Scotland’s autumn: the next ‘New England in the fall’

by ssc | Nov 28, 2013 | Blog

Craigvinean pine cone shelter overlooking Dunkeld (Copyright: Ronald Weir)

Every year, thousands of tourists make their way to New England, in the northeast corner of the United States of America, to witness one of nature’s most beautiful spectacles: New England in the fall. This part of the US is famed for its breath-taking autumn scenery, with the season’s turning leaves providing a vivid display that’s admired the world over. Often described in terms of ‘pyrotechnics’ and ‘fireworks’, this annual phenomenon is striking enough, and reliable enough, to draw tourists from all over the globe – often repeatedly. Visitor numbers peak from mid-September to early November, with tourists even planning their holiday around real-time foliage maps, or following the ‘turn’ as it spreads from the northern regions of Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire down into Massachusetts, Rhode Island and along the coast. New England in the fall is definitely on most travellers’ to-do lists, and rightly so, but what if you’re looking for something comparable closer to home?

Kinnoull Hill, Perthshire (Copyright: Mike Bell)

In recent years, we’ve seen the rise of the word ‘staycation’, coined to describe the decision to stay on your own patch for a holiday, whether because you’re trying to save a bit of cash, have a young family who can’t yet endure long-haul without meltdown, or because you simply feel you don’t know your own country. For those looking for an autumn foliage staycation, there are few better places to make your temporary home than Scotland. Surprised? Take another look at these photos – they’re not taken in New England, but in some of Scotland’s most ancient and striking woodlands.

Admittedly, you won’t find the sheer acreage of deciduous woodland that you may witness in the US, but what you may lose in size, you gain in accessibility, beauty, biological diversity, and perhaps most importantly, ecological importance. For ancient oakwoods, incorporating oak, birch, holly, rowan and hazel, head to Taynish, to Loch Lomond, and to the woods of Glen Nant and Glasdrum, all within driving distance of Stirling. For birchwoods, explore Craigellachie – minutes from Aviemore – as well as Muir of Dinnet in Grampian. Our rarer, ancient ashwoods can be found in Glasdrum, the Clyde Valley Woods, and in Argyll’s Ballachuan Hazel Wood, which also offers the (often misunderstood) Atlantic Hazel. And you won’t just see trees either – ornithologists will be rewarded with rare bird sightings, while lepidopterists (moth and butterfly fans to the layman) have the chance to see some interesting species too – and that’s not even mentioning the rare and ancient ferns, lichens, mosses and liverworts for those with eyes downward. If you want to find out more about these locations and a little bit of habitat science too, Scottish Natural Heritage can tell you everything you need right here: www.snh.gov.uk/about-scotlands-nature/habitats-and-ecosystems/woodland/

Loch Faskally, Pitlochry (Copyright: Perthshire Picture Agency)

For those who are just plain giddy about the sheer spectacle of ‘leaf peeping’, there is enough going on in Scotland to make your foliage staycation an annual event. And if Stirlingshire is your base, you needn’t stray far. Perthshire has even earned itself the title ‘Big Tree Country’, where you can find Europe’s oldest tree, the world’s highest hedge, and Shakespeare’s Birnam Wood in present day. You may even want to take part in the Tree Hugging World Record attempt on 1 December this year. Whatever your focus, if you’re planning the ultimate autumn holiday for next year, you probably want to prioritise the stunning and easily accessible sites recommended for leaf peeping by www.perthshirebigtreecountry.co.uk, as well as the new and interesting ways they suggest to view them too. Hot air balloon, anyone? Genius.

So, isn’t it time we saw our own country’s autumn in a new light? Instead of boarding a cramped and expensive flight to add some much-needed colour to the shortening days, why not plan the holiday of a lifetime right here in Scotland, and pay attention, for once, to the burnished tapestry of our very own beautiful, wild and ancient landscape.

Thanks to www.perthshirebigtreecountry.co.uk for permission to use images from their library.

Scotland is the third best country to visit!

by ssc | Nov 15, 2013 | Blog

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 700^th 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. 

The ‘Waitrose Effect’: Making Stirling even more attractive?

by ssc | Nov 7, 2013 | Blog

Waitrose has recently opened stores in Helensburgh and Stirling

The Waitrose – or ‘posh’ – effect has attracted more than a few column inches in the press in recent weeks, as new Waitrose stores have opened in Helensburgh, and in Stirling city centre. What is the ‘Waitrose effect’? Well, estate agents UK-wide have observed that house prices in the vicinity of Waitrose stores can rise by around 25 percent, with some claiming that house values in certain areas are boosted by as much as twice that. It seems that local business reaps benefits too, with evidence to suggest that small businesses like delis, restaurants and cafes are more likely to invest in an area when they discover that a Waitrose is planned for the neighbourhood. With frequent sightings of Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, skipping happily across Anglesey’s Waitrose car park, scooting her trolley between admiring onlookers, it’s pretty clear that Waitrose meets with royal approval too.

So, specifically, what does the Waitrose opening in January mean for Stirling? We’ve yet to see what effect the presence of the new Waitrose store in the Burghmuir area of Stirling will do to house prices, but what is clear is that the arrival of Waitrose proves that yet another trusted brand classes Stirling as a great place to put down some roots. While some commentators view this Waitrose ‘seal of approval’ as snobbery, you have to admit that having big, trusted names nearby can give a city and its inhabitants confidence: confidence to stay, confidence to raise their children there, and confidence to invest in a city they’re proud of.

Whatever the prevailing views are on the Waitrose effect, there’s no denying that the store’s arrival has brought welcome focus to a previously under-utilised area of the city of Stirling, heading up the main route out to Bannockburn. And on that count, the timing couldn’t be better. With high-profile preparations under way for the 700^th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn in 2014, this part of Stirling will be increasingly under the tourism spotlight. A re-enactment of the famous battle of Bannockburn, so integral to the Scottish psyche, will be central in Scotland’s ‘Year of Homecoming’ events calendar in 2014, itself expected to attract thousands of visitors from across the world.

So, while no sane person would choose to holiday in a city just because it boasts a Waitrose, it’s probable that the store’s presence will have positive and long-lasting effects on tourism. The Waitrose name joins an already impressive list of vendors in the city centre that offer shopping choices that range from big brands in the city’s pedestrian precinct and Thistles Arcade to locally grown produce in Port Street farmers’ markets. The city is increasingly becoming not only a destination for history, culture and the arts, but an ever more desirable place to spend an afternoon shopping, whether that be behind a trolley in the sparkly new Waitrose, or wending cobbled streets to buy straight from the farmer across a gingham-covered market stall.

Photograph courtesy of Waitrose Media Centre.