Scotland is a unique and austere place， laden with history， where you can find aristocratic palaces and castles， as well as the tradilional parades in national costumes. It has some of the most beautiful cities in Europe， a living testimony of a proud and splendid past.

In order to see and discover the true soul of Scotland today， what forged the charader of this splendid region， we have to go towards the norlhern regions， to the Grampian Mountains. Beautiful and unspoiled， it was difficult to farm.The Scats subdued the environment with simple spades and strong arms.

The historys of this ancient struggle， and its peoples ancient love affair with the hard land， is enclosed within the walls of the Angus Folk Museum. You are able to get a feel of the typical rural atmosphere of times pasl from the everyday artifacts displayed here.

From coastal Aberdeen in towards the interior of the Grampian Mountains there runs the Castle Trail， a road that touches on many fortresses， which are witnesses of continual revolts against the dominion of neighboring England in Scottish history.

Perhaps the most uplifting moment for Scottish autonomyis the one experienced inside this ancient abbey of Arbroath， where， in 1320； the Declaration of Independence was celebrated， at the instigation of King Robed the Bruce. He carriedout the plan for autonomy drawn up by the great popular hero William Wallace， to whom cinema has dedicated the wonderful film Brave heart， the winner of five Oscars.

This is Glamis Castle. It is often remembered for being the residence of King Macbeth and Queen Elizabeth inher childhood. Among the most assiduous guests here are the inevitable ghosts， which are nourished， if not actually created， by ancient popular beliefs. These have been handed down over the centuries by a people inclined to live with mystery， with he forces of the super natural.

Another attraction here is a legendary monster： the Loch Ness Monster. Is it real or imaainary， this monster. which has been nick named Nessie， has colleded a good 3000 sightseers over the last 50 years？To fuel the debate about themonster， and perhaps also curiosity about the lake， a price of 500，000 pounds sterling has been put on Nesses head.

The true flag of Scotland， tartan， is recognizable from the brightly coloured plaid pafterns which are used to distinguish the various clans. Over the last few decades this fabric has made a come back and is padt of the daily life of this country.

The typical Scottish garment， the kilt， is de rigueur when the Scots play the Great Highland bagpipes， especially when they march in parades.

Bagpipes and reels open the competitions of local sporting events， which are called Highland Gatherings. The games， which have strange rules， involve a spirit that has mare to da with brute farce than with athletics.

蘇格蘭是一個獨特的地方，歷史厚重。豪門望族的府第與城堡以及穿著傳統(tǒng)服裝的游行隨處可見。它有些城市是歐洲最美麗的，訴說著蘇格蘭昔日的榮耀與輝煌。

想體驗和發(fā)現(xiàn)今日的蘇格蘭的真正靈魂，也就是鑄造這個輝煌地區(qū)特點的東西，就得去北部的格蘭扁山區(qū)。格蘭扁山區(qū)景色怡人，決無污染，曾一度不適合耕作，蘇格蘭人硬是憑著簡單的鋤頭、鐵鍬和他們的雙手征服了生存環(huán)境。

蘇格蘭先民的艱苦勞作史以及他們自古對這片貧瘠土地的眷戀，在安格斯民俗博物館里一覽無余。從這里展出的平常物品中，你能夠感受到那種典型的往日鄉(xiāng)間氣氛。

有一條古堡之路從沿海的阿白丁一直蜿蜒到格蘭扁山區(qū)深處。沿途很多昔日的要塞，都是蘇格蘭在歷史上不斷反抗英格蘭統(tǒng)治的見證。

蘇格蘭爭取自治的過程中最大快人心的時刻莫過于1320年，在古老的阿布羅斯修道院，在羅伯特·布魯斯國王的鼓動下慶賀《獨立宣言》。布魯斯采納了傳奇英雄威廉·華萊士所獻的計策，完成了自治大業(yè)，這個故事后來被改編成精彩的電影《勇敢的心》。并獲五項奧斯卡大獎。

格拉姆斯城堡之所以名聞遐邇，卻是因為這里是蘇格蘭國王麥克佩斯與兒時的伊麗莎白女王的住所。如今這里最常見之客當(dāng)數(shù)無法規(guī)避的幽靈，這些幽靈如果不是憑空捏造的，也就是源于世代相傳的古老信仰。蘇格蘭人似乎生來就就喜歡與神秘事物生活在一起，篤信超自然的力量，因此才有了這些世代相傳的傳說和幽靈。

這里的另一個看點則是充滿傳奇色彩的尼斯湖的怪獸。真假姑且不論，這個昵稱尼西的怪獸在過去的半個世紀(jì)中已經(jīng)吸引了3，000余名游客。如今它頭上有50萬英鎊的懸賞，更使得關(guān)于它是否存在的爭論日益激烈，或許對該湖的好奇也會日盛吧。

蘇格蘭格子呢是蘇格蘭真正的旗幟。它色彩鮮明的花格子圖案曾經(jīng)是區(qū)分不同宗族的標(biāo)志。在過去幾十年里。格子呢在蘇格蘭再度流行，如今則已在日常生活中不可或缺。

蘇格蘭傳統(tǒng)的褶裥短裙按照禮節(jié)是應(yīng)該在蘇格蘭人演奏著名的高地風(fēng)笛時穿的，尤其是列隊前進的時候。

風(fēng)笛與雙人舞揭開了蘇格蘭高地運動盛會的序幕。運動會的比賽項目規(guī)則奇特，賽事的主題與其說是競技比賽，不如說是蠻力的較量。