The historic battle for Scotland's independence from England, led by the charismatic, kilted figures of Sir William Wallace, John Balliol and Robert the Bruce, combine with a wild landscape of untouched mountains and rock, rivers and firth, all to prove why Scotland should have always been a free land. Celtic influences and a penchant for the incredible make this a place of numerous unexplained stone circles and the home of an unusual underwater monster named Nessie.

Capital city Edinburgh retains much of its superb Victorian and Georgian buildings, Glasgow's endless energy and humour spurs on a thriving artistic population, and, set on the North Sea, prosperous Aberdeen's granite architecture glitters. Dundee is a gateway to the spectacular Highlands and its opportunities for outdoor pursuits, and the strategically-placed Stirling boasts Scotland's finest castle. Along with its respected university, St. Andrews inevitably plays host to several golf enthusiasts who have made pilgrimages to their sport's most venerated course, and the Western Isles, or Na h-Eileanan Siar, Orkney and the Shetland Islands provide racous and singular Scottish experiences.