15 Things People Think About Scotland That Really Aren't True

Being Scottish, I'm aware of the stereotypes often associated with me and my fellow country men and women. Some of these are quite accurate, but others make me laugh.    

I can't speak for all Scots, but I'm not opposed to the odd drink; I don't mind Irn Bru, and I often say 'wee' and 'aye'. I also swear…a LOT.  

I don’t, however, eat deep fried mars bars, wear tartan, have ginger hair, and shout: 'FREEEEEDOOOOOM', or say 'och aye the noo’. No one does that. Seriously.

Since moving to North Wales, I have found myself answering lots of questions about my home nation and can clarify the following 15 points about us Scots:

William Wallace - we have his statue literally EVERYWHERE.  

* Yes, we sometimes speak really quickly. Tell us to slow down - we won't be offended.

* No, our weather isn't always wet. It's pretty much the same as it is in North Wales, tbh. With a little more snow, perhaps.

* Yes, lots of us celebrate Burns Day on Jan 25th. It gives us an added excuse to drink whisky on a school night. And you know what us Scots are like when it comes to alcohol...

* No, we don't like the movie 'Braveheart'. Most of us hate it as it's historically inaccurate and Mel Gibson has the worst. Accent. Ever.

* Yes, a large percentage of Scottish men owns a kilt; particularly ones that are married or have ever been in a wedding party.  However, not all Scottish men get hitched in kilts – it’s not the law or anything.   

 

You won't see people walking down the streets in kilts, playing the bagpipes.  Unless you're at the Edinburgh Festival, of course. 

* No, we're not tight. You're mistaking Scots from all corners of the country with Aberdonians.  I jest, of course, I don't know if people from Aberdeen are stingy, but I have heard the rumour.  

* Yes, we know our national teams aren't world beaters, but we have Davis Cup hero, Wimbledon Champ and Olympic Gold Medallist, Andy Murray, so he helps us cope with the football and rugby failures.   Also: Chris Hoy, Jamie Murray, and anyone who's ever played curling.

* We have no idea why we produce such good football managers, but it amuses us that so many of them work in England because they're too good to work at home.

* When we say 'Up North' we, of course, mean Scotland. We don't understand why you mean Newcastle or Liverpool and we'd very much like you to clarify this for us.

* We don't know Glaswegians are so friendly, either - they just are.  And we bloody love them for it.

* Scotland isn’t as small as you think. Have you tried to drive from Edinburgh to Skye in less than 6 hours?  No, me either. You'd be surprised at how long it'll take you to travel coast to coast, never mind north to south. It takes a LOT longer if you get stuck behind a caravan on a narrow road in the summer. 

We have much more space than you think...

* No, we don't know Wee Mary from Whiteinch. We might be small, but there are still more than 5 million of us and we’re not all on first name terms.  

* No, we don't hate English people. I live with one, so I'm personally extremely partial to them. We all have family/friends/work colleagues who are English and we love them dearly.   We do love a bit of banter with them, though.     

* However, we DO get annoyed when we see ‘British’ reports that only include England and watch the weather only to realise the forecast doesn’t extend any further north than London.      We don’t care what the weather’s like in London, but it’d be great if you could tell us if we’re likely to be blown off the Forth Road Bridge by high winds on the way to our caber tossing class in Kirkcaldy.  

The GB flag, Tower Bridge and Big Ben in London.    Don't forget about the Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish - we're great too!

No, we don’t all have a specific tartan for our family name.   Don’t get me wrong LOTS of us do, but most of us don’t really concern ourselves with that kind of thing.    Many of us who choose to wear tartan may not even know which one it is.   Alternatively, we choose the tartan in our football club colours.   

Suzanne x

If You Go Down To The Woods Today...

You're sure of a big surprise...   No, seriously.   If you take a trip to Doon Hill near the Scottish town of Aberfoyle and take a circular walk into the countryside, you will stumble across the magical land of Scottish fairies.     I'm not even kidding.

You have been warned...

Apparently, in the 1600s, a local Vicar spotted some sparkly little beings in the woodland and, in honour of this fairy story (see what I did there?), the local authority decided to bring the whole thing to life and carve some dead trees to create some affordable council houses for their tiny little residents.      

