209 Best Sights in Scotland

This small ruined church is famous for its role in Burns's epic poem, "Tam o' Shanter," which many Scots know by heart and is often recited at Burns Suppers. In the poem, the kirk is where a rather drunk Tam o' Shanter unluckily passed a witches' revel—with Old Nick himself playing the bagpipes—on his unsteady way home. In flight from the witches, Tam managed to cross the medieval Brig o' Doon (brig is Scots for bridge; you can still see the bridge) just in time. His gray mare, Meg, however, lost her tail to the closest witch. (Any resident of Ayr will tell you that witches cannot cross running water.)

Run by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the Balranald Nature Reserve shelters large numbers of waders and seabirds that inhabit the rock foreshore and marshland. Listen for corncrakes, whose distinctive rasping cry sounds not unlike a plastic drink lid being unscrewed.

Dating back around 5,000 years, Barpa Langass is a chambered cairn (a Neolithic burial monument), the only one in the Western Isles to retain a fully intact inner chamber. You can peek inside, but don't venture too far without a light. You'll find Barpa Langass just off the A867, two-thirds of the way between Lochmaddy and Clachan.

In the former Drumlanrig Tower, this museum includes a good exhibition about the textile industry, once the lifeblood of the Borders. Plenty of interactive elements make it interesting for children as well. One room commemorates the demonstrations by textile workers who were demanding the right to vote in the 1880s. On the upper floor are up-to-the-minute fabrics that define the 21st century. Check out the shop, too.

The town's 13th-century Brechin Cathedral and Round Tower is on the site of a former Celtic monastery (priory of the Culdee monks) and has some unusual examples of medieval sculpture. The tower is one of only two on mainland Scotland. This type of structure is more frequently found in Ireland.

An Iron Age tower built between 500 BC and 200 BC, the Broch of Gurness stands more than 10 feet high and is surrounded by stone huts, indicating that this was a village. The tower's foundations and dimensions suggest that it was one of the biggest brochs in Scotland, and the remains of the surrounding houses are well preserved. It's located about 11 miles east of Birsay.

Originally built to guard the Tay Estuary, Broughty Castle is now a museum focusing on fishing, ferries, and the history of the area's whaling industry. The cannons and ramparts make for fine photo opportunities, and inside (up a very narrow stairway) are four floors of displays, including some of the lovely art collection of the Victorian inventor and engineer Sir James Orchar. To the north of the castle lies beautiful Broughty Ferry Beach, which, even in midwinter, is enjoyed by the locals; there is regular bus service from Dundee's city center.

When he died in 1796, Robert Burns was buried in a modest grave in St. Michael's Churchyard. English poet William Wordsworth, visiting a few years later, was horrified by the small gravestone and raised money to build the much grander monument that stands there today.

At the northernmost point of Lewis, 3 miles northwest of Port of Ness, stands the Butt of Lewis Lighthouse, which was first illuminated in 1862. Designed by David and Thomas Stevenson, it's one of many Scottish lighthouses built by the prominent Stevenson engineering family, whose best-known scion was novelist Robert Louis Stevenson, famed for Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The adjacent cliffs provide a good vantage point for viewing seabirds, whales, and porpoises.

The canal, which links the lochs of the Great Glen—Loch Lochy, Loch Oich, and Loch Ness—owes its origins to a combination of military and political pressures that emerged at the time of the Napoleonic Wars with France. In short: Britain needed a better and faster way to move naval vessels from one side of Scotland to the other. The great Scottish engineer Thomas Telford (1757–1834) surveyed the route in 1803, taking advantage of the three lochs that lie in the Great Glen and have a combined length of 45 miles, so that only 22 miles of canal had to be constructed to connect the lochs and complete the waterway from coast to coast. After 19 years, the canal, with its 29 locks and 42 gates, was open and ready for action. Travel along the canal today and stunning vistas open up: mountains, lochs, and glens, and to the south, the profile of Ben Nevis. At the visitor center in Fort Augustus, you can learn all about this historic engineering feat and take a picturesque walk along the towpath.

