From Glasgow, it was very easy to visit the charming islands of Arran, known as “Scotland in miniature”, and Bute. Both islands being in the Firth of Clyde, sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre Peninsula, they are ideal destinations for a day out, especially for people living in urban areas like Glasgow. The 3-day tour to Mull was a real immersion, not only … Continue reading May in Scotland: Part 3 – The islands
The second leg of our journey in Scotland lasted nine days. If our base remained in Glasgow, we divided this stay into two different themes: first, the exploration of the cultural and architectural treasures of Scotland’s biggest city (4 days), and second, several excursions in the Isles of Arran, Bute, Mull and Iona (5 days). When I planned our stay in Glasgow, I expected to … Continue reading May in Scotland: Part 2 – Glasgow
Two years ago, I enjoyed so much my trip to the Highlands, that I promised myself I would go back to Scotland. I thus convinced my American friend, Lynda, to meet this Spring in Scotland and celebrate there our birthdays together. We carefully organized a two-week trip in the central and southern parts of Scotland, from Edinburgh and the Borders to Perthshire and Fife the … Continue reading May in Scotland: Part 1
The Alienated Manor, a drama written in 1798 by a long-forgotten Scottish author, Joanna Baillie, a photographic artwork created in 2015, Portrait of Charles Edward Stuart (after William Mosman) by the Scottish artist Calum Colvin, and a travelogue, A Tour thro’ the whole Island of Great Britain, written by Daniel Defoe in 1724-27? This “academic exercise” was an assignment given in 2021. You can find … Continue reading What’s the link between…
In May 2015, I had the opportunity to enrol in an intensive language course to improve my English. As I had never been to Scotland before, I chose a language school in Edinburgh, and extended the duration of my trip to do some sightseeing. With an English friend, I explored Edinburgh and the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park before the course. Then, a couple … Continue reading My first trip to Scotland
Travel diary from 4 to 17 June 2023 (Traduction FR en bas de la page) When I prepared my luggage for this trip to Scotland, I thought that a quilted jacket and a windcheater would allow me to adapt easily to any sudden change of weather in the Highlands and islands… to any but the extraordinary heatwave which lasted in Scotland for more than three … Continue reading My trip to the Highlands
To what extent might the multicultural language policies introduced since 2001 by the British and the Scottish governments to “revitalize” the Gaelic language effectively counter its relentless decline? Before English became the main language spoken in Scotland in the 18th century, there were different languages and dialects spoken across the country: whereas Gaelic was the dominant language in the Highlands and Islands—the Gàidhealtachd—the Lowlands adopted … Continue reading Is Gaelic becoming an extinct language in Scotland?
Since 1707, when the Scottish and the English Parliaments united to form the Parliament of Great Britain, education has been one of the areas (with the church and the law) reserved to Scotland. To what extent can the Scottish education system be judged today as providing more equity to its people – especially its students – than the English one? For most Western countries, education … Continue reading Equity in Scotland’s education system
The eternal student - anglophile version 