Scottish Islands

The Scottish Islands offer an enormous variety of scenery - from the barren, rocky Shetlands, fertile rolling pastureland of the Orkneys, to the condensed beauty of many of smaller Western Isles.  Possessing a rich ancient history, many islands retain strong Celtic, Irish and Scandinavian influences.  Discover a surprisingly diverse assortment of wildlife, marine life, birds and flowers around the islands.  Whales, dolphins and porpoises are largely undisturbed in their natural habitats.   Amongst the dozens of bird species are puffins, guillemots, white-tailed (sea) eagles and great northern divers.

Scotland is one of four constituent nations which form the United Kingdom and forms the northern part of the island of Great Britain.
Scotland is 31,510 sq. miles in area; it is 274 miles long from North to South and varies in breadth between 24 and 154 miles.
The official language is English, although Gaelic is spoken, primarily in the North and West of Scotland. The Scots language (which has many similarities to English, but also draws on French and Gaelic) is also spoken. Whereas Gaelic is the language of the Highlands & Islands, Scots is the language of the Lowlands.
The national flower is the thistle, although the heather which covers significant moorland areas is also closely associated with the country, providing peat for the fire and, along with lichens, dyes for tartan.