Stirling's award-winning Hogmanay celebrations with Stirling Castle as backdrop
Lonely Planet is an internationally renowned publishing brand associated with reliable, insightful travel guides. All the best globetrotters carry one or more battered copies in their backpack, and gaining the approval of their writers is something of a badge of honour for any travel destination. It’s no wonder, then, that Scotland is pretty excited about being ranked by Lonely Planet as the ‘third best country to visit in 2014’. Scotland was pipped at the post only by Brazil, World Cup hosts in 2014, and Antarctica, described as a place to ‘take life on and follow in the path of other intrepid explorers’.
So, what is it that is so special about Scotland just at this moment, just as we look forward to 2014? First up, Lonely Planet cite ‘Scotland’s jam-packed schedule of world-class events’ as being a big draw to the discerning traveller in 2014. For starters, Scotland will be hosting the Commonwealth Games for eleven days of top competition in July and August, and turning the eyes of the world to Glasgow, its spectacular and welcoming host city. Then, just days after the last athletes pack up their kit at the end of the Games, the world’s media will lift their cameras and head to the magnificent Gleneagles estate in Perthshire, less than 40 miles from the heart of Stirling. Here, the Ryder Cup, the world’s greatest tournament in match play golf, will be teeing off in September 2014, drawing visitors and big-name golfers from across the globe for five days of intense, if scenic, competition.
As a year-long backdrop to these two major dates, the nation will also be celebrating ‘Scotland’s Year of Homecoming’, a 12-month calendar of events that kicks off at the toll of midnight on Hogmanay. Stirling plays a central role in the Year of Homecoming, from its award-winning Hogmanay celebrations – this year headed up by Deacon Blue – to the 700th anniversary re-enactment of the Battle of Bannockburn, the Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival and the Spirit of Stirling Whisky Festival, amongst more than 160 other Stirling-based events. Lay that packed diary against Edinburgh’s annual festivals, add Scotland’s celebrated Highland Games fixtures, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a ‘slow news day’ in Scotland throughout 2014. If ever you thought about taking a year out to get to know a country, it’s 2014. And it’s Scotland.
Edinburgh's festivals attract performers and audiences from across the globe
But it’s not just Scotland’s events calendar that has distinguished the country in the eyes of the Lonely Planet panel. The guide cites the nation’s cities as beautiful and unique, describing Edinburgh for example as ‘the most gothic city outside Transylvania’. As an enduring and unblemished canvas that contrasts with Scotland’s cities, Lonely Planet also invites travellers to ‘take the high road north to Loch Lomond, Loch Ness and Cairngorms National Park and fall in love with the landscape’. Isn’t it this balance which Scotland does best? Within an hour’s drive from Glasgow, Edinburgh, or Stirling, any festival-jaded traveller can lose themselves in unrivalled scenery for breathing space, nature, and solitude. It’s perhaps that freedom – to immerse yourself in the hustle and yet so easily get away from it – that makes Scotland really quite a magical place.
Photo of Stirling Hogmanay courtesy of Stirling 2014. Festival performers photo courtesy of Edinburgh Festivals Media Centre.