Traveling to a city and being able to take a tour with a local guide is something that is sometimes recommended so as not to miss anything. More and more destinations are offering local guides in the Spanish language, something that was previously only possible in English.
We had the opportunity to chat with Jaime Imbernón, one of those responsible for Travel Scotland, a company that was born 6 years ago in Edinburgh, and that was a pioneer in offering tours and guided tours in Spanish with local guides. The idea of starting such a project was due to a need, the possibility of visit Scotland on your own And wanting to hire local guides who spoke your own language was non-existent before they appeared.
Below you have an index with all the points that we are going to deal with in this article.
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Spanish tourism in Scotland
The luck that the British adore the Sun and love to spend their holidays in Spain has led to a multitude of low cost airlines between the UK and Spanish airports. Thanks to these air connections, more and more Spaniards have been encouraged to travel freely to British destinations. We leave you with a wonderful Scotland time-lapse so that you can see all the beauty of this nation in motion.
This massive arrival of Spaniards has been one of the keys to the rapid growth of Travel Scotland. They currently have more than 50 people working. This team is made up mostly of Spaniards. People who went to live in Scotland for different reasons, many escaping the crisis that Spain is going through and others had already been living in Great Britain for some time. But they all had a passion for Scotland, a passion that they have now turned into a way of life.
What you should know before traveling
If your mother tongue is Spanish and your next destination is Scotland, you should take into account a series of practical tips to survive in cultural terms, especially if your level of English is not too high. This is so because the Scots, although they speak British English, have a series of characteristic words and expressions that are not taught in English academies or courses and that, if they are not learned, are difficult for tourists to understand. So, here is a basic guide to words and expressions essential to survive in Scotland.
1. Aye y nae
This simple word so unusual if heard for the first time does not mean anything other than Yes and is pronounced / ai /. For its part, No. also has its own form in Scotland and this is nae.
2. Bonnie
Scots have another synonym for typicals beautiful, nice, pretty, etc. and it is this word that is pronounced / boni /. Actually, for the Spanish it is not a very difficult term to remember since it is very similar to our word nice. It is usually used to refer to people, to describe them both physically and psychologically.
3. Coo
Coo, pronounced / ku: / (unlike cow, which is pronounced / kaʊ /), is a word that will come in handy if you visit the Highlands or Highlands, as it refers to the famous cows that inhabit this part of Scotland.
4. Ceilidh
Una Ceilidh (pronounced / ´keili /) is a type of party, not a show, contrary to what is commonly thought. This type of party draws a lot of attention from tourists; however, if you go to one you must participate and dance like the rest of the participants.
5. Ken
This word means to know, in other words, know. So, for example, if a Scotsman wants to say I don't know, Meaning I dont know, would say i dinnae ken.
6. auld
auld means old, this is, old age and it is used very frequently in Scotland since the capital was formerly known by the ombre of Auld reekie.
7. Ben
This term comes from the Gaelic beinn and is used to talk about mountain. This is a very relevant term for the tourist, since maps could be found in the city in which reference to mountains is made under the name . It is due to the name Ben Nevis, the highest point in the British Isles.
8. Firth
The term firth, like the previous one, refers to a type of geographical enclave. Equals estuary and, effectively, it means estuary.
9. Hogmanay
This is the Scottish word that is used to name New Years Eve, in English called New Year's Eve.
10. hoose
This word comes from the Middle English term house o hus and these in turn from Old German husk. Scots use it as equivalent to house, in other words, Home o property.
11. Kirk
Una kirk it is nothing more than a church, although this term is used precisely because it refers to the Church of Scotland. Derived from Greek kyriakon, Meaning the House of the Lord.
12. Hole
We recommend you learn this term because you are going to hear it ad nauseam, especially if you travel to Loch Ness, called Loch Ness and not Lake ness contrary to what is usually thought. All Scottish lakes are called hole except Mind Lake. The correct pronunciation of hole is / lok /.
13. Lassie y lady
Mean girl y chico respectively. Its use is due to the Scottish author Sir Robert Burns, who frequently used these terms both in his songs and in his poems.
14. tattoo
A term of utmost importance when it comes to tasting Scottish gastronomy. He tattoo It is the main accompaniment to Scotland's quintessential dish: haggis. It is often spoken of Haggis, neeps and tattiesWhere neeps means turnips y tattoos equivalent to potatoes.
15. woe
Although it is an informal term, it is used very frequently and can be seen in many shops, especially on the Royal Mile (Edinburgh). woe means little and is used in the same contexts in which it would be used little.
16. nae bother
They have taught us that when someone tells us Thank you the answer is You're welcome, but the Scots will rather respond to us with this expression, whose meaning is the same. The pronunciation is / nei wedding /.
17. cannabis y dinnae
cannabis y dinnae are equivalent to can not y do not respectively. Its pronunciation is / canni / for the first and / denni / for the second.
18. Shit
The meaning of this term can be easily guessed given its similarity. Effectively, shite means shit and is pronounced / ʃaɪt /.
19. Hair
The term her It is genuinely Scottish as it refers to the marine fog that usually emerges from the North Sea and covers all the coastal towns of the eastern part of Scotland, including Edinburgh.
