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Aberdeen is Scotland’s third largest city, in relationship to populous numbers. Since the mid eighteenth century Aberdeen’s buildings have been built using local grey granite and the city is well known for its sandy coastline. This has led to the city being nicknamed the Granite City and also the Silver City. However in recent years the city has also gained the nicknames of the Oil Capital of Europe or the Energy Capital of Europe due to the discovery of oil in the North Sea. The city has benefitted greatly from the revenue generated by the oil industry and the support industries. Today the city is thoroughly modern and incredibly vibrant with a lively nighlife.

Aberdeen hotels are often inhabited by business visitors but also by various other types of visitors wishing to take advantage of the many visitor attractions Aberdeen has to offer. Below you will find details of 3; Satrosphere Science Centre, Aberdeen Maritime Museum and Duthie Park Winter Gardens:

Aberdeen Maritime Museum

The Maritime Museum in Aberdeen is situated close by the harbor, at the legendary Shiprow. There are awe inspiring panoramas of the harbour from the museum. The Maritime Museum resides in a small number of buildings, which include a former church and one of the oldest dwellings in Aberdeen. The museum has exhibits that cover everything relating to the oceanic environment, from the oil industry to the fishing boats. In essence, the museum conveys the  story of the city’s epic relationship with the ocean. Some of the collections contain models, ship plans, photographs and paintings from the foremost shipbuilders of Aberdeen.

Duthie Park Winter Gardens

Lady Elizabeth Duthie of Ruthrieston,in 1881, gifted to the council, 44 acres of land. The land for the park was purchased, as a lasting memorial to her brother and uncle. In 1899, the gardens were ready, and were opened to the public. However, in 1969 disaster struck and the greenhouses had to be knocked down and rebuilt. This was due to horrendous storm damgage. Today, one of Scotland’s favourite garden attractions are the David Welch Winter Gardens at Duthie Park, and also the largest indoor gardens in the whole of Europe. Each greenhouse has an important collection such as, the Tropical House, Japanese Garden, Fern House, Victorian House, Temperate House and Corridor of Perfumes.

Satrosphere Science Centre

In Aberdeen, the Satrosphere Science Center was one of the first science and discovery centers in Scotland. This interactive, hands-on science center, has over 50 exhibits and live science shows, and opened its’ doors to the public in 1988. Although the center is aimed at school age children, the appeal of the exhibits is universal. The center is situated in the old tram sheds, close to the sea front, on Constitution Street. The aim is to inspire youngsters to become scientist’s, as entry into science courses in universities, is in decline. One of the favorite exhibits at the center is the famous giant soap bubble, where each child can be encircled in a magic bubble.

There are a great many more tourist attractions in the Aberdeen area which are well worth visiting and the above three were chosen randomly. If you are planning to take a vacation in Aberdeen, Scotland then you will discover numerous quality hotels in Aberdeen, or various other forms of accommodation, available to book online.

Many folk like to take vacations in unusual places and increasing numbers of travelers are finding vacations at the seaside increasingly boring. The challenge to discover is ever and travel agents are constantly looking for new and exciting places to visit or which offer something of interest. In the article below I introduce the port of Stornoway on the remote Isle of Lewis in the Western Isles and describe the reasons why this is a great destination for a vacation.

The Island Of Lewis

The Isle of Lewis, with Harris, is the largest island in the Outer Hebrides/Western Isles.  The archipelago is found a fair distance off Scotland’s west coast a little further out from the Isle of Skye, needing a ferry journey or flight to get there. As a result of the extreme remoteness it was only since the middle to late 20th century that ordinary people have been able to access to the islands for a vacation, before then it was only those with enormous funds who could afford the enormous cost of the trip. The only other way to visit the  Outer Hebrides was to arrive on business.

Stornoway

A long time ago the town of stornoway was an immensely busy fishing port. Herring was the main quarry of the multitude of fishing boats and throughout the season Stornoway’s population increased from about 6,000 to over 30,000. An amazing  number of Stornoway Hotels, bed and breakfasts and guest houses were built to satisfy the needs for lodging the incredible influx of temporary workers created. Nowadays the population of the town stays at just over six thousand (excluding visitors).

Unfortunately the herring industry fell into a dramatic decline after the First World War with the utter collapse of the the markets in Russia and Germany. A tiny fishing fleet can still be found in Stornoway however few buildings from that time remain and Stornoway lost a great deal of its charm during the redevelopment of the 1970’s.

