Enjoy a walk today - Walk Scotland

Are you stuck in the 'rat race' and need to recharge your batteries?

Why not head into the beautiful Scottish countryside?

Where do you begin? Do you enjoy a leisurely walk through the Scottish countryside, or perhaps meandor along one of the many coastal trails? Would you rather hike a long distance route, or perhaps bag a munro?

No matter how you choose to walk Scotland, its breathtaking scenery and clean air will invigorate you. The possibilities are huge, and some great websites to help you in your search are Walk Scotland, Walk Highlands, and the VisitScotland Walking site.

Whatever location you choose, the EmbraceScotland website can help in the selection of your home away from home, where you can hang your boots up to dry while you bask in the glow of accomplishing something you really enjoyed.

Johnstons of Elgin: From Fibre to the Finished Article

Johnstons’ Mill in Elgin is the only mill in Scotland to transform cashmere from fibre to the finished article.

In 2008 Johnstons of Elgin opened a stunning new 5-star Heritage Visitor Centre in a beautiful Courtyard setting, adjacent to the Mill Shop. You can take a free guided tour of the entire manufacturing process with one of Johnstons’ experienced tour guides. Watch for yourself as the cashmere is dyed, teased, carded, spun and hand finished by the latest generation of Elgin craftsmen.

After touring the mill, your visit to Johnstons will not be complete without afternoon tea and a freshly made scone from their bright and airy new Courtyard Cafe.

National Trust for Scotland unveils its new £21m Robert Burns Birthplace Museum

The National Trust for Scotland has opened the doors to its £21m Robert Burns Birthplace Museum (RBBM) – the first major museum to open in Scotland in three years and the bench mark against which all future Trust properties will be set.

The highly anticipated opening is the culmination of years of planning and includes a 500m2 exhibition space which has four distinct areas – ‘Identity’, ‘Inspiration’, ‘Fame’ and ‘Creative Works’ - addressing every aspect of Burns’ life through an innovative and thought-provoking interpretation.

The Robert Burns Birthplace Museum replaces what was formerly known as the Burns National Heritage Park to bring together all of the Alloway sites with a connection to Burns including the new 1,600m2 museum, the Burns Monument, Alloway Auld Kirk, Burns Cottage, an education pavilion and Auld Brig O’Doon. A new footbridge will also be created to link key sites to the new museum to make accessibility as easy as possible for visitors.

Part of the museum space will play host to a series of temporary interpretations with the inaugural exhibition being a major new showcase by Scottish artist Peter Howson. The exhibition, ‘Howson Burns: Revealed’, features 15 new portraits of Robert Burns which are on display and available to purchase from December 2010 – June 2011. The exhibition includes 12 pastel paintings and 3 new oil paintings of the bard which are guaranteed to spark the interest of fans of Burns and Howson alike.

Stonehaven Fireballs: 31 December 2010

"The Fireballs" is a colorful annual festival, unique to Stonehaven, attracting thousands of spectators in festive mood.

The ceremony is not only Stonehaven's way of welcoming the New Year, but it also provides a gathering point for the town's "ain folk", some home from distant lands, to greet relatives and old friends, mingling happily with visitors from home and overseas who have come to enjoy a guid Scots Hogmanay.

Around forty five participants (the number varies year by year) parade up and down the High Street in the Old Town from the Mercat Cross at the east end of the street near the harbour to the Cannon embedded nose down at the west end (some 175 yards). They swing fireballs around their heads with gusto and in spectacular style, the dark skies memorably illuminated.

The Fireballs start at midnight but the Street Entertainment starts at 11.00pm. People start to arrive from 10.30, with crowds really gathering from 11.15.

The street entertainment is usually The Stonehaven Pipe Band, street drummers and a local fire poi group.

Loch Ness Hogmany Festival: 28 December 2010- 2nd January 2011

The main event in the Lochness Hogmanay festival 2010 is the “Monster Streetparty ” on hogmanay that is held in the Tourist Information Car Park in Drumnadrochit.

The Lochness Hogmanay Festival is run in traditional scottish style and is a safe environment for all the family to celebrate and take in the New Year. The Street Party is a free event and no tickets are required, however there will be collection buckets being passed round on the night for donations which are greatly received and are crucial to the continuation of this event.

