Scotland

Scotland is one of the four countries which form The United Kingdom – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
People from England are ‘English’, people from Wales are ‘Welsh’, people from Northern Ireland are ‘Northern Irish’, and those who live in Scotland are ‘Scottish’. But all the people who live in the United Kingdom are called “British”.
46 million people live in England, 5 million people live in Scotland, 2.8 million in Wales and 1.5 million in Northern Ireland.
All Welsh, Scottish and Irish people speak English, but some of them speak their own language their as well, Scottish Gaelic, Irish Gaelic and Welsh.
Scotland may be divided into three areas: the highlands in the north, the central lowlands, and the southern uplands.
Some of the most beautiful landscapes in Europe are in the Highlands. There you can also see a typical sight of the Highland valleys – the white buildings of whisky distilleries.
Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is famous for its castle and for the international festival. Thousands of visitors visit the city every year.
Glasgow is Scotland’s largest city and the centre of the ship building trade. It is also the home of two well-known football clubs, Glasgow Rangers and Celtic.
Gretna Green is a town situated near the border with England. Many young people from England go there to get married. In fact, while in England the age to get married is 18, in Scotland you can get married without your parents permission at 16.
The Scottish are famous all over the world for their national dress, the kilt. Kilts are skirts made of cloth with a squared coloured design called a tartan. Each clan has its own tartan and only members of that clan can wear it. Clan is a Gaelic word that means ‘family’ and the great clans of the 16th and 17th centuries were indeed very similar to enormous families, ruled by powerful chiefs.
There are tartans for all the fa