Scotland (Land of Cakes)

Scotland is part of the United Kingdom and is governed from London. The capital is Edinburgh, one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, which is full of historical monuments of great interest. There is a special minister in the Government, the Secretary of State for Scotland, who is responsible for education, local government and other important matters in Scotland. Although the legal education and banking system are slightly different from those in England, life is very similar to the rest of the UK.Scotland has a population of just over 5 million people of whom about one third live in the cities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee.All the inhabitants speak English although about 100,000 still speak Scottish Gaelic. Many of the Scottish accents of English are very strong, and visitors from abroad (or even England) sometimes have difficulty in understanding them.Scotland can be divided into the Southern Uplands, which never rise to much more than about 2,500feet, the Central Lowlands, which include the valleys of the rivers Tay, Clyde and Forth, and the Northen Highlands which are themselves divided by the Great glen which runs from Fort William to Inverness. In this area are the tallest peaks, the highest of which is Ben Nevis. The Northen Highlands are sparsely populated but contain much of the most beautiful and impressive lochs, moorland, mountain and coastal scenery in the country. Scotland is famous for its beautiful large lakes with mountains round them. There are many rivers in Scotland, but they are not long.Scottish steel has long been used chiefly by the heavy industries of the Glasgow area where shipbuilding has been paramount. Shipyards extended along both banks of the Clyde estuary for about 30 km.Nowadays practically as many workers are in the service industries as in manufacturing of the latter, textile and clothing production has long been important, and carpets are among woolen goods. Food products, furniture and office equipment are also manufactured. An activity which is extremely important in Scotland’s export trade is the blending of Scotch whisky produced in Highland distilleries.Scotland is a country with an intence and living national tradition of a kind only too rare in the modern world. it has its distinctive national dress, the kilt, worn only by men. It has its own typical musical instruments (the pipes, sometimes called “the bagpipes”), its own national form of dancing, its own songs, language, traditions and education. Scotland has even its own national drink, a fact so widely known that one need only ask for “Scotch”.