The Scottish capital, Edinburgh, is a handsome and ancient city, famous for its magnificent castle and Palace of Holyroodhouse as well as for a world-acclaimed international arts festival and some excellent museums - not least the outstanding National Museum of Scotland. A short journey west is Glasgow, a sprawling industrial metropolis that has done much to improve its image in recent years and can now boast a range of fine museums and galleries to complement the impressive architectural legacy of its eighteenth- and nineteenth-century heyday.

Southern Scotland, often underrated, features some gorgeous scenery, but nothing quite to compare to the shadowy glens and well-walked hills of the Trossachs, or to the Highlands, whose multitude of mountains, seacliffs, glens and lochs cover the northern two-thirds of the country. Inverness is an obvious base, although Fort William, at the opposite end of the Great Glen near Ben Nevis, Britain's highest mountain, is an alternative.

Some of Britain's most thrilling wilderness experiences are to be had on the Scottish islands, the most accessible of which extend in a long rocky chain off the Atlantic coast, from Arran through Skye (the most visited of the Hebrides) to the Western Isles, where the remarkably hostile terrain harbours some of the last bastions of the Gaelic language. At Britain's northern extreme lie the sea- and wind-buffeted Orkney and Shetland islands, whose rich Norse heritage makes them distinct in dialect and culture from mainland Scotland, while their wild scenery offers some of Britain's finest birdwatching and some stunning archeological remains.

Gay & Lesbian Britain

Homosexual acts between consenting males were legalized in Britain in 1967, but it wasn't until as recently as 1994 that the age of consent was finally reduced from 21 to 18 (still two years older than that for heterosexuals). Lesbianism has never specifically been outlawed, apocryphally owing to the fact that Queen Victoria refused to believe that such a thing existed.

As with so many other aspects of British life, attitudes on homosexuality are riven with contradictions. Despite its draconian laws and the sensationalist trash in the tabloid press, England, at least, offers one of the most diverse and accessible lesbian and gay scenes to be found anywhere in Europe. Nearly every town of any size has some kind of organized gay life - pubs, clubs, community groups, campaigning organizations, shops and phone lines - with the major scenes being found in London, Manchester and Brighton. The Scottish scene is lively in Edinburgh and in Glasgow, but pretty much non-existent in the more rural areas. In Wales things are a lot more muted, with few venues outside the main centres of Cardiff, Newport and Swansea. We've listed many venues throughout this guide, and you'll be able to pick up a free gay listings sheet in almost any one of them.

Of the nationwide publications, the weekly Pink Paper is informative and contains limited listings; also worth checking are the frothy weekly Boyz , and its monthly women's sibling, Diva . The best bet for a comprehensive national directory of pubs, clubs, groups, gay accommodation and local lesbian and gay switchboards is the glossy monthly Gay Times , available from many newsagents and alternative bookshops. Gay Men's Press produce guides aimed primarily at gay men, although with some lesbian information included too; there's currently London Scene , which includes Brighton. Much of the information in such publications applies both to men and women, as the British scene is far more mixed than in most other European nations.