Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom.

Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, Scotland shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest.

In addition to the mainland, Scotland constitutes over 790 islands including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.

Scotland gained independence in 1314, after Robert the Bruce defeated the English army at the Battle of Bannockburn.

The Kingdom of Scotland was an independent state until 1 May 1707, when the Acts of Union joined it with England, in the United Kingdom of Great Britain.

Since July 1, 1999, Scotland has its own parliament, for the first time since 1707.

Scotland will hold an independence referendum in 2014.

There are more sheep in Scotland than people.

Edinburgh is Scotland’s capital city, although the city of Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland.

There are three main languages spoken in Scotland…

The first, most spoken language, is English. Scottish people speak English with a Scottish accent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FFRoYhTJQQ

The second language of Scotland is “Scots”, which is spoken all over Scotland in different dialects.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ-xw3oBCeY

The third language of Scotland is Gaelic, which is mostly spoken in the north of Scotland and which is not very popular nowadays.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kZuBzY1iHc

St Andrews, in Fife, is the birthplace of golf.

http://vimeo.com/53811626#at=0

St Andrews University is the third oldest university in the English speaking world, after the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

est. 1413

Around 65,000 people in Scotland are employed in agriculture. 75% of Scottish land is used as farmland.

“There’s no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes.”

Bonnie

Scotland