As the glaciers of the last Ice Age receded, humans ventured into the far north, exploring a wild, fertile territory. Nomadic hunter-gatherers at first, they made the decision to stay for good
- to farm & to build. The landscapes they lived on were remarkable in their diversity. Vast forests of pine & birch ran through one of the world's oldest mountain ranges
- once as high as the Himalayas but over millennia scoured & compressed by sheets of ice a mile thick. On hundreds of islands around a saw-edged coastline, communities flourished, linked to each other & the wider world by the sea, the transport superhighway of ancient times. It was a place of challenges & opportunity. A place we know today as Scotl&. Over the past 10, 000 years, every inch of Scotland
- whether remote hilltop, fertile floodplain, or storm-lashed coastline
- has been shaped, changed & moulded by its people. No part of the land is without its human story. From Orkney's immaculately preserved Neolithic villages to Highland glens stripped of nineteenth century settlements, from a Skye peninsula converted to an ingenious Viking shipyard, to a sheer Hebridean clifftop used as the site of a spectacular lighthouse, Scotland's history is written into its landscapes in vivid detail. Scotland's Landscapes tells the enduring story of this interaction between man & his environment. stunning new imagery from the National Collection of Aerial Photography comes together to build up a picture of a dramatic terrain forged by thousands of years of incredible change. These are Scotland's landscapes as you have never seen or understood them before.



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Who were the first people to conquer Scotland's mountains, & why did they do it? In this ground-breaking book by a prizewinning author, Mitchell tells the story of explorations in the Highlands before mountaineering was big -- & when bandits, poachers & illic distillers used the mountains to hide in. With eight full-color illustrations by European masters & five detailed maps, this book is a must for mountaineers, historians, & those interested in the developing perception of a hidden part of Europe. ...

Scotland in the AA 100 Walks Series, exploring the 100 best walks of between 2 & 10 miles in mainland Scotl&, Skye & Orkney. Information panels introduce each walk in summary detail prior to the more in depth route descriptions, & also include suggestions for nearby car parks & details of relevant Ordnance Survey maps & grid references. Walks are organised by county within the guide & are portrayed on basic route maps which cover rural & urban areas, as well as park & woodl&. Walks are graded according to difficulty & steepness, with easy to follow guidelines. ...

Here is the new revised edition of Maclean`s classic work with a new added chapter by Magnus Linklater, who also revised the last edition, that brings the story of Scotland right up to date. Linklater examines how the new Scottish Parliament has fared & discusses significant events such as the controversies over the Holyrood parliament building, devolution & the transfer of taxation rights from Westminster, & the release of the Lockerbie bomber, as well as the fallout from the 2008 global financial crash & the debate about independence & the future of the United Kingdom now that the Scottish National Party is in power. ...

From the Ice Age to the recent Scottish Referendum, historian & author Alistair Moffat explores the history of the Scottish nation. As well as focusing on key moments in the nation`s history such as the Battle of Bannockburn & the Jacobite Risings, Moffat also features other episodes in history that are perhaps less well documented. From prehistoric timber halls to inventions & literature, Moffat`s tale explores the drama of battle, change, loss & invention interspersed with the lives of ordinary Scottish folk, the men & women who defined a nation. ...

Scotland Castles Map is a single-sided sheet showing over 800 castles & fortified houses in the country, accompanied by background & historical information, & an extensive list of sites of interest with contact details. On a base map of Scotland showing motorways, A roads, the rail network, airports & tourist information centres, major castles & fortified houses are displayed using a colour coding system to distinguish between those open to the public, those best viewed from outside & those privately owned. These are all indexed in a table listing names, classification by age & type, accessibility & contact details, & those castles which have notable gardens & grounds. Also
Includes:: Historical, architectural & background information, with map references. Enlarged insets for Aberdeenshire & for east & south-eastern Scotland at 1:600, 000, for greater detail of these important areas. A list of ten of Scotland's finest castles & five castles suitable for children. Black-&-white illustrations of selected castles & houses, with historical & architectural information.
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Castles Map of Scotland from Collins showing over 700 castles & fortified houses, with an index indicating those open to the public and/or with interesting gardens or grounds, plus enlargements for popular areas, background & historical information, etc. The whole of Scotland is shown at approx. 1:1, 000, 000, with enlargements presenting in Glasgow – Edinburgh – Dundee region & northern Aberdeenshire. All the maps have a base with altitude colouring to indicate the topography, & show the network of main roads & railway lines. Symbols, with numbers cross-referenced to an index of all the sites, indicate which castles are generally opened to the public, normally best viewed from the outside, or are private residences. Also marked are Visit Scotland information centres & points. The index of all the sites marked on the map shows the type & age of each castle, access, notable grounds, plus where available phone numbers & web addresses. The map also

Includes:: recommendations for 10 finest castles, five locations particularly great for children, a historical introduction, plus colour photos of selected sites.

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Scotland Clans & Tartans Map is a single-sided, illustrated sheet showing the historical clans, clan territories & tartans of the country, accompanied by background & historical information, & an extensive list of family names & their associated clans. On a base map of Scotland showing motorways, A roads, the rail network, airports & tourist information centres, key places of interest & family names are overlaid to cover particular areas of influence held by clans in the early 17th century. Also
Includes:: Historical & background information focusing on the clan system & tartans. A list of clan- & tartan-related places of interest, with contact details & map references. Images of tartans & clan badges (with family names) surrounding the map. An extensive list of current Scottish family names & their associated clans. Images of plant badges & a list of their associated clans or families.
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Scotland has had a uniquely important military history over the last five centuries. Conflict with England in the 16th century, Jacobite rebellions in the 18th century, 20th-century defences & the two world wars, as well as the Cold War, all resulted in significant cartographic activity. In this book two map experts explore the extraordinarily rich legacy of Scottish military mapping, including fortification plans, reconnaissance mapping, battle plans, plans of military roads & routeways, tactical maps, plans of mines, enemy maps showing targets, as well as plans showing the construction of defences. In addition to plans, elevations & views, they also discuss unrealised proposals & projected schemes. Most of the maps
- some of them reproduced in book form for the first time
- are visually striking & attractive, & all have been selected for the particular stories they tell about both attacking & defending the country.

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Scotland`s history has been told many times, but never exclusively by its women. This book takes a unique perspective on dramatic national events as well as ordinary life, as experienced by women down the centuries. From the saintly but severe medieval Queen Margaret to today`s first minister Nicola Sturgeon, it encompasses women from all stations of class & fame & notoriety, offering a tantalising view of what happened to them, & how they felt. Drawing on court & kirk records, exchequer rolls & treasurer`s accounts, diaries & memoirs, chap books & newspapers, government reports & eye-witness statements, Scotland: Her Story brings to life the half of history that has for too long been hidden or ignored. Features material by from a hugely diverse range of authors, including: The Maid of Norway * Princess Matilda * St Margaret * Margaret Tudor * Mary, Queen of Scots * Lady Grizel Baillie * Elsie Inglis * Mary Slessor * Catherine Dickens * Jane Carlyle * Madeline Smith * Catherine Carswell * Willa Muir * Nan Shepherd * Muriel Gray * Sue Black * Sally Magnusson * The Queen Mother * Rona Cameron * Elaine C. Smith * Evelyn Glennie * Jessie Kesson * Winnie Ewing * Muriel Spark * Tilda Swinton * Liz Lochhead * Lulu * Janice Galloway * Jackie Kay * Ali Smith * Liz Mc Colgan * Mhairi Black * Judy Murray * Nicola Benedetti * Nicola Sturgeon ...