Fodors - Fodors Scotland

Travelers arriving in Scotland were once welcomed to the best small country in the world. It may have just 5.3 million people, but today Scotland has some big ideas about where its headed socially, culturally, and economically. International sporting events being hosted here will be transmitted all over the world. And in 2014 the people will vote on whether to become an independent nation.

The experience of traveling in Scotland has changed for the better from the days of the esteemed 18th-century London diarist Dr. Samuel Johnson, who wrote of Scottish hospitality, Of the provisions the negative catalogue was very copious. Here was no meat, no milk, no bread, no eggs, no wine. We did not express much satisfaction. Even 20 years ago some visitors may have echoed Dr. Johnson at times, thanks to poor food and dreary B&Bs.

Scotland has always had stirring landscapes, interesting cities, and rich historic sites. But in the last two decades the country has caught on to other things visitors want and need, and delivered superbly. Stylish modern hotels and renovated older ones satisfy the most discerning customers with the latest amenities. Around the country a culinary revolution is well under way: restaurants serve excellent food by internationally trained chefs who take advantage of Scotlands superb produce.

Today hotels and restaurants charge prices similar to those in the rest of the United Kingdom. On the other hand, most of Scotlands biggest and best museums and galleries are free. Walks through well-tended gardens, along bustling waterfronts, and in beautifully renovated neighborhoods mean that a good day out can show you everything but cost nothing at all.

In 2014 Scotland will present its second year of Homecoming, following the first successful event in 2009. A year of celebrations throughout the country will focus on themes including food and drink, natural beauty and outdoor adventure, creativity, and ancestryall strong suits. All in all, its an exciting time to travel here.

Dominating Scotlands public life at the moment is the looming referendum on independence, slated for September 18, 2014. Through devolution, Scotland elected its first parliament in 300 years in 1999. The country already has the power to make its own laws regarding health care, education, and the legal system, but some Scots want to split completely from the United Kingdom. At the time of this writing, polls indicate that the canny Scots may vote No. But unhappiness with the U.K. government could make a swing to Yes a possibility.

Why are many Scots dissatisfied with the U.K. government? In a time of budget woes, the government has been slashing public services. Many of these cuts deeply offend the Scots who are committed to free education and free health care from the publicly owned National Health Service. The question everyone asks is, can Scotland afford to mind its own affairs? And can Scotland fund the kind of independent nation some Scots want?

The arts continue to thrive, a sign of Scotlands creative energy. Edinburghs arts festivals grow bigger and bigger every year, attracting visitors from around the globe. The National Theatre of Scotland has been such a resounding success that productions have made their way to Broadway. Glasgow is renowned for contemporary arts: a Glasgow artist often seems to win the Turner Prize, Britains most prestigious art honor.

In a sign of vitality, culture is not confined only to the large cities. Far to the north, Shetland (already drawing audiences with its folk festivals) has built Mareel, a remarkable live music venue and cinema. Dundee will be the location of the first outpost of Londons Victoria and Albert Museum.

In 2013 a new mural was unveiled in Glasgows subway system that employs the words of Scottish novelist Alastair Grey: Work as if you live in the early days of a better nation. Undoubtedly the artists of Scotland have taken him to heart.

Its a disturbing fact that just 500 people own half the land in Scotland, many of them wealthy foreigners who have become absentee landlords. Experts say that giving residents a say on what happens to the land they live on is crucial if communities are going to thrive. New models of community ownership and management are being hard won, particularly in the Western Isles. There have been some community buyouts in which farming communities get the governments help to purchase the land where they live and work.

Still, the depopulation of rural Scotland continues. The popularity of holiday homes has meant that some villages are fully inhabited for only a few weeks each summer. Those who want to live here permanently find that low wages, a high cost of living, and a lack of affordable housing mean that they are priced out of a home surrounded by such beauty.

Urged by the government to help the country meet its ambitious targets for renewable energy, Scottish landowners have begun leasing land to the corporations behind wind farms. At the time of this writing there were eight huge commercial wind farmsincluding Europes largestand hundreds of smaller ones scattered across Scotland. This has sparked vociferous debate. The pro-wind lobby argues in favor of emission-free energy thats better for the environment than coal or nuclear plants, while the anti-wind camp decries the environmental damage to ancient peat bogs and bird populations.