cotterkimbrough

© icelight

Edinburgh Castle is one of the most popular Scotland tourism attractions. It is the home of the Scottish Crown Jewels and a must-see for any tourist in Scotland. One of the other famous Scotland tourism attractions is the Loch Ness; Scotland's longest lake. It is 1,000 feet deep with inky-black waters. The legend of the Loch Ness monster was born at this major Scotland tourism attraction. The Isle of Skye boasts of jagged mountain peaks, waterfalls, pinnacles, exceptional gardens and squares of farmlands. This is one Scotland tourism attraction that symbolizes the highlands. The Culzean Castle is magnificent and its grounds became one of Scotland's first country parks. This Scotland tourism attraction includes a home farm, Great Gallery, Camellia House, Chinese-decorated private rooms and a saloon with Louis XVI furniture. These are just a few amongst the varied Scottish attractions.

© Ed.ward

The UK government has just announced that it is in the consultation stage of a proposed High Speed Rail route that would eventually allow for travel in Scotland and Britain on a massive, interlinked rail system. The proposed time-line now has construction set to begin in 2015.

The first stage of building would be a link between Birmingham and London, where it would serve a rebuilt Euston station, then a second phase would have it fork to Leeds and Manchester, and it the third stage it would go to Scotland. Of course, as with most major civic projects, not everyone thinks this is the best use of taxpayer funds. The opposition is concerned about the effect this development will have on the Chiltern landscape, as new routes would have to be cut through pristine countryside to construct the rail system. They argue that when the line is complete, an area the size of Manchester will have been concreted over.

© WohinAuswandern

In order to plug a budget hole in university funding, a Scottish Liberal Democrat leader has suggested that free bus travel in Scotland may have to be cut. Under the current system, those over 60 years old ride for free in the country, but he is proposing that new entrants to the program may end up paying fees going forward.

This would be part of an effort to continue to offer free higher education in Scotland, where universities are facing an annual funding gap of 93 million pounds. In England, the Tory/Lib Dem coalition has already backed plans to allow universities to raise student tuition fees as high as 9000 pounds to address the deficits. He said that current economic conditions has forced the society to make tough choices like this one.