What's New: An Online Update for Frommer's Scotland

Castles, mansions and old breweries are still there, remote isles still offer incredible views, yet Scotland is changing. Not it's history, but the way to experience it. Did we mention the cuisine?

Edinburgh

Creating a media blitz is a restaurant with a glass rooftop in the heart of Edinburgh's New Town: Oloroso, 33 Castle St. (tel. 031/226-7614) is a splendid new restaurant with open-air terrace views of Charlotte Square and across the Firth of Forth. The restaurant is a high-fashion setting and wouldn't be out of place in either New York or Los Angeles. Chef Tony Singh doesn't follow trends, so "expect the unexpected," as the staff says around here. Creative cooking with quality ingredients characterizes this restaurant. Specialties are Highland beef, fresh salmon, venison, and scallops handpicked in West Coast waters.

Scotland has a new Parliament and a new Visitors Centre, in the Run on Holyrood Road (tel. 0131/348-5000; www.roe.ac.uk/vc). The center contains models, plans, and images of the new Parliament building being readied. Features include videos and touchscreens, and there is a Parliament shop selling crafts and government memorabilia. When Parliament is not in session, visitors can usually view the chamber.

Side Trips From Edinburgh

On the outskirts of Edinburgh, Newhailes, Newhailes Rd., Musselburgh in East Lothian (tel. 0131/653-5599), is an impressive late 17th-century mansion that lay dormant for years. This remarkable Palladian villa has views to the Firth of Forth. Presented to the National Trust of Scotland, it has been restored and is now open to the public. Much of it has survived intact, including a 7,000-volume library hailed by Samuel Johnson as "the most learned room in Europe." Often called "The Sleeping Beauty," the house is ornately decorated with rich furnishings, gilding, antique wallpaper, damask, and needlepoint. Why has Newhailes remained much as it used to be? A National Trust official said the reason's simple -- " nobody in this house earned a penny after 1790 and subsequent owners couldn't afford to change anything."

Dumfries (The Borders)

One of the most spectacular estates in southern Scotland, Drumlanrig Castle, outside the city of Dumfries (tel. 01848/330248; click here), has suffered a great loss. Two thieves, posing as sightseers, overpowered a castle guard and made off with the Madonna with the Yarnwinder, believed to have been an important work by Leonardo da Vinci. Valued at nearly $50 million, the painting depicts the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus on her lap, holding a cross-shaped spindle of yarn. Testing at the National Gallery of Scotland in 1986 proclaimed the painting an authentic da Vinci, although there are some skeptics. The castle is filled with one of the greatest private art collections in Scotland, including works by Reynolds, Holbein, Rembrandt, Murillo, and other Old Masters, and the architecture is splendid.

Glasgow

No. Sixteen, 16 Byres Rd. (tel. 0141/339-2544) is becoming an eagerly sought-after table among serious foodies. On a recent visit, we were mightily impressed with the menu, which features, among other offerings, such appetizers as spiced lentil salsa, and an eggplant tart with goat cheese quenelle. For a main dish, opt for the grilled filet of Scottish beef with braised shallots, or the baked sea bass stuffed with black olive tapenade.

Inveraray (Argyll)

The Arctic Penguin Maritime Heritage Centre, The Pier, Inveraray (tel. 01499/302213; www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/areatynd) is housed in a former lightship constructed in Dublin in 1911. Exhibits detail the history of the Glasgow docks and the launching of the original Queen Mary (now in dry dock in California). You can go aboard one of the world's last iron sailing ships, which is in permanent anchor down by the loch.

Gleneagles (Tayside and Grampian)

Andrew Fairlie has been named chef of the year at the famous Gleneagles Hotel at Aucherarder (tel. 01764/694-267), an elegant Michelin-starred restaurant that's part of a government-rated five-star resort. Fairlie orders his ingredients from the Rungis Market outside Paris or from local Scottish suppliers. Prize products include Aberdeen Angus beef, game pheasant grouse, venison, and the best scallops, lobster, salmon, and turbot from the frigid seas. Fairlie deserves loads of praise for taking some of Europe's prime raw materials and fashioning them into superb offerings. Smoked lobster is his signature dish; the unique flavor comes from smoking lobster shells over old whisky barrels for 12 hours.

The Highlands

If you want to experience a B&B in the Highlands, contact Clach Mhuilinn, 7 Harris Rd. in Inverness (tel. 01479/237059; www.scotlandsbestbandbs.co.uk). This is a group of privately-owned high-quality B&Bs throughout the Highlands, all of which offer grand comfort at affordable prices. All of the accommodations have been inspected and given high ratings by official Scottish Tourist Board inspectors. The establishments are small, taking no more than six guests at a time.

Aviemore & The Cairngorms

A vast 1,467-square-mile area of the Scottish Highlands has been designated as the largest national park in Britain. An area of outstanding beauty, Cairngorms National Park takes in 52 mountain summits, including four of Scotland's highest peaks. The area is sparsely populated, at 11.7 persons per square mile. Rivers, lochs, and forests are peppered with farms and small hamlets. The park also embraces a number of old castles, a few rural museums, and some Scotch whisky distilleries. Cycling and walking trails weave through the park; the most interesting stretch is the Victorian Heritage Trail, including the royal family's Balmoral Castle. For more information, check out www.castlesandwhisky.com.

Isle of Skye

Visitors who go "across the sea" to the Isle of Skye can visit the Talisker Scotch Whisky Distillery, Carbost (tel. 01478/640203; www.scotchwhisky.net/distilleries/talisker.htm), which is now offering a 40-minute tour that includes a "wee dram" and a discount voucher for a bottle of single malt. The distillery has gone through many changes over the years, including a partial reconstruction after a fire. Talisker was mentioned in "The Scotman's Return from Abroad," a poem written in 1880 by Robert Louis Stevenson. A tour of the distillery has become one of the highlights of a visit to Skye.

North Uist

Those adventurers who make it to the remote Hebridean island of North Uist can stay at Temple View Hotel, (tel. 01876/580-676) a restored house from the early 1900s. The lodging is located on the southern tip of the island, looking out upon the ruins of the Trinity Temple Church, which was built in the 13th century. Amazingly, at low tide you can reach the neighboring islands on foot. A delightful, family-run hotel, Temple View is known for its hearty welcome, its good food, and the comfort of its bedrooms.

Orkney Islands

In one of the most remote parts of Britain, the ancient Orkney Islands, guests are making their way to the isolated, family-run Barony Hotel, (tel. 01856/721-327) standing on a loch at Birsay. The comfortable hotel is surrounded by three excellent bird reserves and is near four trout-fishing lakes. Bird-watchers will love it here. The hotel is simple but well-maintained, and the dining room features local produce such as freshly caught scallops.