Holiday attractions and activities in Scotland

Scotland has been voted by CNN as one of this year's (2013) Top Travel Destination, and we at Cottages and Castles cannot agree more as Scotland, in particularly this year, really has it all for our visitors. It is our "Year of Natural Scotland" and to celebrate there are is an extensive list of events and celebrations throughout the country and throughout the year. Our countryside’s have been beautifully depicted in some of 2012 biggest film releases with the likes of James Bonds 'Skyfall' and Disney Pixar's 'Brave' using Scotland's iconic scenery to great effect. Our golfing prowess will also be centre of attention as this year’s Open Championships returns to Muirfield in July, and on top of that, we as "The Home of Golf" also prepare for the return of The Ryder Cup to Scotland as Gleneagles holds host to the illustrious competition in 2014.

Our country is so fascinatingly diverse from its landscape, history, culture, attractions, food and drink to its events; we really can cater for everyone.

To make it easy for you to find the perfect self catering holiday for you and your family we have some further information on what there is to see and do around Scotland

Read more about things to see and do in Scotland.

Making the most of your holiday in Scotland

Activities Enjoy golfing, skiing, walking, climbing and cycling throughout Scotland.	Attractions Enjoy spectacular historic monuments and castles to visitor attractions, beaches and beautiful Scottish scenery.
Eating Out Delicious restaurants, pubs and cafes many of which use fresh local Scottish produce, from meats, seafood, cheeses and whiskies!	Events and Festivals Enjoy traditional Scottish culture from our Highland Games to our wide range of music, sporting and cultural festivals and events.

Things to see and do in Scotland

Scotland is a country brimming full of things to do with a multitude of historical monuments, wildlife, nature walks, attractions and much, much more...

Scotland has a wide number of activities for all the family and to suit every type of self catering holiday! Scotland is "The Home of Golf" and with around 550 golf courses throughout Scotland you will not be spoilt for choice. From top quality championship courses in St Andrews, Turnberry, Muirfield, Loch Lommond, Carnoustie, and of course Gleneagles that hosts the 2014 Ryder Cup. As well as these prestigious courses there is a whole host of other beautiful and impressive courses just waiting to be re-discovered.

For the adventure enthusiasts Scotland can play host to some of the best skiing destinations in Europe with the Cairngorms, Glencoe, The Lecht, Glenshee and Nevis Range all with close proximity to a great number of our self catering cottages and castles. If it is mountain biking or road cycling you prefer then you will not be disappointed in your choice of location from the beautiful relaxed scenery of the Scottish Borders with the 7 Stanes biking trails, to the iconic Speyside Way or if it is true excitement and off road thrills we have the UK's 'Outdoor Capital' Fort William which also holds the Mountain Bike World Cup in June 2013.

Along with adventure sports we also can boast some the best walking and climbing routes from The Goatfell on the Isle of Arran to the Glencoe mountain ranges, the beautiful scenery of the Cairngorm National Park to the Nevis Range near Fort William which is home to the highest mountain on the British Isles, Ben Nevis, are only some of the 282 Munros that Scotland can boast of. Along with these we are also very proud of our smaller hills and walking routes that dominate our landscape, there really is a the perfect nature and walking trail for everyone, and many of our holiday cottages and castles are within short distances of many of the most beautiful and interesting routes.

Scotland has a renowned and very proud heritage that is very much exhibited throughout our country with hundreds of exciting and interesting historic monuments and attractions. In the north we have the Orkney Isle and the Shetland Isle steeped in history with a multitude of historical monuments like Skara Brae, Maes Howe, and the Ring of Brodgar and the beautiful cathedral in Kirkwall are all part of Orkney’s World Heritage status. Further south there are again a great number of stunning castles like Stirling, Edinburgh and Brodick as well as Culzean Castle, Falkland Palace, Glamis plus many more for you to savour.

As well as historic monuments we are also very proud of our country's own natural beauty and this year is no exception with our "Year of Natural Scotland". We proudly boast some of the most eye catching and spectacular scenery with beautiful sandy beaches that would not look out of place if they were situated in the Maldives! Sutherland, Caithness and also the coasts around Ullapool and Gairloch hide beaches like Ardmair Bay, Gruinard bay, Sandwood Bay, Waulkmill Bay, Durness and many more, beautiful locations throughout the country ready and waiting for your self catering beach holiday. Many of our cottages and castles are situated in the Scottish countryside surrounded by natural beauty from lochs, woodland, moors and mountains and in each case there is generally an abundance of wildlife and birdlife on your door step so in some cases all you will need to do is sit back and relax from the comfort of your front room or holiday cottage garden.

It is always important that while on a self catering holiday that you get to savour some of the local produce and whether you like to eat out in the wonderful selection of restaurants, pubs, and cafes or you want to use the local dairy's, butchers, bakers and fishmongers we really do have a wide selection of delicious options for the family to savour and enjoy. In Argyll you can be treated to Scotland's "Sea Kingdom" with a delicious array of sea food restaurants and pub all selling freshly caught seafood. On Arran there are a number of great restaurants like the The Douglas Bistro as well as a selection of exquisite local produce from cheeses to chocolate, oatcakes, ice-cream, beers and the extremely Scottish Whisky! Throughout Scotland our there are a number of whisky distilleries producing world famous blends from the very popular island whiskies of Laphroaig, Jura and Talisker (too name a few) to the Speyside Way whiskies of Glenfiddich, Glenlivet and Dalwhinnie (to name a few) for you to visit and savour the delicious Scottish blends....mmm go on you won't be disappointed!

Events and Festival are also a big part of culture, from the more traditional events like our summer Highland Games with the pipe bands, tug' o' wars, highland dancing, local produce and much more, to the music events and festivals like Belladrum, T-in-The-Park, Loopallu, traditional and folk music festival which are dotted throughout the country, as well as the larger and more iconic events like the Edinburgh Festival's and Hogmanay, Glasgow's Celtic Connections and Jazz festival. We also have a number sporting events held throughout Scotland from the Mountain Bike World Cup, to Golf's British and Scottish Opens and the illustrious 2014 Ryder Cup and Glasgow's 2014 Commonwealth Games. With so many small and local events and festivals also happening throughout the summer months you really will not be bored on you self catering summer holiday.