When Viscount Dundee launched the first Jacobite rising in April 1689, the Earl of Atholl decided to remain loyal to the Government (although two of his sons joined the Jacobites). Atholl's factor, Patrick Stewart of Ballechin, held Blair Castle for King James, and Dundee visited in May. In July Ballechin refused entry to Atholl’s whiggish son and heir, Lord John Murray. Murray laid siege to the castle, and General Mackay was approaching to join him and to seize it for the Williamites. Viscount Dundee relieved the castle, and the crucial Battle of Killiecrankie was fought because Dundee did not want to retreat and surrender the castle to Mackay. Dundee and his officers and clan chiefs held a Council of War at the castle on the eve of the battle, on 26 July. The next day, the Jacobites won the battle but Dundee was killed. After the battle, Blair Castle remained in Jacobite hands for some time. It continued to play an important role: for example, the Jacobite Highland chiefs swore a bond there together in August, to continue the rising. In the Forty-Five, Blair Castle was occupied twice by Prince Charles Edward Stuart and his Jacobite army: in early September 1745, for several days, and then in early February 1746, again for several days. However, the Jacobites then unwisely abandoned it and Government forces, including Lowland Clan Agnew then occupied it. They held Blair Castle against the Jacobites, who laid siege to the castle during the last stages of the rising, in March 1746 They were besieged to near starvation until the Jacobite forces withdrew to fight the British Government forces at the Battle of Culloden.

Britain's longest railway bridge spans the River Tay, and opened on 20th June 1887. The first had collapsed in 1879 whilst the Edinburgh to Dundee train was crossing, killing over 90 people.

The Arbroath Smokie is said to have originated in the small fishing village of Auchmithie, three miles northeast of Arbroath. Local legend has it a store caught fire one night, destroying barrels of haddock preserved in salt. The following morning, the people found some of the barrels had caught fire, cooking the haddock inside. Inspection revealed the haddock to be quite tasty. It is much more likely the villagers were of Scandinavian descent, as the 'Smokie making' process is similar to smoking methods which are still employed in areas of Scandinavia.[citation needed] Towards the end of the 19th century, as Arbroath's fishing industry died, the Town Council offered the fisherfolk from Auchmithie land in an area of the town known as the fit o' the toon. It also offered them use of the modern harbour. Much of the Auchmithie population then relocated, bringing the Arbroath Smokie recipe with them. Today, some 15 local businesses produce Arbroath smokies, selling them in major supermarkets in the UK and online. In 2004, the European Commission registered the designation "Arbroath smokies" as a Protected Geographical Indication under the EU's Protected Food Name Scheme, acknowledging its unique status

Scotland has over 790 offshore islands, most of which are to be found in four main groups: Shetland, Orkney, and the Hebrides, sub-divided into the Inner Hebrides and Outer Hebrides. There are also clusters of islands in the Firth of Clyde, Firth of Forth, and Solway Firth, and numerous small islands within the many bodies of fresh water in Scotland including Loch Lomond and Loch Maree. The largest island is Lewis and Harris which extends to 2,179 square kilometres, and there are a further 200 islands which are greater than 40 hectares in area. Of the remainder, several such as Staffa and the Flannan Isles are well known despite their small size. Some 94 Scottish islands are permanently inhabited, of which 89 are offshore islands. Between 2001 and 2011 Scottish island populations as a whole grew by 4% to 103,702.

Lieutenant Colonel Sir Archibald David Stirling, DSO, OBE (15th November 1915 – 4th November 1990) was a Scottish officer in the British Army, mountaineer, and the founder of the Special Air Service. He saw active service during the Second World War. Stirling was born at his family's ancestral home, Keir House, in the parish of Lecropt, Perthshire.

McCaig's Tower is a prominent tower on Battery Hill overlooking the town of Oban in Argyll, Scotland. It is built of Bonawe granite taken from the quarries across Airds Bay, on Loch Etive, from Muckairn, with a circumference of about 200 metres with two-tiers of 94 lancet arches (44 on the bottom and 50 on top). The structure was commissioned, at a cost of £5,000 sterling (£500,000 at 2006 prices), by the wealthy, philanthropic banker (North of Scotland Bank), John Stuart McCaig. The empty shell of the tower dominates the Oban skyline, and is now a public garden with magnificent views to the islands of Kerrera, Lismore and Mull. The first marriage to be conducted in McCaig's Tower was between Oban High School teachers Jim Maxwell and Margaret Milligan and was reported in the Oban Times published on the 11th July 2003. Also reported in the Oban Times drinking of alcohol is prohibited in the tower under local by-laws.

Glenelg (Scottish Gaelic: Glinn Eilg, also Gleann Eilg) is a scattered community area and civil parish in the Lochalsh area of Highland in western Scotland. Despite the local government reorganisation the area is considered by many still to be in Inverness-shire, the boundary with Ross-shire (where the post town of Kyle of Lochalsh is situated) being at the top of Mam Ratagan ("Ratagan Gap" or "pass") the single track road entry into Glenelg. The word 'Glenelg' is a palindrome, meaning that it reads the same backwards as forwards. Glenelg, Scotland was officially twinned with Glenelg, Mars on the 20th October 2012. A palindromic name was chosen by NASA because the Curiosity rover would visit the site twice.

