30 interesting facts to know before visiting Scotland

You’ve booked your flights, your itinerary is ready, your bag is packed - what else is there to do?! Well, read this blog post of course, that’s why you’re here, right 😂

Before you make your way to the greatest country in the world (not biased at all), there are a few things you should know. So grab a whisky, take a moment to yourself and learn some of the fun and not so fun facts about Scotland!

It’s pronounced Edinburuh, not Edinburger (you’ll sound like a local in no time if you pronounce it correctly!)
The national animal is a unicorn
There’s over 3,000 castles (which includes ruins and sometimes literal piles of rocks)
It has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, Luskentyre being one of our most favorites
In winter the sun can set at around 3/4pm
The weather can change VERY quickly and often you can have every season in a day
We have an off season from October until March. Many shops, restaurants and accomodations will close mostly across the highlands and islands during this season.
Have you heard of midges?
You can tell if a highland cow is male or female depending on the angle of their horns. A males horns are usually shorter and thicker and curve downward, where a females are slimmer and curve upward.
We’re home to over 140 whisky distilleries
We celebrate Hogmanay (new year) over 3 days and the final day includes a Loony Dook
We have the biggest arts and culture festival in the world in August, it’s called the Fringe Festival
Tartan and kilts were banned between 1746 to 1782
Over 2,500 women and men were trialled and executed as witches during the witch trials
Edinburgh used to be charmingly callef Auld Reekie due to the smog hanging in the air
Scotland has approximately 790 islands
There are 3 officially recognised languages in Scotland - English, Gaelic and Scots
Burns night is celebrated each year as a kind of national day. We celebrate the poet Robert Burns by listening and reading to poetry, eating haggis and drinking plenty of whisky
Irn Bru is the most popular soft drink in Scotland
A ‘wee dram’ is a widely recognised measurement for whisky
The Loch Ness monster is absolutely, 100% real (according to us)
University is free for Scottish citizens
There’s a seat dedicated to John Lennon at the Scots Monument in Edinburgh
Most of the trees in Scotland are not native
We have the highest mountain in the UK, called Ben Nevis
Any mountain in Scotland over 1,000m is called a munro and there’s a total of 282 of them. Many people try to bag the full 282!
When driving in the highlands there’s a regular mile, and a highland mile. When you’re driving through this landscape things can take twice as long because it’s so beautiful you want to constantly stop to take pictures!
Scottish people are extremely friendly and it’s one of the safest countries to travel to
Scotland is the first country to make period products free for all
We have the right to roam / freedom to roam which means everyone has rights of land and inland water - aka so long as you’re not taking the piss, you can wild camp pretty much anywhere (within reason!)