Scotland invites you to embrace unique lanscapes, explore dramatic history and experience romantic locations. Scotland is also well known for its innovations throughout history but what about modern Scotland?
Are modern Scots still as innovative as their forebearers and if so, could you follow their footsteps?
Yes, you absolutely can.
For example in 2021 a new tidal turbine was installed in Orkney, which supplies 4000 UK homes with power. Scotland is also engaged in generating green Hydrogen as well as being on the forefront of IT & Cyber Security developments. After all Dundee’s Abertay University was the first to offer a degree in Ethnical Hacking. Visiting such a sites might not quite be what you would declare as a proper holiday.
Staying for a moment in Dundee, which has not exactly prospered thoughout the 20th century: In the 21th century, 2018 to be exact, the V&A was opened and attracted over 800,000 visitors in the first year alone. Tartan is the V&A’s current exhibition.
Dundee is very much defined by his industrial past and so is another area which has finally managed to re-innovate itself: Forth Valley and in particular Falkirk, which is located at the junction between the Clyde and Forth and the Union canal. Falkirk was amongst other industries the centre for steel production, which declined in the 20th century. Both canals were originally used to move goods by utilisizing boats drawn by horses. Their use declined with the arrival of the railways and they were closed in 1933.
However, in the second half of the 20th century people started using the canals for recreational purposes; walking, cycling, kayaking but not all of the many, many locks were still working.
The eleven locks between the Union and Forth & Clyde canal were partially built on so in 1998 the idea of the Falkirk Wheel was born. A £84.5 million project which was finally opened by the late Queen Elisabeth in 2002 and can since then be visited.
Falkirk Wheel is located amidst the Helix Park which since 2013 also hosts The Kelpies , which were created by Andy Scott.
A less welcomed and much more controversal modern building was added to Edinburgh’s skyline is the £1bn new hotel, St James Quarter, locally nicknamed “The Turd”.
Not too far away you can admire the 21st century Queen’s Crossing, which was opened by the late Queen in 2017. Next to it is the 1964 Forth Road Bridge and the next one along is the World Heritage 1890 Forth Rail Bridge.
These are just a few examples of what you could explore in modern Scotland, not to mention: the arts, literature, music etc….
