SCOTLAND THIS YEAR
By WILL Y. DARLING *
TT was a Scottish writer who wrote " To travel hope- fully. fully is a better thing than to arrive," and there must be many who this year have determined that they will not be disillusioned about their holidays, as they perhaps were last year. It is to such that Scotland makes an irresistible appeal because it is common know- ledge that those who 'come once to Scotland come again and again. There is no more satisfying country to visit. It is convenient for the English visitor and if he travels by rail he has the best rail service in the world at his disposal. If he travels in the popular road coach, not only does he have comfort and scenery by the way, but the roads over which he travels are historic- ally among the oldest in the world and from the modern point of view among _the most perfect. The same good fortune comes to him who travels in his own car or more humbly still—if he crosses the border, as many thousands have done in recent years—on foot.
The business of encouraging visitors is one which comes naturally to Scotland. It is a hospitable country. It speaks a language which without much difficulty the English can understand, and its habits of life have just that tinge of novelty which make them interesting. Its food again is always digestible and never bewildering —and it should not be overlooked that there is' no difficulty about changing the currency of our common Realm nor yet any customs barriers which have to be surmounted at the Border. It must not be thought that the Scotsman is a natural welcomer of the tourist. There are districts where the natural reticence of the Scotsman is still retained. This gives piquancy to the visitor who will have much delight in overcoming the reluctance of his fellow countrymen. These observations on the human side of Scotland from the point of view of the traveller are, however, only incidental.
The charm of Scotland is beyond all question her climate and her scenery. The Scottish Travel Association has done many useful services to Scotland, but it has done none of greater importance than the successful effort it has made to kill the libel that Scotland's climate is in any way infeiior to that of any other country in Europe. In- fact -it is sometimes felt that it has so amply proved its case that' visitors are inclined to speak with even greater enthusiasm of Scotland's sunshine and Scotland's atmospherethan circumstances warrant : but this example is all to the good, as for too long has Scotland lain under the stigma that her climate is not such as can be'enjoyed every month- of- the year. Some facts in this connexion bear repeating.
• The climate of Scotland- may best be described as mild in winter and cool in summer. While the climber and the ski runner may, and do, find snow and ice during the winter months on the high hills, most of Mankind's habitations- in Scotland 'are not far above sea level, and it' is a fact that the winter temperature of the greater part of Scotland is higher than that of London. For this we have to thank the Gulf Stream which is responsible for many curious effects. For example, -the mean winter temperature of the Orkney Islands is approximately the same as that of Falmouth. The coldest month in the year in the Island of Skye is *Major' Darling is Chairman of the Scottish Travel Association. January and yet the mean temperature in January including night temperatures in the Isle of Skye is seven degrees above freezing point. As regards rainfall the driest parts . of Scotland have approximately the same annual rainfall as the driest parts of England—in the neighbourhood of 25 inches per annum. The mildness of the winter climate is further attested by the presence in many parts of the country of palm trees flourishing in the open air, and those visitors who have taken their courage in both hands and visited Scotland during the winter are amazed to find primroses blooming in January and the rhododendrons a riot of colour as early as March. Most visitors, however, will continue to visit Scotland during the summer, and to such an earnest appeal should be made to come if possible in June, or failing that in September. In an average year these months in Scotland are favoured--by excellent weather with the countryside at its best. The hotels are then uncrowded so that accommodation is ample, and prices are at their lowest; nor must it be forgotten that in June Scotland enjoys the longest daylight in the British Isles. The hotel system in Scotland has during the last few years enjoyed a marked expansion and a careful selection will enable the tourist to find hotels of unequalled resources in practically every part of the country. For those who seek more modest accommodation there are the Scottish Youth Hostels, of which about fifty are now established in all parts of the land.
The appeal of Scotland lies principally in the diversity of its scenery. No country of its size contains such abundant riches in such little room. The softly rolling hills of the borders ; the wild high moorland of Galloway in the west ; the sandy bays and grassy links of the East Coast ; the romantic road to the Highlands, and farther west to the Isles themselves ; the mountain solitudes of the far North West and the remarkable seascapes of the Viking Isles of the North ; these severally and collectively, as the lawyers say, have a unique appeal for the traveller. There are a hundred inducements to visit Scotland. There are the attractions of sport for example. To begin • with, for the man who seeks golf there are of course the best• golf courses in the world—and incidentally it should not be forgotten that, while the golf in Scotland is undoubtedly the best in the world it is also the cheapest. For the fisherman many rivers are free, and others may be fished under local arrangements at reasonable charges. For the man with the gun, Scotland needs no introduc- tion. The fame of its deer forests and grouse moors is world-wide. To the mountaineer some of the most challenging peaks in Europe are to be found in the Cahn' Hills of Skye, while the hill walker delights in the high ground of the Cairngorms.
Scotland for the yachtsman is p._ powerful magnet, and it is suggested with confidence that no visiting yachtsman who has ever sailed up the West Coast of Scotland will ever again be entirely satisfied with his home waters. For the motorist—a frequent and increasing visitor to Scotland—an interesting holiday may be found by follow- ing some of Scotland's great writers or the path of some hero associated with her romantic history.
To make such delights possible to the English visitor the Scottish Travel Association came into being some years ago. The Scottish Travel Association is different from many of the tourist Associations in other countries in that it is a National organization with no profit-making objective. It is inspired entirely by a desire to share with the world the attractions and beauties of Scotland and to afford every facility to the visitor who honours Scotland with his interest. It is now some four years since the Scottish Travel Association, promoted under the auspices of the Scottish Office, came into existence as a non-trading company limited by guarantee. Although still a youthful organization it has set about its work in lively fashion and on as wide a basis as its means allowed. A film library is maintained, and films of Scottish scenes in 16 millimetre gauge are available for loan free of charge to anybody who applies for them. Similarly sets of lantern slides with accompanying notes are available for loan to those who feel competent to deliver a lecture on Scotland or some Scottish subject. A monthly list of Scottish Coming Events is compiled and will be sent, again free of charge, to any applicant. Many thousands of inquiries from prospective visitors have been 'dealt with, and he who is in any difficulty about knowing where to go in Scotland, or where in Scotland to find the type of holiday which suits his particular tastes and inclinations, may be sure of a courteous and detailed reply and a copious supply of descriptive literature if he will but place his desires or difficulties before the Association.
Last year the Association organized in London the first " Scotland Calling " Exhibition, which was visited by 38,000 Londoners, many of whom by this means were first led to consider the idea of a Scottish holiday. By this and other means -too numerous for detailed mention the Association has sought to further its aims and objects and thus to secure for Scotland a share of the world's tourist traffic more in keeping with the undoubted attrac- tions of the country than has hitherto been the case.
Scotland then is definitely calling this summer—calling to the world as she always has done, but now more arti- culately than ever. Too long has the Scotsman been perhaps merely a curiosity in a foreign land. It would not be too much to say that while many good Scotsmen live out- side Scotland, the best Scotsmen and the best of Scotland are still to be seen under its own skies, and it is this invita- tion—the invitation to see Scotimen and Scotland—which the Scottish Travel Association, this summer, offers to a discriminating world.
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