Near the town center, this grand country house gives you a glimpse of a wealthy family's daily life in the early 1800s. In the kitchen, local guides explain cooking in the early 19th century and may even offer you a sample. Entry is through an impressive wooden hallway, and the first-floor morning and drawing rooms are the grandest in the region. There are exhibits on the Romans and the Antonine Wall, as well as on the history of Falkirk. The second floor is a gallery space and houses the town's archives. You can relax in the grand tearoom before you move on to the beautiful grounds of Callendar Park, which has activities year-round. The house is something of a secret, but it's well worth a visit.

Robert Louis Stevenson's favorite view of his beloved city was from the top of this hill, and it's easy to see why. Located in the heart of the city, Calton Hill offers stunning vistas of the Old and New Towns and out to the Firth of Forth, making it a popular setting for picnicking and watching festival fireworks. Great views aside, the hill is also home to a number of impressive monuments. The most notable is the so-called National Monument, also known as "Scotland's Disgrace," which was commissioned in 1822 and intended to mimic Athens's Parthenon. But after just 12 columns had been built, the money ran out, leaving the facade as a monument to high aspirations and poor fundraising. Nearby, the 100-foot-high Nelson Monument, completed in 1815 in honor of Britain's greatest naval hero, is topped with a "time ball" that is dropped at 1 pm every day. Other hillside monuments honor notable Scots ranging from mathematician John Playfair to philosopher Dugald Stewart.

The hill is also home to the City Observatory, which hosts regular contemporary art exhibitions, as well as upscale restaurant The Lookout by Gardener's Cottage. It also plays host to the Beltane Fire Festival every April 30.

J. M. Barrie donated this Camera Obscura to the town; located within a cricket pavilion, it magically projects an image of the wonderful landscape views onto the opposite wall. It is one of only four in the country and run by lovely volunteers.

This unadorned Church of Scotland building, built in 1688, is best known for its graveyard. It is the final resting place of several notable Scots, including economist Adam Smith (1723–90), author of The Wealth of Nations (1776); Dugald Stewart (1753–1828), the leading European philosopher of his time; and the undervalued Scottish poet Robert Fergusson (1750–74). The fact that Fergusson's grave is even distinguishable is due to the far more famous Robert Burns (1759–96), who commissioned a marker to be made. Incidentally, Robert Burns's literary lover Agnes Maclehose (the "Clarinda" to his "Sylvander" as noted in a series of passionate letters) also has a memorial stone here.

Nearly every city and town in Scotland once had a tolbooth. Originally a customhouse, where tolls were gathered, it soon came to mean town hall and later prison, as there were detention cells in the cellar. The building where Canongate's town council once met now has a museum, the People's Story Museum, which focuses on the lives of everyday folk from the 18th century to today. Exhibits describe how Canongate once bustled with the activities of the tradespeople needed to supply life's essentials. There are also displays on the politics, health care, and leisure time (such as it was) in days of yore. Other exhibits leap forward in time to show, for example, a typical 1940s kitchen.

The tower house of Carnasserie Castle is all that remains of this Renaissance structure. It has the distinction of having belonged to the writer of the first book printed in Gaelic. John Carswell, Bishop of the Isles, translated a text by the Scottish reformer John Knox into Gaelic and published it in 1567.

Dramatically perched on the edge of the cliff, this ruined castle—or rather, castles—is a spectacular sight. Situated 3 miles north of Wick, this site comprises the remains of the 15th-century Castle Girnigoe and the 17th-century Castle Sinclair, set among stunning scenery. Conservation work has stabilized and improved access to the old walls, which teeter inches from the cliff's edge.

The oldest stone castle on the Scottish mainland, this 12th-century structure sits on a rocky bit of coast about 12 miles south of Crinan. From the northwest tower, known as the Latrine Tower, you can enjoy the dramatic views of the Paps of Jura.

If you return east from Corgarff Castle to the A939/A944 junction and make a left onto the A944, the signs indicate that you're on the Castle Trail. The A944 meanders along the River Don to the village of Strathdon, where a great mound by the roadside turns out to be a motte, or the base of a wooden castle, built in the late 12th century. Although it takes considerable imagination to become enthusiastic about a grass-covered heap, surviving mottes have contributed greatly to the understanding of the history of Scottish castles. The A944 then joins the A97, and a few minutes later a sign points to Glenbuchat Castle, a plain Z-plan tower house.

