A Journey around Scotland Trivia Quiz

Answer: Wigtown

Wigtown gained recognition for this title in 1998. There are many businesses in the area which focus on books and every autumn there is a ten day book festival including talks by well known authors, musical events and even a fun run.

Answer: The electric brae

This takes visitors completely by surprise. An optical illusion at this point makes you believe you are going downhill when in reality you are climbing. We have had great amusement watching the astonishment on the faces of overseas visitors when we have stopped the car and asked them whether we were going up or down, then released the handbrake!

It gained the nickname of the Electric Brae as some people believed it was caused by some kind of force drawing the vehicle uphill.

Answer: Dundonald Castle

Dundonald Castle was built, originally as a tower house, on a site which was probably used as a fortified settlement since the stone age. Robert II was the first king of the house of Stewart (or Stuart), which in later centuries became the ruling family of the United Kingdom.

Culzean Castle, despite its name, is really a spectacular country house built in the eighteenth century for the Kennedy family. Dean Castle in Kilmarnock also dates back to the fourteenth century and was built as a stronghold by the Boyd family. Rowallan Castle, also nearby, was built in the thirteenth century and was the home of the Muir family.

Answer: Clyde

From the Erskine Bridge you can look up river towards Glasgow, past the site of the former shipyard John Brown's where the great Cunard liners Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth and QE2 were built, or down river towards Greenock and the hills of Argyll beyond. It is a spectacular view.

Answer: Dumbarton

It was in Dumbarton that the famous clipper ship, Cutty Sark, was built. For many years the town was famous for shipbuilding and for whisky production. This was also the town in which the author of this quiz grew up.

Answer: The Cobbler

So nicknamed because the mountain's distinctive shape, with two peaks, was supposed to resemble a cobbler working at his last, the Ben is 884 metres high. It overlooks the dramatic road known as the Rest and Be Thankful which winds through the glen to take the traveller from Loch Long to Loch Fyne.

Answer: Whirlpool

Caused by a tidal race between the islands of Jura and Scarba, Corryvreckan is the third largest whirlpool in the world. For many years it was thought to have been caused by the water hitting a rock pinnacle, but in 2012 the Scottish Association for Marine Science used echo sounding technology to map the seabed and found no pinnacle.

Instead the whirlpool is probably caused by the water hitting a steep rock cliff by the shore of Scarba.

Answer: Glenfinnan

The railway viaduct featured in the film "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" while it was at Glenfinnan that Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his standard when he had convinced some of the clan chiefs to join him in his rebellion.

Arisaig was the village from which he left Scotland after his defeat at the Battle of Culloden.

There is a monument at Spean Bridge, the Commando Memorial.

Answer: Loch Morar

The greatest depth reached by Loch Morar is 310 metres, 80 metres deeper than Loch Ness. Loch Awe is the longest fresh water loch in the United Kingdom at 41 miles, just two miles longer than Loch Ness.

Answer: Standing stones

The standing stones go back to 2500 or 3000 BC. There is a massive monolith in the middle, surrounded by a circle of stones which form the midpoint of a cross. Because of the way the stones were constructed, many archaeologists believe that it may have been used as some form of astronomical observatory.

Answer: Inverewe Gardens

These wonderful gardens are at the head of Loch Ewe, a sheltered sea loch. Because the Gulf Stream hits this coast after its journey from the Caribbean, temperatures, even in winter, are rarely very low so the garden can support species that you would not expect this far north (it is on the same latitude as Kodiak Island, Alaska).

Like Inverewe, the other three choices are all gardens managed by the National Trust for Scotland.

Answer: Aberdeen

Scotland's third largest city, Aberdeen has a history going back to the twelfth century, when it became a royal burgh. As well as a fishing and shipbuilding port, Aberdeen became famous as a centre of learning after Aberdeen University was founded in 1495 (even the local football team are nicknamed "the Dons" because of the university connection.

In the second half of the twentieth century it became the centre of the North Sea oil industry. The city's nickname comes from the use of local granite to build many of the most imposing buildings in the city centre, including Marischal College.

Answer: Kirriemuir

Situated eighteen miles north of the major city of Dundee, Kirriemuir's greatest claim to fame is as the birthplace of Barrie. One of Barrie's gifts to the town was a camera obscura through which excellent views of the surrounding countryside can be seen.

It is also remembered in a very bawdy song dating back to the 1880s, "The Ball of Kirriemuir", which is alleged to record the happenings at a real event in the town or district.

Answer: The Thirty-Nine Steps

Hitchcock's version of John Buchan's story was made in 1935 with Robert Donat as Richard Hannay. Twenty years later the bridge also featured strongly in a remake of the film, this time directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Kenneth More as the hero.

The cantilever bridge took eight years to build, opening in 1890. It is one of the most distinctive pieces of engineering in the United Kingdom.

Answer: The Royal Mile

It is known as the Royal Mile because it connected the two royal residences of the castle and the palace. Actually about one and a quarter miles long, the route goes through the Old Town of the city, passing medieval tenements and Edinburgh Cathedral, before entering what was once the separate burgh of Canongate beyond the city walls.

The Mound is a road leading between the old and new towns, built between 1781 and 1830 from debris brought from digging the foundations for the houses of the New Town. The Heart of Midlothian is a sett of stones built into the High Street marking the location of the medieval tollbooth, the centre of city government and a prison.