We continue with our tour through Scotland’s best. Today: Castles and Edinburgh.

Image by Tom Curtis /FreeDigitalPhotos.net

There are several castles in Scotland, so if you are looking for a piece of history combined with beautiful architecture, landscapes and decoration, here are some suggestions:

- Airth Castle (near Stirling)
- Birkhill Castle (Fife)
- Caerlaverock Castle (Glencaple, Dumfries)
- Culzean Castle (near Maybole, Ayrshire)
- Drumlanrig Castle (Dumfries and Galloway)
- Duart Castle (Mull)
- Dunvegan Castle (Isle of Skye)
- Edinburgh Castle (Edinburgh)
- Falkland Palace (Fife)
- Fyvie Castle (Aberdeenshire)
- Glamis Castle (Angus)
- Hermitage Castle (Roxburghshire)
- Inveraray Castle (Argyll)
- Kildrummy Castle (Aberdeenshire)
- Stirling Castle (Stirling)

If your home exchange destination is in Aberdeenshire, you may enjoy the only Castle Trail in Scotland, with 14 castles marked by white on brown signs with a blue castle logo. This is a hihgly recommended activity for families with children, as the younger ones would enjoy discovering secret passages, dungeons, haunted rooms and ghost stories. Visit Scotland.com - The official site of Scotland’s national tourism organisation has a Castle Trail leaflet with all you need to know to plan your own Castle Trail tour.

The Festival City

Edinburgh - The capital is one of the single most attractive spots in Scotland, the 12 major annual festivals that take place in the city account for its nickname: the Festival City, and its spectacular architecture make it an art piece on itself. As we mentioned, there are countless cultural events that take place in Edinburgh, the main being: Edinburgh International Festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Edinburgh International Film Festival and the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. We did not count them all, but there are probably hundreds of events that take place in this cultural hub, and you could certainly find one that matches both your interests and your home exchange calendar so we will refer you to Edinburgh Festivals to prepare your trip.

Of course this is just peek of Scotland’s vast offer to enjoy your home exchange vacations, so imagine all the things you will discover on your trip!

If you are looking for a different experience for your next home exchange, Scotland sure has some ideas for you.

Green Tourism in Scotland

Photo by lmnyberg /Flickr.com

First things first. Over 700 businesses are registered members of the Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS) and are assessed for their energy efficiency and efforts to reduce their environmental impact, to sustain the quality of Scotland’s natural treasures. As a visitor, your support is required to preserve the quality of Scotland’s environment. So look for the identified businesses while you tour through Scotland.

Whisky Tourism in Scotland

There are 42 distilleries open to visitors, because not only it is one of the country’s most important exporting industries, it has also become an attraction to visitors and whisky fans from around the globe. The tourism and hospitality sector has joined the distilleries’ efforts to arrange a memorable experience adding other attractions to the “Scotch Whisky Trails“. The most complete online reference on this subject is ScotlandWhisky but you should also check out The Whisky Coast, The Malt Whisky Trail, and for information about the industry visit Scotch Whisky Association (SWA).

Just to give you a taste of what you can find:

Speyside is home to half of Scotland’s whisky distilleries, so if you care for a tour covering the different traditional distillation processes, this is the spot. Some of the tourist-friendly distilleries in the area are: Benromach, Cardhu, Dallas Dhu, Glen Grant, Glenfiddich, Glenlivet and the Strathisla Distillery, home of the renowned Chivas Regal blend.

Campbeltown is home to the oldest independent family owned distillery: Springbank Distillery. This is not the only fact that sets this distillery apart, it is also one of the two distilleries in the country that carries the complete process from barley and water to bottled Scotch whisky in one single site and it is also the only one that produces three different single malts using three different production methods: Springbank, Longrow and Hazelburn.

“The Enchanted Forest”

An award winning outdoor show, that uses sound and light to tell the most amazing of all stories: the Earth’s history from the beginning to the modern era. Definitely a must if you arrange your home exchange in the area.  The Enchanted Forest is part of the Highland Perthshire Autumn Festival so visit http://www.pitlochryautumnfestival.co.uk/ to find our more and plan a fun-filled autumn home exchange vacation.

“One for All”

All in one: Cairngorms National Park includes the Aviemore, Angus Glens, Royal Deeside, Donside, Glenlivet and Speyside areas. You can find almost anything here, from family attractions to extreme sports there is definitely something to keep you entertained whether it is cold, warm, hot or even raining. Also, businesses in the park operate under the Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS) guidelines.

More information:
http://www.visitcairngorms.com/
http://www.cairngorms.co.uk/

The United Kingdom has a strong presence in HomeForHome, and over 50 of those houses that are ready for home exchange are located in Scotland. In this week’s posts, we will invite you to discover this land full of traditions, history, myths and beautiful scenery that goes from moorlands to mountains and rocky coastlines to peaceful lochs.

Photo by conner395 /Flickr

Scotland occupies the northern third of the Great Britain island and over 700 islands. Its official language is English, but Gaelic and Scots are also spoken; the first prevails mostly in the Highlands and Islands of the North and West, while Scots is spoken in the Central Lowlands.

The summer days, long and warm, present visitors with a range of events that would assure you find a fit for your particular interest: music, performing arts, sports, outdoor activities, you will find something for your own taste. Here are a few of the many coming entertainment events:

Edinburgh International Festival - Three weeks of performances from international artists, in one of Europe’s great festivals offering opera, dance, theatre, music and visual arts. This event alone accounts for a doubling in Edinburgh’s population during the Festival. More details at http://www.eif.co.uk/

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo - A three-week long festival where international military musicians take the stage with the majestic backdrop being Edinburgh Castle. The famous ending with the performance of the Lone Piper seems to be the distinctive mark of this world class unique martial music event that takes place every August in the Castle’s Esplanade. Over 100 million people watch the event on international television. For more information, please visit http://www.edintattoo.co.uk/

Aberdeen International Youth Festival - Starting with a colourful parade, this festival allows you to enjoy the best performances from young artists in ten days of literally all kinds of cultural expressions. For more information, visit http://www.aiyf.org/

Arbroath Sea Fest - An annual, 2-day festival to celebrate the Sea. More in http://www.arbroathseafest.co.uk/

The Braemar Gathering -  A series of traditional competitions with a member of the royal family present on the site to support the athletes. More information at http://www.braemargathering.org/

Piping Live! - This international piping event in Glasgow, features several styles from traditional to techno piping. A week of concerts, workshops, masterclasses and street performances, in an energetic environment. Details in http://www.pipinglive.co.uk/

Largs Viking Festival - The place and time for those who wish to know more about the Viking heritage of this area. It includes a Viking Village where the Swords of Dalriada live as the Vikings did, giving first hand entertainment and teaching at the same time. More at http://www.largsvikingfestival.com/

Events about Scottish foods and drinks: Tarbert Seafood Festival, Scottish Food Fortnight, Highland Feast, Whisky Live Scotland, Flavour of Shetland, Taste of Grampian Food Festival.

If you do not find a home exchange opportunity to experience this year’s events, you may want to check next year’s dates in the links provided and mark them in your calendar.