Recently the local council has sympathetically enhanced Stornoway installing several works of modern sculpture focusing on the association with the herring industry as well as also adding such things as fountains and flower beds. New buildings are also more aesthetically pleasing, for example An Lanntair, the local arts centre.

Although there are far fewer Stornoway hotels existing today, only the Royal Hotel dates back to the heyday of the Herring industry, you will still find a great many bed and breakfasts in Stornoway, plus hostels, inns and guest houses. You will even find a caravan park on the outskirts of the town centre.

If you are thinking about a vacation in the town of Stornoway please take a look at our comprehensive listings of Stornoway hotels.

Scotland is a contrasting country, attractive rural districts with an excellent amount of astonishing sites of beauty, historical buildings, castles, country houses and fortified houses compared to areas of dense population which features heaps of first class attractions including some of the most impressive museums and galleries in the whole of the UK. In the following article I talk about Pitlochry, an extremely popular Scottish vacation destination.

The rather small burgh of Pitlochry is situated on the banks of the River Tummel in the council area of Perth and Kinross in Scotland. Known throughout the world as the “Gateway To The Highlands” the small town is supremely popular with ramblers, mountain climbers, hill-walkers, hikers and other tourists who enjoy vacations of this type. Obviously many of many more activities of this kind can be enjoyed throughout the area and you will also discover a fantastic  number of tourist attractions to visit. Because of this comprehensive appeal there is an excellent amount of Pitlochry guesthouses and hotels, with the vast majority of them being found on the high street.

Pitlochry Places To Visit

Blair Castle: Blair Castle dates back to the thirteenth century, and is the ancient seat of the Dukes and Earls of Atholl. The construction of Blair Castle started in 1269, under the instruction of the Lord of Badenoch (John I Comyn), a northerly acquaintance of the Earl of Atholl. The Earl was absent, fighting in the Crusade’s, when his neighbor began the construction of Blair Castle on his land. Upon his return, the Earl complained bitterly to the Scottish King, King Alexander III about the interloper, and his lands were returned. Rather than demolishing the tower than John I Comyn had erected, the Earl decided to merge the tower into his own castle. A Great Hall and a number of vaulted chambers were added to the castle over the centuries, by  various Earls. It was the second Duke of Atholl who, in 1740, decided to renovate the castle as a Georgian Mansion.

Killiecrankie Visitor Centre: During the era of the Jacobites Killiecrankie, not a great distance from Pitlochry, found itself full of the noise of battle. The government soldiers were destroyed by the rebel army of the Jacobites, under the command of Bonnie Dundee. During the bloody battle a soldier evaded capture by jumping over the River Garry, which subsequently became known as, Soldier’s Leap. The area of the gorge and pass were a popular place of Queen Victoria. To learn about the infamous battle you can pay a visit to the Killiecrankie Visitor Centre. The Killiecrankie Visitor Centre has a number of otherexhibitions and services, which include; ranger service’s, a natural history of the area and guided walks and much more.

Scottish Hydro Electric Visitor Centre: A power station is a pretty strange place for a visitor center, however this is precisely where you can discover the Scottish Hydro Electric Visitor Center. The hydro center can be found within the striking Pitlochry Power Station, and includes interactive displays which trace the history of hydro power in Scotland, dating from the nineteen forties right up to the present day. The Pitlochry Dam(constructed between 1947 & 1951) gives visitors the interesting ability to observe the incredible salmon ladder via three viewing areas. Inside the visitor center, you will find audio-visual presentations and interactive which explains in detail this naturally occurring phenomenon. The turbine hall of Pitlochry Power Station can also be viewed from within the Visitor Center.

If you are thinking about taking a vacation in Scotland based in Pitlochry then you can discover Pitlochry bed and breakfast online by using the search “Pitlochry hotel accommodation” or “Pitlochry bed and breakfast” into your favorite search engine (the quotation marks/inverted commas can help a great deal).

Are you and your friends currently considering taking a holiday in the UK? Although the largest numbers of visitors to the UK decide to stay in famous places like London, others would rather take a vacation in Scotland. In the article below I introduce the Isle of Harris and why it makes such a fantastic vacation destination.

Though London may be home to some of the most highly interesting museums and galleries in the whole of Great Britain  together with some of the most widely known tourist attractions  the capital city will not appeal to all types of visitor.

