Discover Britain. Scotland
Scotland is a country in the United Kingdom to the north of England. Its symbol is a thistle; its patron saint is St. Andrew. The country is divided into Highlands and Lowlands. Most of the industry is concentrated in Lowlands, in the Clyde Valley. Glasgow is its largest and busiest town, Edinburgh is its capital. Glasgow and Edinburgh are the two great centres of Scotland.
There is only 45 miles between them 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, and dirty in some parts and smart in others. It is beautiful and ugly with its large port and busy streets. Edinburgh is rather cold but attractive, very proud but friendly and has a great past. Edinburgh is known as the Athens of the North. It is an ancient city and if you walk around it, you can feel history at every step. Practically every building has a tale to tell.
Edinburgh
The most interesting parts of the city are the Old Town and the New Town.
The Old Town lies between the Castle and Holyrood Palace. The Castle, in fact, is older than the city. The castle used to be a fortress and then a royal palace. It looks good in any weather but at night when it is floodlit it looks just like a castle in a fairy tale. The Castle attracts a lot of tourists. In Edinburgh there is a big royal palace which is the residence of the Queen when she is in Edinburgh. It is Holyrood House. A line of streets, which runs from the Castle to Holyrood House, is called the Royal Mile. The most picturesque part of the Royal Mile is the Cannongate.
One of the best known monuments in Edinburgh is a monument to a dog called Bobby. The dog belonged to John Gray. When he died Bobby lived near his grave for twenty-six years. Later Bobby was buried near his master. And his statue in the Old Town has become a symbol of devotion.
The New Town with its white and beautiful streets lined with trees is a striking contrast to the Old Town. Princes Street is the most beautiful street of the New Town. It has a lot of gardens on one side. It is also Edinburgh's popular shopping centre. Princes Street lies between the New Town and the Old Town. They look at each other across the valley under Scotland's blue sky.