Scotland

Take the high road or the low road - just get there.

Honed by long competition with its English neighbours, buoyant Scotland has survived encroachment, brass-monkey weather and invasion by stand-up comedians. Its people are feisty, opinionated and fiercely loyal. The countryside is a wild, beautiful tumble of raw mountain peaks and deep glassy lakes.

There's a plethora of tartan-checked beaten tracks across this land, but even in well-thumbed tourist hubs like Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Isle of Skye it's easy to veer off into one-of-a-kind adventures, usually involving extroverted locals. The brutal climate adds an edge to the whole experience.

In the wake of 2005's bombings in London and Glasgow, the British Home Office still rates the UK's terrorism threat level as severe. Travellers should exercise caution, monitor the media for any developments in the situation and expect delays at airports due to increased security measures.

Restrictions on airline cabin luggage are in place throughout the UK. For details check the UK Department for Transport website .