Situated 10 miles east of Durness, between Rispond and Sangobeg, Ciannabeine is one of Scotland's most achingly beautiful beaches, a spectacular sweep of sand caught in the embrace of 10,000-year-old rocks. There is a car park opposite and a path down to the beach itself. You will recognize it by the white house just beyond, once the village school. Amenities: parking (no fee). Best for: swimming; walking.

It was the railways that first brought hordes of Victorian tourists to Scotland, and the great station hotels were places of luxury for those wealthier Victorian travelers; Central Station and its accompanying hotel are excellent examples of this. The Grand Central Hotel (once the Station Hotel) demonstrates how important this building was to the city. It remains a busy active train station from which to travel south to England or west to the Ayrshire coast and Prestwick Airport. The Champagne Bar in the Grand Central Hotel is a good vantage point for watching the station concourse and its comings and goings. The railway bridge across Argyll Street behind the station is known as the Highlandman's Umbrella because immigrants from the north once gathered there to look for work in the early 20th century.

Tours of Central Station are an entertaining way to learn not only about the rich history of the station but also of Glasgow itself. Among one of the most popular tourist activities the city has to offer, even locals could learn a lot from the station's fantastic tour guides.

The nave of this handsome church survives from the 15th century, and a portion of the original medieval timber roof can also be seen. This is the only Scottish church still in use to have witnessed the coronation of a Scottish monarch—James VI (1566–1625) in 1567. The origin of the name Holy Rude (similar to Holyrood in Edinburgh) is Holy Cross. October through April, the building is often open only during service time on Sunday morning (10 am January through June, 11:30 am July through December).

Not far from Culloden Moor, on a narrow road southeast of the battlefield, are the Clava Cairns, dating from the Bronze Age. In a cluster among the trees, these stones and monuments form a large ring with underground passage graves that are reached via a tunnel. Helpful placards put everything into historical context.

For a thrilling touch of vertigo, don't miss Corrieshalloch Gorge, 12 miles south of Ullapool, just off the A835. Draining the high moors, the Falls of Measach plunge into a 200-foot-deep, thickly wooded gorge. There's a suspension-bridge viewpoint and a heady atmosphere of romantic grandeur, like an old Scottish print come to life. A short walk leads from a parking area to the viewpoint.

The story of this trading and fishing town can be found in the delightfully crammed Crail Museum and Heritage Centre, entirely run by local volunteers. There is a small tourist information desk within the center and fascinating guided walks start here regularly during the summer on Sundays or by advance appointment; check the website for the schedule or to request a walk.

Built on land bequeathed by Miss Anne Cruickshank in memory of her beloved brother, Alexander, the 11-acre Cruickshank Botanic Garden at the heart of Old Aberdeen has a peaceful water garden and lush greens ideal for lounging—when the weather allows—and beautifully tended subtropical and alpine collections. Botanical tours are available.

A camera obscura is essentially a huge reflecting mirror that projects an extraordinarily clear panoramic view of the surrounding countryside onto an internal wall. The one at the Dumfries Museum, which claims to be the oldest in the world, is housed in the old Windmill Tower, built in 1836. The museum itself covers the culture and daily life of the people living in the Dumfries and Galloway region from the earliest times.

Near Port nan Long in the very north of North Uist stands the remains of Dun an Sticir, reputed to have been the last inhabited broch on the island. This defensive tower, reached by a causeway over the loch, was built in the Iron Age but abandoned when the Vikings arrived in the 9th century. In 1602, it was reoccupied by Hugh Macdonald, a descendant of Macdonald of Sleat, but since he reached an unpleasant end (starved to death in a castle dungeon on the Isle of Skye), it has been slowly crumbling into the sea.

Discover one of the country's best-preserved Iron Age brochs (circular stone towers). These fortified residences are unique to Scotland, and Dun Carloway Broch dominates the scattered community of the same name. The mysterious tower was probably built around 2,000 years ago as protection against seaborne raiders. The nearby visitor center explains all about the broch, its history, and its setting.

The oldest part of Dunblane—with its narrow winding streets—huddles around this church's square. Bishop Clement built the cathedral in the early 13th century on the site of St. Blane's tiny 8th-century cell; with the Reformation of the 16th century, it ceased to be a cathedral. In 1996 it was the scene of a moving memorial service for the 15 children and one teacher killed in the local school by Thomas Hamilton. There are free guided tours on Sunday afternoons. Be sure to view the medieval carvings in the choir stalls.