Portal:Scotland

Wikipedia portals: Culture Geography Health History Mathematics Natural sciences People Philosophy Religion Society Technology edit   THE SCOTLAND PORTAL Shortcuts: P:SCO P:SCOT Scotland (Gaelic: Alba) is a country that occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It is part of the United Kingdom, and shares a land border to the south with England. It has a population of 5,117,000 and an area of 78,800 km². Scotland shares a 60 mile (96 km) land border to the south with England, 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 south-west. Scottish waters border those of Norway, the Faeroes, Iceland and Ireland. Apart from the mainland, Scotland consists of over 790 islands, giving it a coastline of approximately 6200 miles (9,900 km). The Kingdom of Scotland was united in 843, by Kenneth MacAlpin, King of Scots, and is thus one of the oldest still-existing countries in the world. Scotland existed as an independent state until the Act of Union, 1 May, 1707. The flag of Scotland - the Saltire or St Andrew's Cross - is thought to be the oldest national flag still in use. Saint Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland and Saint Andrew's Day, on 30 November, is Scotland's national day. There are currently attempts to create a national holiday on this day. Scottish people have played prominent parts in many important inventions and discoveries. More about Scotland... edit   Selected article Arthur's Seat is the main peak of the group of hills which form most of Holyrood Park, a wild piece of high landscape in the centre of the city of Edinburgh, about a mile to the east of Edinburgh Castle. The hill rises above the city to a height of 251 m (823 ft), provides excellent panoramic views of the city, is relatively easy to climb, and is popular for hillwalking. Though it can be climbed from almost any direction, the easiest and simplest ascent is from the East, where a grassy slope rises above Dunsapie Loch. Rock climbing is deceptively dangerous, and is restricted. Many claim that its name is derived from the myriad legends pertaining to King Arthur, such as the reference in Y Gododdin. Some support for this theory may be provided by the fact that several other hilltop and mountaintop features in Britain bear the same or similar names, such as the peak of Ben Arthur (The Cobbler) in the western highlands, sometimes known as Arthur's Seat, and Arthur's Chair on the ridge called Stone Arthur in the Cumbrian lake district. There is no traditional Scottish Gaelic name for Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh but William Maitland proposed that the name was a corruption of Àrd-na-Said, implying the "Height of Arrows", which over the years became Arthur's Seat (perhaps via "Archer's Seat"). Alternatively, John Milne's proposed etymology of Àrd-thir Suidhe meaning "place on high ground" uncomfortably requires the transposition of the name elements. Archive • Read more... edit   Selected picture The River Tweed, or Tweed Water, (Scottish Gaelic: Abhainn Thuaidh) is 97 miles (156 km) long and flows primarily through the Borders region of Great Britain. It rises on Tweedsmuir at Tweed's Well near where the Clyde, draining northwest, and the Annan draining south also rise. "Annan, Tweed and Clyde rise oot the ae hillside" as the Border saying has it. It drains the entire Borders region. Its lower reaches are near Berwick-upon-Tweed. The Tweed is one of the great salmon rivers of Britain. Photo credit: Jean Walley Archive • Read more... edit   Selected quotes “ ... I fear I have nothing original in me excepting original sin ... ” — Thomas Campbell “ ... Life is a waste of time. Time is a waste of life. Get wasted all the time and you'll have the time of your life ... ” — Billy Connolly Archive • Read more... edit   In the news Wikinews Scotland portal November 12: Scottish police force apologises for double-murder by sex offender September 30: Unauthorised autobiography of Julian Assange sells less than 700 copies September 27: Study: Birds learn nest building August 18: Scots report crime using Facebook August 15: Glasgow, Scotland shooting leaves two hospitalised August 13: Shell reports oil leak at North Sea platform August 9: Scottish annual drug deaths coming down from record levels August 4: Yani Tseng captures Women's British Open title for a record fifth major July 29: National Museum of Scotland reopens after three-year redevelopment June 7: Scottish university to introduce comic studies degree edit   Did You Know? ...that both of the parents of Mary MacKillop (pictured), Australia's first (and only) recognised saint, came from Scotland? ... that Castle of Park, near Glenluce, has "commodious closets"? ... that Adam of Kilconquhar, first husband of Robert the Bruce's mother Marjory of Carrick, died on crusade at Acre in 1271? ...that the Dutch painter Josephine Broekhuizen uses the Isle of Arran as a major source of inspiration? ...that the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party has fielded Celtic and Rangers candidates in elections? ...that F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre worked on The Prisoner and took his name from a Victor Hugo novel? ...that... Canadian poetaster James McIntyre commonly known as "the Cheese Poet" was originally from Forres? ...that Edinburgh hosted the 1994 Women's Rugby World Cup? ... the oldest book lungs have been recovered from extinct trigonotarbid arachnids preserved in the 410 million year old Rhynie chert of Scotland? Archive · More new articles edit   Categories Scotland People — History — Politics — Education — Law — Military — Religion — Sport — Organisations — Lists Geography of Scotland Subdivisions — Cities — Demographics — Environment Economy of Scotland Companies — Science and technology — Tourism — Transport Scottish culture Arts — Cuisine — Languages — Literature — Media — Music Buildings and structures in Scotland Listed buildings — Scheduled Ancient Monuments — Visitor attractions edit   WikiProjects WikiProject Scotland WikiProject Clans of Scotland WikiProject Deletion sorting/Scotland WikiProject Medieval Scotland WikiProject Scotland Peer Review WikiProject Scottish Castles WikiProject Scottish Islands WikiProject Transport in Scotland edit   Major topics History Timeline | Prehistoric Scotland | Scotland in the High Middle Ages | Wars of Scottish Independence | Scottish Enlightenment | Colonization | Acts of Union 1707 | Jacobitism | Highland Clearances Politics Scottish Parliament | Scottish Government | First Minister of Scotland | Member of the Scottish Parliament | Secretary of State for Scotland | Scotland Office Geography Geology | Climate | Mountains and hills | Islands | Lochs Economy Companies | Bank of Scotland | Royal Bank of Scotland | North Sea oil | Scotch whisky | Harris Tweed Demographics Scottish Gaelic language | Scots language | Scottish English | Highland English | Burghs Culture Education | Scottish Football Association | Scottish Rugby Union | Clans |Highland games | Hogmanay | Innovations & discoveries Symbols Flags (National Flag | Royal Standard) | Royal Arms (UK/Scottish) | Tartan | Bagpipes | Tartan Day edit   Things you can do Please visit the Scottish Wikipedians' notice board and help to write new Scotland-related articles, and expand and improve existing ones. Visit Wikipedia:WikiProject Scotland/Assessment, and help out by assessing unrated Scottish articles. Add the Project Banner to Scottish articles around Wikipedia. Participate in WikiProject Scotland's Peer Review, including responding to PR requests and nominating Scottish articles. Help nominate and select new content for the Scotland portal. edit   Related portals Ireland Northern Ireland Isle of Man Wales England Cornwall United Kingdom edit   Wikipedia in other Scottish languages Wikipedia ann an Gàidhlig na h-Alba and Scots Wikipaedia edit   Associated Wikimedia Scotland on Wikibooks  Scotland on Wikimedia Commons Scotland on Wikinews  Scotland on Wikiquote  Scotland on Wikisource  Scotland on Wikiversity  Scotland on Wiktionary  Manuals and books Images and media News Quotations Texts Learning resources Definitions What are portals? · List of portals · Featured portals Purge server cache