Scotland

Scotland is a country in the United Kingdom to the north of England. Scotland is a very small country. It is 441 kilometers long. Scotland has three main land regions. They are, from north to south, the Highlands, the Central Lowlands and the Southern Uplands.

The symbol of Scotland  is a thistle. Why did the Scottish people choose this thorny plant as the national emblem of their country? The answer is interesting, and it can be found in the history of Scotland. The people of that country chose the thistle as their national emblem because it saved their land from foreign invaders many years ago.

The Scottish flag is a white cross on a blue background. This cross is the cross of St. Andrew.

Glasgow and Edinburgh are two great centres of Scotland. Glasgow is its largest and busiest town; Edinburgh is its capital.
There are only 45 miles between them, and it will take you an hour to get from Glasgow to Edinburgh by train but the cities are very different.
Glasgow is the heart of industry. It is a centre of business and trade. It is very busy, prosperous, dirty in some parts and smart in others.
Edinburgh is rather cold but attractive. Edinburgh is known as Athens of the North. If you walk around the city you can touch on history at every step. Practically every building has a tale to tell.
Population of Scotland is about 5 million people. The highest density of population is in the Central Lowlands, where nearly three-quarters of the Scots live, and the lowest is in the Highlands.

There are two languages spoken. English is generally spoken and fewer than 100000 Scots, who are mainly inhabitants of the Highlands and islands groups, also speak the Scottish form of Gaelic.

Scotland is also the land of myths and mysteries, every castle has its ghost. And of course everyone knows about Loch Ness Monster.

Today Scotland is very popular. Tourists can see and do so much: high hills to walk on, old castles to visit, mysterious lakes to cross by boat and… legendary monsters to look out for! Scotland is famous for people from all over the world come there to admire it