The party starts at 10pm where all are invited to meet at the Drumnadrochit Hotel with the Whisky filled Quaich and form a torch lit procession down to the main event.

Why not come along and join us in this procession and be part of the celebrations.

EDINBURGH’S HOGMANAY: 31 December 2010 – 02 January 2011

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay 2010 opens with a torchlight procession down the historic Royal Mile leading to a fantastic Son et Lumière on Calton Hill.

The celebrations continue with the World Famous Street Party and Concert in the Gardens on Friday 31 December climaxing with the spectacular Midnight Fireworks from Edinburgh Castle.
New Year’s Day brings The One O’Clock Run, The Loony Dook – where the hardy take a dip in the chilly waters of the River Forth - and to celebrate 01.01.11 One Day, a new collaboration of Scottish singers, songwriters, musicians, poets and performers curated by K T Tunstall.

Full details of all events, and tickets, can be found on http://www.edinburghshogmanay.com/

Inverness Hogmanay Party: The Red Hot Highland Fling - 31 December 2010

Bagpipes with attitude. Drums with a Scottish accent.

Bringing the Inverness Winter Festival 2010 to fantastic close is their 2010 Hogmanay Show: The Red Hot Highland Fling.

Wear your red coats, red scarves or red wigs. The Red Hot Highland Fling wants you to help paint the town red by turning out in force all dressed up to enjoy a band with a passion for pipes that will leave you breathless.

The top band for the night is the popular Red Hot Chilli Pipers – a blazing rock band with a show so hot it carries its own health warning. The Red Hot Chilli Pipers will be joined by two of Scotland’s favourite bands creating what we think will be the best Hogmanay party the Highlands has ever seen.

Gates will open at 8.00pm and you don’t need a ticket, just a smile, to get in.

Scotland’s Moray Firth Coast has been ranked in the top 18 of the WORLD’s most breathtaking coastlines

Firth among equals for sheer beauty

Scotland On Sunday
Published Date: 21 November 2010
By Emma Cowing

IT'S GOT BEACHES, dolphins, spectacular scenery and the odd Hollywood movie star although it's never been ranked as one of the globe's top destinations. Until now.

The Moray Firth coast has been ranked among the world's most breathtaking coastlines by the highly-regarded National Geographic Traveller magazine.

The stretch of seafront from Inverness to Peterhead has been placed alongside Namibia's Skeleton Coast and the Chilean Fjords in the magazine's "top rated" category, which the publication defines as "in excellent shape, relatively unspoiled, and likely to remain so".
Newfoundland's remote Avalon peninsula, New Zealand's Tutukaka Coast, British Columbia's Gulf Islands and Argentina's Valdes Peninsula also scored highly among its top-rated coastal destinations.

A panel of 340 global experts in sustainable tourism were asked to rate different locations using criteria such as environmental quality, social and cultural integrity, the condition of historic sites, aesthetic appeal and outlook for the future. Only 18 made the "top-rated" cut, and the Moray Firth coast was one of only two UK spots to secure the accolade, the other being Pembrokeshire in Wales.

By contrast, some of the coastlines that would be expected to get top marks fall into the magazine's "bottom-rated" category. Mexico's Acapulco coast is described as "unsightly development" while the Gambian coast in West Africa suffers from "overzealous salespeople and an overabundance of beachside litter".

Meanwhile, Hawaii's world-famous Waikiki Beach is a "high-rise concrete jungle with polluted water" and Jamaica's Montego Bay is blighted by "bauxite mining, cruise ship traffic, and unsustainable levels of snorkelling that are all hurting the region's ecology."
Although the judging panel remained anonymous, the magazine published some of their comments on the Moray Firth coastline.

One said: "A wonderful region of Scotland. Beaches are fantastic, and the area welcomes visitors as one of their own. People work together for the greater good - fishermen tolerate canoeists; farmers allow walkers to pass over their land on footpaths."

Another said: "An undiscovered gem with pretty coastal villages, excellent beaches, and outstanding cliff scenery."

The Moray Firth has long been known as a hidden gem in Scottish tourism terms.

To read the full article, click here.