On the 2nd August 1745, the privateer Du Teillay landed Bonnie Prince Charlie with his "seven men of Moidart" on Eriskay to start the 'Forty-Five Jacobite Rising'.

Andrew Carnegie ( 25th November 1835 – 11th August 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist, business magnate, and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and is often identified as one of the richest people. He became a leading philanthropist in the United States and in the British Empire. During the last 18 years of his life, he gave away about $350 million to charities, foundations, and universities – almost 90 percent of his fortune. His 1889 article proclaiming "The Gospel of Wealth" called on the rich to use their wealth to improve society, and stimulated a wave of philanthropy. Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, and emigrated to the United States with his parents in 1848. Carnegie started work as a telegrapher, and by the 1860s had investments in railroads, railroad sleeping cars, bridges, and oil derricks. He accumulated further wealth as a bond salesman, raising money for American enterprise in Europe. He built Pittsburgh's Carnegie Steel Company, which he sold to J. P. Morgan in 1901 for $480 million. It became the U.S. Steel Corporation. After selling Carnegie Steel, he surpassed John D. Rockefeller as the richest American for the next couple of years.

The Royal Company of Archers is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's Bodyguard in Scotland, a role it has performed since 1822 and the reign of King George IV, when the company provided a personal bodyguard to the King on his visit to Scotland. It is currently known as the Queen's Bodyguard For Scotland, and is located in Edinburgh, the capital city. The Royal Company of Archers has a long history in Scotland as a body that celebrated both the recreation and talent of local archers. As a body established by the Monarch, the Company has a long history of unique prizes, influential supporters, and ceremonial roles.

The first ever Open Championship was played in 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. The Open has always been held in the United Kingdom and is the only major played outside the United States.

Golf in Scotland was first recorded in the 15th century, and the modern game of golf was first developed and established in the country. The game plays a key role in the national sporting consciousness. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, known as the R&A, is the world governing body for the game (except in the United States and Mexico). The Scottish Ladies’ Golfing Association was founded in 1904 and the Scottish Golf Union (SGU) in 1920. They merged in 2015 into a new organization, Scottish Golf. To many golfers, the Old Course at St Andrews, an ancient links course dating to before 1574, is considered to be a site of pilgrimage. There are many other famous golf courses in Scotland, including Carnoustie, Gleneagles, Muirfield, Balcomie and Royal Troon. The world's first Open Championship was held at Prestwick in 1860, and Scots golfers have the most victories at the Open at 42 wins, one ahead of the United States. Although golf is often seen as an elitist sport elsewhere in the world, in the land of its birth it enjoys widespread appeal across the social spectrum, in line with the country's egalitarian tradition. For example, the Old Course at St Andrews is a charitable trust and Musselburgh Links is public courses. Council-owned courses, with low fees and easy access, are common throughout the country wherever demography and geography allow. In total, Scotland has 587 courses. The highest concentrations are around Glasgow (94 courses) and Edinburgh (67 courses), since these two cities and their environs account for the bulk of the population. But the other districts still average about 40 courses each. Even the distant northern islands have 14 options. Such largesse is possible because Scotland boasts more courses per head of population than any other country.

Queen's Park Football Club is a Scottish football club based in Glasgow. The club is currently the only fully amateur club in the Scottish Professional Football League; its amateur status is reflected by its Latin motto, Ludere Causa Ludendi – "to play for the sake of playing". Queen's Park is the oldest association football club in Scotland, having been founded in 1867, and is the oldest outside England and Wales. Queen's Park is also the only Scottish football club to have played in the FA Cup Final, achieving this feat in both 1884 and 1885. The club's home is a Category 4 stadium; the all-seated Hampden Park in South East Glasgow, which is also the home of the Scottish national team. With 10 titles, Queen's Park has won the Scottish Cup the third most times of any club, behind Rangers and Celtic, although their last such win was in 1893!

The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton took place on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London, United Kingdom. The groom, Prince William, is second in the line of succession to the British throne. The couple were given the title the Earl and Countess of Strathearn by the Queen to mark the marriage. Strathearn, which means Valley of the River Earn, stretches from the central lowlands to the Highlands.

A Munro is a mountain in Scotland with a height over 3,000 feet (914 m). The best known Munro is Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles. Munros are named after Sir Hugh Munro, 4th Baronet (1856–1919), who produced the first list of such hills, known as Munro's Tables, in 1891. The publication of the original list is usually considered to be the epoch event of modern peak bagging. The list has been the subject of subsequent variation. The 2012 revision, published by the Scottish Mountaineering Club, has 282 Munros and 227 subsidiary tops. "Munro bagging" is the activity of climbing all the listed Munros. They present challenging conditions to walkers, particularly in winter. As of 2017, more than 6,000 people had reported completing a round. The first continuous round was completed by Hamish Brown in 1974, whilst the record for the fastest continuous round is currently held by Stephen Pyke, who completed a round in just under 40 days in 2010.