20. crabbit
Equivalent to English adjectives crabbed o grumpy and is used when someone is moody or irascible.
Activities and places to visit
In its catalog, Travel Scotland It has more than 30 activities to be carried out, all of them in Spanish. From excursions to see different parts of Scotland to visits to monuments, distilleries, nature parks or visits to different Scottish towns and cities.
Each year they have grown considerably and during 2014 they sold more than 40.000 activities. These activities in Spanish fill a void in an industry that was previously non-existent, while creating jobs in a sector so specific and unexplored to date in Scotland.
They practically touch the entire Scottish geography and through their excursions we can visit the famous Loch Ness or the Isle of Skye, visit distilleries or castles, perform Guided tours in Edinburgh, Stirling, Glasgow ... or any tour as the traveler has in his head. In the following sections, you will find a list of the best excursions that can be done in Scotland.
Loch Ness, Isle of Skye and the Highlands
The Isle of Skye has extraordinary landscapes and a Viking history that includes many curious myths and legends. Since it is quite a few kilometers from Edinburgh, a visit to this island is worth a stay of at least two nights in the village of Kyleakin or its surroundings. In fact, on the way to the island you can stop at Loch Ness, Inverness, Dunkeld, Pitlochry, Glencoe Valley and Eilean Donan Castle.
On the way to Loch Ness and the Highlands from Edinburgh you can enjoy one of the best ways to see the heart of Scotland. Along the way, you travel Stirling through the Trossachs National Park until reaching the Rannoch Moor, where we will find a landscape in which mountains and valleys alternate that awaken the magic of Scotland.
Passing these mandatory stops, you can not miss a tour of Fort William, at the foot of Ben Nevis, that is, the highest mountain in Great Britain as explained above. Finally, after an excursion through the Great Valley, where Lake Linhe and Lake Lochy are crossed, we will be a little closer to our destination, specifically, in Forth Augustus. In the following video you can see all that the landscape of Fort William has to offer:
Edinburgh
If there is a city in the world with true charm, it is Edinburgh. There are thousands of options for tourists in the capital of Scotland, from the Old City (Old Town) to New Town (newtown). Mandatory stop is also Dean Village, a neighborhood located next to Princes Street, the main commercial area of the city, which leaves no one indifferent.
Leith is another of the most beautiful corners of Scotland, located north of the city. In Leith is the port of Edinburgh and constitutes one of the main ports of the British Isles. Also, in this area we can go on a quiet walk to one of the busiest areas: the Leith Walk.
The Botanical Gardens and Inverleith Park are two other essential stops on our tour of Edinburgh, as well as Calton Hill and Arthur's Seat, the lion-shaped mountain that attracts thousands of tourists every day and next to which is Holyrood, the residence officer of the Queen isabel II in Scotland, and the Scottish Parliament.
Kingdom of fife
This excursion is another of the most complete that can be done during our trip to Scotland and in which more typical elements of its lands can be discovered, especially the whiskey and golf.
En Stirling, a city located in the central region of Scotland, you can visit its castle, as well as the William Walace monument or, simply, take a walk around the city and discover its beauty. Stirling Castle summarizes the history of Scotland, including the wars of independence and the Stuart dynasty. Inside the castle you can enjoy elements such as the Queen's apartments, the XNUMXth century roeles, her paintings and her characteristic tapestries.
Another very interesting point during this itinerary is the visit to a distillery, where there is the possibility of a tasting to savor an authentic Scotch whiskey. In the surroundings you can enjoy the Gleneagles Valley, the North Sea and finally St. Andrews.
Glasgow
From Edinburgh to Glasgow it takes an hour or so on a 70km journey. The first stop once in Glasgow will be the cathedral, which is characterized as the only medieval cathedral that has survived the Protestant Reformation. Also, another mandatory stop is the Necropolis, at least a surprising place in Glasgow.
Continuing with our trip, you can take a route on the banks of the River Clyde, an area that has been revalued and promoted in recent years, which in turn has contributed to beautifying current and modern Glasgow. In this same route, two green spaces are essential: Green Park y Kelvingrove Park.
Rosslyn, Hadrian's Wall and Lowlands
This tour takes us into the secrets of medieval architecture in the Scottish Lowlands. It includes the Rosslyn Chapel and Jedburgh Abbey, the Anglo-Scottish border, Hadrian's Wall and Melrose.
First of all, Rosslyn Chapel has become the most famous religious chapel in all of Scotland. Located about 13 km from Edinburgh, it is a Gothic-style building that was built in the mid-XNUMXth century. However, today it is famous especially because it was used in Dan Brown's novel titled The Da Vinci Code.
After this visit, the next point is the Lowlands, where the green color predominates let us look at the point we are looking at. We will arrive at Jedburgh, a small town located very close to the Anglo-Scottish border and we will also be able to enjoy the four great abbeys of southern Scotland.
Finally, you cannot end this tour without stopping at a historic Scottish gem. We talk about the famous Hadrian's Wall, one of the most important Roman monuments in the world.
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