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November/December 2009 The Travel & Leisure Magazine 45 For Scotsman Robin McKelvie, there’s no place like back home in Scotland to celebrate Hogmanay, but he says its welcoming cities make a great escape any time in winter on your DOORSTEP SCOTLAND’S CITIES I t was probably when I had been hugged by a stranger for around the 100th time, with my body warmed by whisky that made Edinburgh’s remarkable castle manage to shine even brighter in its snow-kissed beauty, that I decided there was no better place in the world to be for Hogmanay. As a native Scot, I have tried festive breaks in Australia, America and across on the continent, but nothing beats Scotland’s cities for a break over the festive season and on into the NewYear. Hogmanay for many Scots is even more important than Christmas. This NewYear’s Eve fiesta swirls in pagan traditions. On the Isle of Skye the hide from a beast killed during the day used to be burned, with every guest having to sniff the smoke to ward off evil spirits.Young boys cov- ered themselves with the hide of the bull, with the horns and hoofs still attached. Less gruesome tradi- tions continue to this day. It used to be considered good luck for the “first footer” of the year to step into your house to be a dark-haired male stranger carrying a lump of coal, symbolising warmth and fuel. The P.Tomkins/VisitScotland/ScottishViewpoint Glasgow City Marketing Bureau Main pic: Glasgow on Ice – St George Square. Inset: Ceilidh revellers

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For Scotsman Robin McKelvie, there’s no place like back home in Scotland to celebrate Hogmanay, but he says its welcoming cities make a great escape any time in winter

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November/December 2009 The Travel & Leisure Magazine 45

For Scotsman Robin McKelvie, there’s no place like backhome in Scotland to celebrate Hogmanay, but he says itswelcoming cities make a great escape any time in winter

on your DOORSTEPSCOTLAND’S CITIES

It was probably when I had beenhugged by a stranger for around the100th time, with my body warmedby whisky that made Edinburgh’sremarkable castle manage to shineeven brighter in its snow-kissed

beauty, that I decided there was no betterplace in the world to be for Hogmanay.

As a native Scot, I have tried festivebreaks in Australia, America and across onthe continent, but nothing beats Scotland’scities for a break over the festive season andon into the New Year.

Hogmanay for many Scots is even moreimportant than Christmas. This New Year’sEve fiesta swirls in pagan traditions. On theIsle of Skye the hide from a beast killed duringthe day used to be burned, with every guesthaving to sniff the smoke to wardoff evil spirits. Young boys cov-ered themselves with the hideof the bull, with the horns andhoofs still attached.

Less gruesome tradi-tions continue to this day.It used to be consideredgood luck for the “firstfooter” of the year tostep into your house tobe a dark-haired malestranger carrying a lumpof coal, symbolisingwarmth and fuel. TheP.T

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■ Main pic: Glasgow on Ice – St George Square.Inset: Ceilidh revellers

46 The Travel & Leisure Magazine November/December 2009

“first foot” spirit of friendliness is still alivein all of Scotland’s cities with visitors fromall over the world welcome to join the party,a party that these days often starts in earlyDecember and runs right into the New Year.

Plan earlyYou will need to plan early if you want toenjoy a festive break up north. Edinburghgets totally booked, while Glasgow can fol-low suit and Stirling, Dundee, Aberdeenand Inverness all get busy. The nationaltourist office, Visit Scotland, has a website(www.visitscotland.com) that has links toall sorts of accommodation and a handy tipis to look at the suburbs too.

Edinburgh is at the heart of the festiveaction. One of Europe’s most scenic cities, itis just made for strolling around. Myfavourite walk is starting at the landmarkcastle and then easing down the cobbles ofthe Royal Mile (which Daniel Defoethought was the “finest street in the world”),taking in the swathes of history, not to men-tion bars, cafes and restaurants, en route tothe Queen’s base when she is in town, thegrand Palace of Holyrood.

Edinburgh is a city that is constantly evolv-ing and newer attractions include Our DynamicEarth, a hands-on multimedia trip through theearth’s history that is ideal for families. Forgrown-ups, Edinburgh now boasts fourMichelin star restaurants, with perhaps thefinest The Kitchin (www.thekitchin.com),with award-winning TV chef Tom Kitchin atthe helm. Anyone who harbours any anachro-nistic images of Scotland as all tartan andshortbread will enjoy the branch of HarveyNichols and central Edinburgh’s newest street,Multrees Walk, which is replete with Armani,Firetrap and Louis Vuitton.

Aside from Hogmanay, Edinburgh’sChristmas (www.edinburghschristmas.com)from November 28 to January 4 makes thecapital surely the most festive city in the UK.AFerris wheel burls visitors around the skyline,while below the bountiful stalls of a Christmasmarket and an ice rink in the shadow of the cas-tle help add to the seasonal mood.

