Over 300 events will take place in Scotland this year as the country celebrates what it has termed it’s Homecoming Year.

Although it began with the new year events, it kicks off properly with the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns over the weekend of the 24/25th of January and ends, not unsurprisingly with St Andrews’s day on November 30th.

We can’t list all of the events that will be going on the length and breadth of the country so here is the web address that does have them mentioned, www.homecomingscotland2009.com

But with such a lot happening here are a few reasons why you should head to Scotland at least some time during this year.

The celebration of Burns will be big starting with the World Burns Night in Edinburgh on 21st of January. there will be a touring exhibition about Burns that has been put together by the National Library of Scotland and a Jamaican Burns night in Glasgow. Over the weekend of his birth, the organisers of the Homecoming are going to try and establish a new world record (didn’t know there was one) for the greatest number of Burns suppers ever held.
May, for example, is whisky month and distilleries will be even more hospitable as they try to get you to join their whisky trails and sample their products. Heritage sites like Inverary Castle will be hosting whisky festivals and the Isle of Barra in the Hebrides will be having a Whisky Galore Festival in honour of the book (and fondly remembered Ealing comedy) that was written by Compton Mackenzie based on a real life foundering of a ship on the rocks during WWII.
Away from alcohol, another thing that is strongly linked with Scotland are clans and heritage so over the weekend of the 25/26 of July at Holyrood Park will be what is claimed will be the greatest international clan and family gathering ever seen. This is expected to be busy so advance booking may be essential. The Highland Games also take place at the same venue and at the same time. As part of it there will be a pageant telling the story of Scotland followed by a huge parade of more than 140 clans down the Royal Mile from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to Edinburgh Castle.

In Oban in October will be Am Mod Naiseanta Rioghail, the main annual Gaelic celebration which covers culture, music and language. At Carbridge in the same month is the World Porridge Making Championship with plenty of food stalls, cookery demonstration and, I suppose, tastings of Scotland’s traditional dish.

Ending the year with a fanfare, November has a huge musical gala at the SECC in Glasgow, traditional St Andrews Festival in, of course, St Andrews and, going through Edinburgh, the intriguingly sounding illuminated art car parade.
As I wrote earlier, there are over 300 events and this on top of events that traditionally draw people to Scotland like the Edinburgh Festival and the Celtic Connections in Glasgow (which begins this week).
The timing of this event could be very fortunate for the economy of Scotland. With more people holidaying in the UK this year, Scotland offers a lot. To overseas visitor it offers the same but at a cheaper rate given the weakness of the pound against the dollar and the euro.