And they did it well.   In what is already a popular area for family walks, the council has endeavoured to increase visitor numbers and encourage people to take more exercise in a fantastically creative way.  I'm not sure if the work was carried out by the council's own staff but, if so, they got some serious chainsaw talent in Stiring.    

Behold the fairy houses in all their glory:

You can park for free at the Aberfoyle Woollen Mill or adjoining car park and wander up over bridge to start the trail. There are so many carvings to discover as you explore the woods and enjoy some fresh Scottish air.   I swear you won't catch the slightest smell of deep fried mars bars as you go on your merry way (you know we don't actually eat those, right?). 

Depending on the time of your visit, you might, as we did, spot families walking with their little girls, all dressed up in pink tutus and fairy costumes.  The kids, I mean, not the adults.  That would be weird.   Even for Scotland.  

Should you make it aaaall the way to the top of the hill, there you'll find decorated trees, with hand written notes to the fairies and lovely, heartfelt messages written to loved ones who have passed.   It's wonderful to see a normal wooded area transformed into a beautiful and serene area for fun or reflection.

And if mingling with the fairies wasn't enough, if you walk a little further past the main event, you'll find yourself on top of the world.   Or, you know, on top of a hill in central Scotland.  Either way, the scenery won't let you down.   

Have you visited the fairy hills?? 

Suzanne x 

Helix Park, Falkirk: The Kelpies

If you’ve never heard about The Kelpies, then you’re probably not from Scotland.  We’ve been hearing about them forever.   Seriously.  When an extension was built to the Forth and Clyde Canals in Central Scotland, it was decided that a sculpture would be put in place as part of a new park that would connect communities within an area called Falkirk.  

Helix is the name of that park and has been open to the public since April 2014.   In October 2015, the shiny new visitor centre opened and it helps to finish off the attraction and provide some background to the Kelpies structures, as well as a lovely gift shop and coffee shop.  

Helix Park's shiny new visitor centre

Coffee time! 

4 Abbeys Challenge

There are four 12th Century Abbeys in the Scottish Borders; positioned in the towns of Jedburgh, Kelso, Melrose and Dryburgh.   You can visit them via the Abbeys Walk, which is a 64.5 mile journey, OR, you can be like me and take the car.    It's not that I'm lazy, I just don't really have the time for that kind of walking commitment    Plus, I don't want to turn up at my last abbey with the appearance of a woman who has just walked 64.5 miles.   That's not a good look for me.   I imagine most people do it in sensible chunks, over a period of several days.    I drove.

Three of the four abbeys (Jedburgh, Melrose and Dryburgh) have an admission charge and are all looked after by Historic Scotland.  Kelso Abbey is also managed by HS, but this is free to enter as an unmanned site.     

Jedburgh Abbey:

Who needs a roof, anyway?

OK, so maybe it'll be a little chilly in the winter... 

Jedburgh Abbey lies furthest to the South, very close to the Scotland/England border.  Its positioning here made it an obvious target for invaders.   Also, it's so close to England that it probably cut down days of marching for somewhere to attack.  I mean, it's only 10 miles away.  You'd still be relatively fresh from your trip and you'd get there at a decent time of day.  Why wouldn't you invade?   Precisely.   Anyway, English people don't attack it so much now.   Historic Scotland have staff on site and they're clearly a huge deterrent.  

There's a free audio tour included in the admission price (£5.50 for an adult) and this will guide you through the main body of the Abbey and grounds.   There's also a great visitor centre, herb garden and museum room on site.   

Melrose Abbey

The beautiful Melrose Abbey 

Melrose Abbey ruins

Melrose Abbey is my personal favourite.  Possibly because it's the only one I've managed to visit on several occasions when the sun's been out.   Honestly, it does happen.   Melrose Abbey is famous as being the resting place of the heart of Robert The Bruce.   The rest of him is buried in the Abbey at Dunfermline in Fife.    I have no idea why, but feel free to Google it, if you like.

Melrose Abbey, like others, is built in the shape of a cross and is gothic in style.   The town was developed around the building and, like the other Borders Abbeys, it was partially destroyed (on more than one occasion) by English armies.  They seem less interested in setting fire to it these days, and that can only be a good thing.

In addition to the Abbey, its graves, inscriptions, gardens, and viewing tower, there is also the Commendator's House on site, which now serves as a Museum.   Within the Museum is an excellent display on Scottish author, Sir Walter Scott, who wrote about Melrose Abbey in his poem, The Lay of the Last Minstrel.   

