Scotland 2024 - Sample Issue

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Scotland is preparing to welcome you back in 2024, here are some of the best reasons to plan a visit now

THE HUNT FOR NESSIE CONTINUES

A new visitor experience on the western shores of Loch Ness gives wannabe monster hunters a new focus for their investigations.

The Loch Ness Centre, housed in the old Drumnadrochit Hotel, once managed by Aldie Mackay, whose sighting in 1933 ignited Nessie mania, reopened in 2023 following a complete overhaul and £1.5m of investment.

Now run by Continuum Attractions –the people behind the hugely successful

Real Mary King’s Close in Edinburgh –the Loch Ness Centre takes visitors on one-hour immersive experiences in which they can explore the many theories behind a supposed mysterious monster who lives in the loch and even ‘meet’ Aldie Mackay herself.

Ticketholders will also be able to take a ride aboard Deepscan, the centre’s boat, which is named after the Operation Deepscan expedition carried out on the loch in 1987, which, like so many other

investigations, proved inconclusive.

In August 2023 on the eve of the largest ever surface search for the Loch ness Monster, passengers on the boat reported hearing four “mysterious and previously unheard loud noises” on the cruise, yet sadly the noises went unrecorded.

Perhaps on your visit, you’ll have more success acquiring evidence and maybe, just maybe, between us we can solve the mystery once and for all. lochness.com

THE BORDERS

In this southerly part of Scotland, you’ll nd rolling hills imbued with history, romance, castles and culture

The Scottish Borders is an area steeped in history, felt most keenly on a visit to any of the four 12th-century Borders abbeys of Melrose, Jedburgh, Kelso and Dryburgh. Sir Walter Scott, the writer widely considered to have created Scottish Romanticism, made his home in a quiet Borders valley. A visit to his richly decorated Baronial pile of Abbotsford is a must: it feels as though the great writer has just stepped out. Don’t miss The Great Tapestry of Scotland, either. Now permanently homed in the textiles town of Galashiels, it tells Scotland’s history in 160 panels, each painstakingly embroidered by a community of stitchers from across the country. scotlandstartshere.com

© ALLAN WRIGHT/ALAMY

SCOTLAND SOUTH WEST

This rural corner of Scotland is home to dark skies, green pastures, and the memory of a certain Scottish poet...

Rolling hills and farmland abound in Scotland's southwest, which can be easily explored from Glasgow. Indeed, the region's most famous son, Robert Burns, was himself a farmer. Born on a small family holding in the Ayrshire village of Alloway, which now forms part of the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, he later moved his family to Ellisland Farm in Dumfries & Galloway (the museum here is another must for anyone following the Robert Burns' trail). Fans of Burns should also pay a visit to Dumfries, where he spent his final years, to pay their respects at his mausoleum or have a toast for him in his local (and newly restored) pub, the Globe Inn. scotlandstartshere.com ©

SOUTH

WEST COASTAL 300/DAMIAN SHIELDS/VISITSCOTLAND

Scotland's capital of Edinburgh is rightly celebrated for both the medieval history of its Old Town and the Georgian grandeur of its New Town, but it's far from the only place worth visiting in the region. The Lothians, which comprise East Lothian, Midlothian and West Lothian, are dotted with attractions, from the attractive coastal towns and villages of the east where you can buy traditional fish and chips (try the East Coast restaurant in Musselburgh) to the historic buildings of the mid and west. In Midlothian, Rosslyn Chapel and its intriguing stonemasonry is a highlight, while Linlithgow Castle (pictured) in West Lothian, is famous for being the birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots. visitscotland.com/places-to-go/edinburgh-lothians

THE LOTHIANS EDINBURGH &

Auld Reekie is wonderfully situated in an area brimming with historic sights, perfect for day trips between city days

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GLASGOW’S greatest gifts

Pollok Country Park, in Glasgow’s Southside, is home to one of the greatest art collections in the world and a grand Georgian stately home, both of which were bequeathed to the city

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FIONA LAING