Céad míle fáilte

Welcome to Scottish.biz - whether you are from Aberdeen, Aberystwyth,
Abbottabad or the Abemama Atoll we are delighted that you are visiting our website. Here you will find everything to do with our beautiful country of Scotland - with pictures of our majestic mountains and tranquil lochs and information on our history, people and language. You can find out about Scottish Clans, Tartans, Kilts, Ceilidhs, Lighthouses, Bagpipes, Midges, Monsters (even the Loch Ness Monster is here) and Ghosts (visit our webcams). And if that were not enough there is also Scottish Poetry, Songs and Nursery Rhymes for you to enjoy. If you need to know the weather in Scotland or get a road traffic report, we have that covered too. And check out our "Things to do in Scotland" section to find some great places to visit.

So please have fun on our website - and 'haste ye back'. 

Slàinte

Visit Our Other Scottish Websites:

Glaswegian

No' Rabbie Burns

Why Did the Haggis Cross the Road

Tattie Bogle Publishing

Whisky

Midge

Iona

Mull

Bute

Glasgow

Kilts

Advertise your product or website on Scottish.biz

Stop Press : New sighting of the Loch Ness Monster

On Sunday 3rd October 2010 Willie MacFibber (that's not his real name - he does not want publicity) was running the Loch Ness Marathon. As he ran along the lochside he felt the need to spend a penny. Standing near the shore he was sure he could see something large in the water. Luckily a little rowing boat was moored nearby. Willie climbed on and rowed towards the disturbance in the loch. He managed to take a few pictures before Nessie vanished once more.

More details :  Loch Ness Monster

Scottish Jokes

Kihara made a strong start in the Loch Ness Marathon and even by the mile mark had a decisive lead. However, as he rounded the next corner he was shocked to see a kilted figure a few hundred yards ahead of him. Annoyed that he wasn't in the lead he upped his pace. By the six mile mark he had reduced the gap enough to see that the leader was carrying a sheep under each arm. Kihara dug in deep but gradually the kilted runner increased his lead again. As he approached the hill at eighteen miles Kihara once again grew close to the leader. Pushing with all his might Kihara drew level at the top of the hill. Through puffs and pants he gasped to the Scotsman, 'Why are you making things so difficult for yourself - you could be leading by miles if you weren't carrying those sheep.'
'Och Ah'm no' in the race laddie,' replied the Scotsman, 'Ah jist grudge the bus fare tae take ma sheep tae the market.'
[From Why Did the Haggis Cross the Road by Stuart McLean]

More Scottish Jokes

 Map of Scotland

 Saltire - the Scottish Flag

The Flag of Scotland, also known as the Saint Andrew's Cross or The Saltire, is the national flag of Scotland. The Saltire differs from the Royal Standard of Scotland in that it is the Saltire that is the correct flag for all individuals and corporate bodies to fly in order to demonstrate both their loyalty and Scottish nationality. It is also, where possible, flown from Scottish Government buildings every day from 8am until sunset. According to legend, the Christian apostle and martyr Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, was crucified on an X-shaped cross at Patras,, in Achaea. Use of the familiar iconography of his martyrdom, showing the apostle bound to an X-shaped cross, first appears in the Kingdom of Scotland in 1180, during the reign of William I. This image was again depicted on seals used during the late 13th century; including on one particular example used by the Guardians of Scotland, dated 1286.

MORE : Scottish Lion Rampant

Scottish Nursery Rhyme

Here we go round the jingo-ring

Here we go round the jingo-ring,
The jingo-ring, the jingo-ring,
Here we go round the jingo-ring,
About the merry-ma-tanzie.


Twice about and then we fa',
Then we fa', then we fa',
Twice about and then we fa',
About the merry-ma-tanzie.


Choose your maidens all around,
All around, all around,
Choose your maidens all around,
About the merry-ma-tanzie.

More Scottish Nursery Rhymes

All things Scottish . . .