Dryburgh Abbey:

Sir Walter Scott's grave at Dryburgh Abbey

Dryburgh Abbey is the most remote of the Borders Abbeys in the sense that it sits outside the town of Dryburgh.   Its location on the banks of the River Tweed does make it the most peaceful, though, and it is here that Sir Walter Scott was laid to rest.   

In a shock turn of events, Dryburgh was partially destroyed by English troops in 1322.   They then sneaked around until we had rebuilt it and came back to make a mess in 1385.  Imagine putting all that work in and sitting in your rebuilt Abbey only to have a look out the window to see all those troops heading your way.   I'd be all like 'FFS....not AGAIN!  Quick, Norbert, grab that lamp and RUN FOR IT!    I'm fairly certain that's actually how it went.   OK, so maybe not.

I enjoy climbing around Dryburgh Abbey and there are lots of ruins to conquer and views to be discovered.   The Abbey has an operational Church (i.e it has a roof) and, should the mood strike you, you can get married in it.   It certainly must look good in wedding photos, although I'd totally be looking around me for English guests setting fire to stuff.  I jest, of course, I wouldn't be inviting any.    I'm joking....LT is English and, obviously I've taken him to all four Abbeys and he didn't as much as get his lighter out.  And we all know how much he likes lighting fires...

Kelso Abbey:

Kelso Abbey exterior.   Sweet, huh? 

Roxburghe Memorial at Kelso Abbey

Kelso Abbey is located smack bang in the middle of the town of Kelso, or at least where I  think the middle is.   It is an unmanned site and is free to enter.   You don't have to run the gauntlet of being asked if you'd like to buy the latest copy of Historic Scotland's guide book, or feel like you should take the audio guide, despite the fact that you just pretend to listen to it so that the staff don't think you're only there to take pretty pictures.   

I have no idea why HS don't charge for the site as it's every bit as beautiful as the other three.   Anyway, I'm not complaining about this, merely passing comment.   

Kelso Abbey has little of its floor plan remaining, but the walls of the West tower and north  transept are in place and give you some indication of how beautifully grand the original abbey must have been.  I won't bother telling you what happened to it as, by now, I'm sure you've worked it out for yourself.   

One of the best, and most surprising, aspects of Kelso Abbey is the Roxburghe Memorial Cloister.  This was built in the early 1930's for the 8th Duke of Roxburghe, who was kind enough to hand over the remains of the Abbey to the people of Scotland.     What a swell guy.

All four abbeys are open throughout the year.    

Have you undertaken the 4 Abbey Challenge?  

This photo has no relevance to the post, apart from the fact that it was taken in Melrose... 

The Travel Bug's 3 Fascinating Facts About Melrose, Scotland

While helping out his humans on a day trip to Melrose, these are the facts TTB uncovered:

Aargh...get me down from here!  TTB visits the top of Melrose Abbey.

• The heart of Robert the Bruce, once King of Scotland, is buried at Melrose Abbey.   The rest of him lies in Dunfermline Abbey in Fife.

• Melrose is home to Scotland’s first Teddy Bear Museum.

• Melrose is the birthplace of Scotland’s famous Rugby Sevens competition, which is contested every year.  

The Travel Bug's 3 Fascinating Facts About Ailsa Craig, Scotland

Can you see Ailsa Craig in the background??

• The finest Curling Stones in the world are harvested from granite found on Ailsa Craig.   Al 64 stones used in the Sochi Winter Olympics 2014 were produced with Scottish granite. 

• Ailsa Craig lies halfway between Glasgow and Belfast, off the West Coast of Scotland and is only accessible by boat. 

• It is home to the UK’s 3^rd largest Gannetry and is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Protection Area because it is home to 73,000 breeding sea birds.

Ice Cream In Eyemouth

Eyemouth is a small town on the East coast of the Scottish Borders region, a mere 5 or so miles from the English border.   It is famous for its long history of fishing (which is still active today), as well as for smuggling, given its coastal position.  Anywhere that has a reputation for smuggling, particularly wine and spirits, sounds very much like the kind of place I need to visit.   In addition to smuggling, Eyemouth also has a reputation for multi award winning ice cream.  LT selflessly offered to test this out for me.   For blog purposes only, you understand.