Arthur's Seat, near Holyrood Palace, is like the castle rock on which Edinburgh Castle is built. It was formed by an extinct volcano system from about 350 million years ago. However, it was eroded by a glacier moving from west to east. During this prcoess it exposed rocky crags to the west. If you look carefully, from some angles, Arthur's Seat resembles a lion couchant. And if you are fortunate you may see two of the extinct vents that make up the 'Lion's Head' and the 'Lion's Haunch'. Many use the surroundinf grassland and park as a recreational area.

Rhynie is a village approximately 38 miles from Aberdeen that lies along the Rhynie Chert. It was at the chert that the ancient Picts first lived. There is evidence that a settlement existed in the 4th and 5th centuries. At the settlement there are two Pictish stones standing outside the Old Churchyard with carvings and symbols. However, weather has taken its toll and as a consequence they are hard to see. A six-foot boulder - Rhynie Man - was discovered in 1978 that is believed to be dated back to 700 A.D.. It is clad in what appears to be a knee length sleeved garment.. The boulder gives the illusion that it is walking and that it carries an axe.

Musselburgh is the largest town in East Lothian. The town sits east of Edinburgh and it is a good base from which to explore Lothian's beautiful coastline that stretches to Dunbar. Visitor attractions include one of the busiest racecourses in Scotland. There are some historic sites of interest. These include a 13th century stone bridge across the Esk and The Tolbooth which was built around 1590.

Between 1725 and 1737 Pitlochry first started to grow after General George Wade built a road through the town. This was part of his effort to improve access to rural Scotland as a response to the Jacobite Rising of 1715.

After a visit by Queen Victoria in 1842, to nearby Blair Castle the area became more widely noticed. After a railway station was built in 1863, Pitlochry tourist started to flock to the town. Over a hundred years later In 1947 Pitlochry became a burgh. Thatsaw the beginning of construction of a dam as part of the Tummel hydro-electric power scheme. The Tummel dam and its fish ladder attract many to the town today. The damming of the river created an artificial loch Loch Faskally.

Dumfries, founded as a Royal Burgh in 1186 is on the east side the south part of the River Nith. Dumfries got its nickname 'Queen of the South' from David Dunbar, a local poet, who in 1857 stood in the general election. In one of his addresses he called Dumfries "Queen of the South"

Dumfries is well known for amongst other things Robert Burns. In June 1788, Burns leased a farm in Ellisland (near Dumfries), but the land proved unproductive. Within a year he was appointed to a position in the Excise Service, and in November 1791 he left the farm to live in the town of Dumfries. That is the propertyis now known as Burns House. This is the house that Burns died at the age 37 on Thursday 21st July. See photo on the left of the Burns Statute in Dumfries.

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