Street partyLess than an hour by train from Edinburghis Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city and cur-rently one of Europe’s hippest city-breakdestinations. Their Hogmanay street party isa rival for Edinburgh these days and thecity’s new image as “Scotland with Style” isnot just a tourist slogan. Glasgow 2009-stylehas reinvented its lavish Georgian centrewith myriad chic designer shops, slick barsand quality restaurants.

The Glaswegian action flows around cen-

Beyond Scotland’s citiesThe countryside surrounding Scotland’s cities offers plenty to see and do off-season.An easy trip from Glasgow and Stirling lies The Trossachs, an area of gentle rolling hills,lofty mountains, forests, lochs and rivers I first discovered on a camping trip nearly 35years ago. In 2002, the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park became Scotland’sfirst national park, encompassing 720 square miles.There are many inns and guesthouses to escape the cities for a night or two, and

when I returned in late March this year I chose the friendly Inn & Bistro at Strathyre(www.innatstrathyre.com), owned and run by Jill and Stephen Nixon.A tasty drop ofone of the local brews washed down my favourite Scottish fare – haggis, neeps andtatties – left me refreshed after the long drive north from Essex and ready to explore.Year-round activities include hill walking, horse riding, cycling (the Sustrans National

Cycle Route Seven is on its doorstep) and golf, with great-value green fees at fivenearby courses through the National Park Golf Pass.The venerable SirWalter Scott steam ship, which cruises Loch Katrine from early

spring, is named after the author who popularised the region with his poems and novelRob Roy 200 years ago.That romanticised the exploits of a local outlaw now celebratedas a Scottish folk hero.The Rob Roy & Trossachs Visitor Centre in Callander showcaseshis life and the region.Among endearing local sights are shaggy-coated and long-horned Highland cattle, and

one has become a star.You can see Hamish in his pen at the TrossachsWoollen Mill inKilmahog.Wildlife abounds here and in other areas near the cities.The Trossachs Bird of Prey

Trail (www.birdofpreytrail.com) takes in buzzards, ospreys and Scotland’s only redkite feeding station, at Argaty, which is open throughout the winter.I watched nesting ospreys from a hide at the beautiful Loch of the Lowes reserve in

Perthshire, where they visit from March or April until August. Cute red squirrelsgallivanted just yards away. Pine martens and even otters can also be seen here.At the historic Dalhousie Castle hotel near Edinburgh, the Dalhousie Castle Falconry

(www.dalhousiecastle.co.uk/falconry.asp) offers first-hand experience of birds ofprey with a five-day falconry course as well as displaying hawks, falcons, eagles and owls.

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■ Dalhousie Castle

■ The Inn & Bistro at Strathyre ■ A red squirrel at the Loch of the Lowes

tral George Square, a plaza as impressiveas any in the UK, which is the centre-piece in mid-November when the city’sChristmas lights are switched on andWinterfest follows suit.

From here, a flurry of world-classgalleries and museums are within easyreach, including the Kelvingrove, themost-visited museum in the UK out-side London, and the locals’ choice,the thrillingly-unique BurrellCollection – an eclectic art collectionreclining in woodland in the city’s leafysuburbs.

I reckon Glasgow also offers the bestshopping in the UK outside London. Themain thoroughfare of Buchanan Street ispedestrianised and there are covered malls forwhen the weather sweeps in, such as BuchananGalleries, with all the usual high street stores,and Princes Square, an oasis of designer namesthat would not be out of place in Milan.

Scotland’s newest city, Stirling, is asdeeply historic as Edinburgh. The old townreminds me of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile with-

out the tourists, especially at this time ofyear, while most Scots prefer the castlehere to Edinburgh’s. The hallowednames of William “Braveheart”Wallace and Robert the Bruce echoaround the ramparts, while the strikingWallace Monument strides outamongst a panorama of mighty moun-tains. Stirling also boasts a pedestri-anised shopping district and easyaccess into the hilly Trossachs.

UnderratedEurope’s oil capital, Aberdeen, is for me

a criminally-underrated city, evenamongst Scots. Its core is a riot of granite

– hence its nickname, the “Granite City” –and the city has also won innumerableawards for its famous flower displays,which brighten up all that mighty grey gran-ite. It boasts sweeping sandy beaches thatare ideal for bracing winter strolls, a flurryof museums and chic restaurants that aregeared up to all that oil wealth.

