Scotland – The Time is Now!

Scotland’s new marketing slogan – Scotland is Now – is an open invitation for visitors to experience Scotland.  Indeed, there has never been a better time to visit Scotland, thanks to a direct flight being launched by Delta Airlines between Boston and Edinburgh starting May 24, 2019.

Often described as “one of the warmest, most vibrant and welcoming countries in the world, Scotland has a little something for everyone,” notes Visit Scotland, the country’s official national tourism board.  “North, south, east or west, amazing culinary delights, stunning landscapes, set-jetting and an unrivalled depth of history and culture all await Scotland’s visitors in 2019.”

Photo: Ross Fountain at V&A Museum in Dundee. Photo by © Ad Meskens / Wikimedia Commons

Here are some features of Scotland that will make you want to visit.

The City of Festivals 

Let’s start with Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital.  This cosmopolitan city of about half a million residents was also named Europe’s official cultural capital city in 2017, a nod to the incredible arts and culture that exist here. In fact, Edinburgh is universally known as the City of Festivals, thanks to its storied Edinburgh Fringe Festival and International Festival which sprang up in 1947, and the dozens of other festivals that flourish.   Among the festivals are taking place in Edinburgh:  

International Children’s Festival

International Film Festival

Jazz & Blues Festival 

Art Festival

Royal Military Tattoo Festival 

International Festival

Festival Fringe

International Book Festival 

Scottish International Storytelling Festival 

Whisky and Gin

Just as craft beer brewery tours are popular in New England, think of Scotland as the home to more than 130 whisky distilleries. Scotland launched a Hebridean Whisky Trail in August 2018 that takes whisky lovers to four distilleries on the Isle of Skye, Isle of Raasay and Isle of Harris, iconic islands that create among the world’s finest island single malt whisky. 

While Scotland is synonymous with whisky, there is also a gin boom at the moment, as whisky distilleries turn to gin while they wait for the whiskey to age in the barrel for the minimum three years.  Scottish gin now accounts for 70% of gin production in the United Kingdom.  Check out Scotland’s Gin Map for details. 

Driving Routes/Trails

The North East 250 explores everything for which Scotland is famous in a unique road trip:  the whisky distilleries of Speyside, mountain passes of the Cairngorms National Park, the castles of Royal Deeside, the Granite City of Aberdeen, the rugged North Sea coastline to the east, and the picturesque seaside villages of the Moray Firth Coast.

Photo courtesy of Visit Scotland

The South West Coastal 300 route is a stunning 300-mile drive from the Mennock Pass to the Solway Firth. Visit Scotland’s highest village, Wanlockhead and discover Solway Coast villages such as Kippford and Kirkcudbright. At the Mull of Galloway – Scotland`s most southerly point  – enjoy amazing views of the Galloway Hills, Lakeland Fells, the Isle of Man and the Mountains of Mourne.

With over 300 castles, stately homes and ruins dotting its landscape, Aberdeenshire is known as Scotland’s Castle Country, with more castles per acre than in all of the UK. Scotland’s Castle Trail takes you on 19 of the most famous castles in Aberdeenshire.  Follow the distinctive brown and white Castle Trail road signs through the heart of Aberdeenshire.