Some tourists have a preference for vacations which are more relaxing and other folk would rather have more exciting vacations such as sports vacations. Interestingly the island of Harris, in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides, appeals both types of visitor.

Like a great many other people sun bathing on the beach for the whole of my summer vacation is not my thing. Don’t get me wrong, I often spend time relaxing on a sunny beach, and Harris certainly is home to some of the most astounding beaches in Scotland (and Britain), but, I also like to visit other places on my vacation. I like to soak in the atmosphere, I also like to experience the local culture and especially enjoy sampling the food. If the truth be known each year I like to experience something new and I go to great lengths attempting to discover something or somewhere wholly unique and different. This is the most likely reason why I enjoy visiting the Hebrides island named the Isle of Harris and why I regularly choose to hire self catering houses on Harris.

One of the most common factors in attracting visitors to the Isle of Harris is to enjoy the islands landscape and culture. The Harris culture has, throughout history been incredibly influenced by the Celtic, Norse, English and Scottish races. Nowadays in general most folk speak in the Gaelic language and though many speak English, it is commonly their second language. The Harris folk are amongst the friendliest on our planet and the hospitality is known across the globe. The Isle of Harris folk are very proud of the breathtaking beauty of the island and go to great lengths to keep the island tidy and clean so it is immensely important clean up after yourself.

It is vitally important that you remember that rubbish doesn’t just make the place appear a mess it is also incredibly dangerous to wild creatures.

A further important point to learn is that the roads on the Isle of Harris are not the same as elsewhere in Scotland or the UK in some areas you will need to traverse single track roads and you will need to know how to use passing places to safely let oncoming traffic past and also let traffic from behind to pass too. Just keep it in mind that you come to a halt on the left hand side of the road. If you are faced with an extremely large vehicle wishing to get past and the passing place is on the right hand side of the road you may carefully pull over into to it to let the said vehicle pass more easily but be careful not to drive off the edge of the road too much.

I hope that artcile above sufficiently interests you in taking a short break on Harris. Many visitors the Scotland’s Western Isles decide to stay in two places. There are a small number of other islands to visit including North Uist, South Uist and Lewis. Why not consider staying in a self catering house on Harris for a week and then stay in a room in a North Uist hotel or a hotel on South Uist for the rest of your holiday?

The Western Isles/Outer Hebrides are a group of more than four hundred islands lying off the north west coast of Scotland.  The islands of the Inner and Outer Hebrides have been inhabited since the Mesolithic times and throughout history the culture and way of life has been powerfully influenced by numerous different races and today the Hebridean culture is a mix of Norse, Celtic, Scottish and English influences. In general most people speak in the Gaelic language and though many speak English, it is often their second language. Not that long ago visits to the Outer Hebrides/Western Isles were only for rich people and those people who had plenty of time. Nowadays it is much to travel to the Hebrides, it is possible to travel by car and boat or take a flight to a choice of airports on the islands. Sadly you are unable to get all of the way by train though you can travel to the coast and then travel by coach for the remainder of the trip. Sometimes the only problem that can occur is arranging accommodation especially if  you are in need of Harris accommodation for groups which is more often than not booked up twelve months in advance.

One of the main reasons people visit the Outer Hebrides/Western Isles is that the the culture and landscape of the islands are interestingly unique.  Dotted along the south west coast of the Isle of Harris you will discover some of the most stunningly beautiful beaches of golden sand in the whole of Scotland, and it could be said the whole of Britain. Here and there you will discover a standing stone on Harris however it is on Lewis that you will discover the best standing stones at Calanais not a huge distance from Stornoway the only town in the Western Isles/Outer Hebrides. The standing stones at Calanais is said to be second only to England’s Stonehenge.

Deciding whether to stay on the Isle of Lewis or the Isle of Harris is often difficult and more and more folk are deciding to spend a short time on both. B&B accommodation on Lewis is often more readily available than Isle of Harris accommodation, so it is best to book well in advance.

Bed & breakfast accommodation in Stornoway is far less of a problem to find but to be certain book well in advance. Nearly all accommodation in the Hebrides is high quality and the hospitality is unbeatable and the people helpful and friendly.

Besides the Isles of Lewis and Harris there are a small number of other isles that are relatively easy to visit. The most commonly visited are North and South Uist, Barra and Benbecula and a ferry can be caught which runs from North Uist to the Isle of Harris at Leverburgh on South Harris.