Scotland’s other two cities also tempt at

November/December 2009 The Travel & Leisure Magazine 47

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■ Stirling Castle after a snowfall

■ The Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow

■ Traditional Music in theRoyal Mile Tavern, Edinburgh

■ The GlasgowSchool of Art

this time of year. Dundee has bracing beach-es of its own, a pedestrianised shoppingprecinct, the striking RRS Discovery (theship that once took Captain Scott to theAntarctic) and the scenic Angus Glens on itsdoorstep. Inverness, meanwhile, is the“Capital of the Highlands” with a goodchance of snow. Its famous monster-hauntedloch lies nearby and its namesake River Nessalso eases through the city, adding charm,with a fairytale castle nestling high aboveand some impressively-stylish restaurants onhand in Scotland’s fastest growing city.

As a native of Edinburgh I have to standby my city as being number one for a festivebreak, home to the world’s finest New Yearparty and the nation’s number one city break.

In Scotland these days, though, there areanother five buzzing cities that all make seri-ous efforts to conjure up the festive spirit,hold wildly-fun Hogmanay parties and makefor an ideal city break over the festive periodand in to the cosy winter months beyond.

48 The Travel & Leisure Magazine November/December 2009

Getting thereNumerous airlines fly to Scottish cities including British Airways(www.ba.com), Flybe (www.flybe.com), Ryanair (www.Ryanair.com) andEasyjet (www.easyjet.com).The fastest way of getting tothe Scottish cities by train is usually with NationalExpress East Coast(www.nationalexpresseastcoast.com).

AccommodationHotels span a wide range of price brackets. Hereare some options, from luxury to more affordable:Edinburgh:The Howard(www.townhousecompany.com/the_howard), MercurePoint Hotel (www.mercure.com).Glasgow: The newly-opened, luxury Blythswood Square(www.blythswoodsquare.com),Malmaison (www.malmaison-glasgow.com).Stirling:Adamo Hotel (www.adamohotels.com), Park Lodge Hotel(www.parklodge.net).Aberdeen: Marcliffe (www.marcliffe.com), Simpson’s(www.simpsonshotel.co.uk).Dundee:Apex Hotel (www.apexhotels.co.uk), Queen’s Hotel(www.queenshotel-dundee.com)Inverness: Rocpool (www.rocpool.com), Heath Mountain Hotel(www.heathmounthotel.com).

Top attractionsEdinburgh: Edinburgh Castle (www.edinburghcastle.gov.uk), NationalMuseum (www.nms.ac.uk).Glasgow: Kelvingrove Gallery (www.glasgowmuseums.com), BurrellCollection (www.glasgowmuseums.com).Stirling: Stirling Castle (www.historic-scotland.gov.uk), Old Town Jail(www.oldtownjail.com).Aberdeen:Aberdeen Art Gallery (www.aagm.co.uk),Aberdeen MaritimeMuseum (www.aagm.co.uk).Dundee: Discovery Point (www.rrsdiscovery.com), Dundee ContemporaryArts (www.dca.org.uk).Inverness: Inverness Castle (www.castleuk.net), Culloden Battlefield(www.nts.org.uk/culloden).

More informationVisit Scotland:www.visitscotland.com/whiteinvite

Robin McKelvie is a travel writer basedin his native Scotland who has had his fairshare of rather merry whisky-fuelledNewYear parties around the world, butwho knows that there is only oneHogmanay.

Hogmanay eventsEdinburgh: Edinburgh’s Hogmanay 2010Action-packed 5 day programme withMadness and the Noisettes performing atthe Concert in the Gardens on Hogmanay.www.edinburghshogmanay.org

Glasgow:Glasgow HogmanayCelebrationsEnjoy Scotland’s hottest acts, includingTommy Reilly, on the Big Stage and thenmarvel at the impressive fireworks display onGeorge Square.www.winterfestglasgow.com

Stirling: Stirling’s Hogmanay: Party at theCastleMassed pipes and drums, Sandi Thom,X Factor stars the Macdonald Brothers, andStars in their Eyes winner for his FreddieMercury impersonation, Gary Mullen, plusfireworks.www.stirlinghogmanay.co.uk

Aberdeen: Aberdeen’sWinter FestivalHogmanayFinal details still to be announced.www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/hogmanay

Inverness: Inverness Hogmanay – RedHot Highland FlingBringing the Inverness Winter Festival to aclose in Northern Meeting Park Arena withthe effervescent Red Hot Chilli Pipers, theBlazin’ Fiddles and the Peatbog Faeries.www.invernessfestivals.com

Dundee:No official events yet announced, but alwaysa party night in a city dense with bars andclubs.

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Scotland’s cities facts

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■ View of Edinburghfrom Carlton Hill

■ Edinburgh