Scottish Piper

Girl in a mini kilt

Tossing the Caber

Robert Burns

Haggis climbing a mountain

Scottish Thistles

Scottish Whisky

Mull from Iona

Forth Railway Bridge

Loch Lomond

Buachaille Etive Mòr

Charles Rennie MacIntosh

Scottish Songs

Caledonia by Dougie MacLean

I don't know if you can see
The changes that have come over me.
In these last few days I've been afraid
That I might drift away
So I've been telling old stories, singing songs
That make me think about where I came from
And that's the reason why I seem
So far away today

Oh, but let me tell you that I love you
That I think about you all the time
Caledonia you're calling me
And now I'm going home
If I should become a stranger
You know that it would make me more than sad
Caledonia's been everything
I've ever had

Now I have moved and I've kept on moving
Proved the points that I needed proving
Lost the friends that I needed losing
Found others on the way
I have kissed the ladies and left them crying
Stolen dreams, yes there's no denying
I have travelled hard with coattails flying
Somewhere in the wind

(Chorus)
Now I'm sitting here before the fire
The empty room, the forest choir
The flames that could not get any higher
They've withered now they've gone
But I'm steady thinking my way is clear
And I know what I will do tomorrow
When the hands are shaken and the kisses flow
Then I will disappear

More Scottish Songs

Scottish Poems from No' Rabbie Burns by Stuart McLean:

A Hundred of Us Remain Alive


Chorus:
Honest men, let us fight for freedom,
Let us rise and be a nation once more,
Honest men, let us fight for freedom,
But maybe no’ ‘til East Enders is o’er.

Our history is slowly melting,
Washed away by the anaesthetic drips,
Of soap operas, computer games,
Instant coffee, burgers and chips.

The Highland Clearances no longer fires our rage,
The Declaration of Arbroath no longer fuels our pride,
Now we only don the kilt for weddings,
To smile at the camera and kiss the bride.

For centuries we fought for our wee bit hill and glen,
Rejoiced every victory and mourned each cruel defeat,
Now our only rebellious act is switching channel,
While the wife is watching Coronation Street.

At Bannockburn we stood strong and showed our might,
We died at Culloden but not without a bloody fight,
Now our patriotism is confined to the football stadium,
Accepting defeat as if it were our right.

O, Robert the Bruce where are you now?
Prince Charlie will your wife not let you come?
Or are there not a hundred of us remain alive,
Would even give up the telly to fight for our freedom?

Copyright Stuart McLean

More Scottish Poetry

For the Opening of the Scottish Parliament, 9 October 2004 by Edwin Morgan

Open the doors! Light of the day, shine in; light of the mind, shine out!

We have a building which is more than a building.
There is a commerce between inner and outer,
between brightness and shadow, between the world and those who think about the world.

Is it not a mystery? The parts cohere, they come together
like petals of a flower, yet they also send their tongues
outward to feel and taste the teeming earth.
Did you want classic columns and predictable pediments? A
growl of old Gothic grandeur? A blissfully boring box?
Not here, no thanks! No icon, no IKEA, no iceberg, but
curves and caverns, nooks and niches, huddles and
heavens syncopations and surprises. Leave symmetry to
the cemetery.
But bring together slate and stainless steel, black granite
and grey granite, seasoned oak and sycamore, concrete
blond and smooth as silk – the mix is almost alive – it
breathes and beckons – imperial marble it is not!

Come down the Mile, into the heart of the city, past the kirk
of St Giles and the closes and wynds of the noted ghosts of
history who drank their claret and fell down the steep
tenements stairs into the arms of link-boys but who wrote
and talked the starry Enlightenment of their days –
And before them the auld makars who tickled a Scottish king’s
ear with melody and ribaldry and frank advice –
And when you are there, down there, in the midst of things,
not set upon an hill with your nose in the air,
This is where you know your parliament should be
And this is where it is, just here.

What do the people want of the place? They want it to be
filled with thinking persons as open and adventurous as its
architecture.
A nest of fearties is what they do not want.
A symposium of procrastinators is what they do not want.
A phalanx of forelock-tuggers is what they do not want.
And perhaps above all the droopy mantra of ‘it wizny me’ is
what they do not want.
Dear friends, dear lawgivers, dear parliamentarians, you are
picking up a thread of pride and self-esteem that has been
almost but not quite, oh no not quite, not ever broken or
forgotten.
When you convene you will be reconvening, with a sense of not
wholly the power, not yet wholly the power, but a good
sense of what was once in the honour of your grasp.
All right. Forget, or don’t forget, the past. Trumpets and
robes are fine, but in the present and the future you will
need something more.
What is it? We, the people, cannot tell you yet, but you will know about it when we do tell you.
We give you our consent to govern, don’t pocket it and ride away.
We give you our deepest dearest wish to govern well, don’t say we
have no mandate to be so bold.
We give you this great building, don’t let your work and hope be other than great when you enter and begin.
So now begin. Open the doors and begin.

Claim your Free Spins at Online Casinos and play Loch Ness monster themed slot machines.