands: the highest peak in the area is 2763 feet (815 m) high.

The Central Lowlands The Central Lowlands stretch from the Firth of Forth in the east to the Firth of Clyde in the west. This area contains the nation's main industrial belt and the country's two largest cities, Glasgow in the west and Edinburgh, the capital, in the east. Most of the Scotland's population lives in this area.

The Highlands and Islands The Highlands comprise dramatic mountain ranges of sandstone and granite, which rise to their greatest height at Ben Nevis, which at 4406 feet (1343 m) is Britain's highest mountain. Although this region accounts for more than half the total area of Scotland, it has few major population centres apart from the cities of Aberdeen, Inverness and Dundee.

Of Scotland's 790 islands, 130 or so are inhabited. The major groups include the Inner and Outer Hebrides off the west coast, the Orkneys and the Shetland isles which lie to the northeast of the mainland.

GeologyWhile the Earth is estimated to be about 4600

million years old, Scotland's oldest rocks are only about 3000 million years old. Most, in fact, are less than 1000 million years old. The theory of plate tectonics (whereby the earth's crust floats on top of the denser mantle below, divided into huge plates) helps to explain Scotland's geology. For example, sections of current day Scotland were originally believed to have been positioned 30 degrees south of the equator but have now moved up to their present position of 55-60 degrees north over the course of about 600 million years. Along with this move in time, the sections also moved through different climatic zones and today there is evidence of both glacial and tropical conditions in Scottish rock formations.

Aurora BorealisThe Aurora is most visible at latitudes

higher than 65 degrees north. In Scotland, this would be the most northerly points on the mainland, as well as in Orkney and Shetland. There have, however, been many smaller 'light showers' in various areas around Scotland, including some southerly parts of the country. These generally occur in the intervening years between its 11-year cycle, and are most frequent in the autumn, winter and spring.

PopulationScotland's population based on the results of

the 2001 Census was 5,062,011, of which 2,432,494 were male and 2,629,517 were female. Glasgow is the largest city with a population of approximately 619,000 while the capital, Edinburgh, has around 448,000 with Aberdeen next at just under 219,000

For 2001 the nation's other vital statistics include:

The number of live births was 52,531 (26,778 boys and 25,743 girls).

The number of deaths was 57,378 (27,319 males and 30,059 females).

The number of marriages was 29,621, of which 5,278 were held at Gretna.

The number of divorces was 10,631.