World Heritage Sites in Scotland

Palace of Holyroodhouse, in Edinburgh

World Heritage Sites in Scotland are specific locations that have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage Programme list of sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of humankind. Historic Scotland is responsible for 'cultural' sites as part of their wider responsibility towards the historic environment. Scottish Natural Heritage are responsible for 'natural' sites. There are currently four sites in Scotland, with a further four undergoing a process of evaluation.

Existing sites

Village Bay, St Kilda

‘St. Kilda’ is a small, out-lying archipelago of Hebridean islands which was inscribed as a ‘natural’ site in 1986. In July 2005 it became one of the few World Heritage Sites to hold joint status for its natural, marine and cultural qualities. The islands were bequeathed to the National Trust for Scotland in 1957. They are also a Biosphere Reserve and a National Scenic Area.

‘Edinburgh Old and New Towns’, inscribed in 1996. The former includes the medieval Royal Mile which runs from Edinburgh Castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, and is bordered to the north by the neo-classical 18th century 'New Town' which includes Princes Street. It is managed by the Edinburgh World Heritage Trust.

‘The Heart of Neolithic Orkney’ includes Maeshowe, the Ring of Brodgar, Skara Brae, the Standing Stones of Stenness and other nearby sites. It was inscribed in 1999 and is managed by Historic Scotland.

New Lanark was inscribed in 2001. It is a restored 18th century industrial cotton mill village in South Lanarkshire constructed by Robert Owen as an experiment in utopian socialism. Restoration was organised by the New Lanark Conservation Trust, which was formed in 1974.

Tentative list

The United Kingdom ‘Tentative List’ comprises sites which may be nominated for inscription over the next 5-10 years. Four Scottish sites are on the current list.

The Forth Bridge, the famous rail crossing constructed to a cantilever design and opened in 1890, is a potential cultural site. Located 14 km west of Edinburgh, its three diamond shaped towers carry a dual railway line 46 m above the water over a distance of 2.5 km.

The Antonine Wall near Twechar

The Cairngorms are a mountain massif at the heart of the Cairngorms National Park, which includes the largest area of arctic mountain landscape in the UK and is a natural nomination. It is unique in Britain for the richness of its boreal forest fauna and the variety of its arctic and alpine vegetation.

The Flow Country of Caithness and Sutherland in the north of Scotland is one of the largest and most intact areas of blanket bog in the world, supporting a distinctive wildlife community. Its 4,000 square kilometres support numerous rare plants and insects and important populations of Golden Plover, Dunlin, Greenshank, and Black-throated Divers. This site is also a natural candidate.

The Antonine Wall is one aspect of bids by Scotland, Austria, Germany and Slovakia to nominate local sections of the Roman occupation for World Heritage status. The wall is the remains of a defensive line made of turf circa 20 feet high, with nineteen forts. It was constructed after 139 AD and extended for 37 miles between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. The wall was over-run and abandoned soon after 160 AD, then occupied again for a brief period after 197 AD.

See also

• Prehistoric Scotland
• History of Orkney
• List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the United Kingdom
• List of World Heritage Sites in Europe

References

The 1890 Forth Bridge

• UNESCO site for UK World Heritage Retrieved 03.01.2007.
• UNESCO Tentative lists Retrieved 05.01.2007.
• Scottish Executive policy for World Heritage Sites Retrieved 03.01.2007.
• Historic Scotland - World Heritage Retrieved 03.01.2007.
• Historic Scotland - UK Tentative List Retrieved 03.01.2007.
• Scottish Natural Heritage - peatlands Retrieved 01.01.2007.
• RSPB Forsinard reserve Retrieved 05.01.2007.
• Antonine Wall nomination Retrieved 03.01.2007.
• Keay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland. London. HarperCollins.
• Robertson, Anne S. (1960) The Antonine Wall. Glasgow Archaeological Society.
• Watson, Adam (1975) The Cairngorms. Edinburgh. The Scottish Mountaineering Trust.

External links

• St Kilda
• Neolithic Orkney
• New Lanark
• Edinburgh World Heritage Trust
• Cairngorms National Park Authority

World Heritage Sites in the United Kingdom
England	Blenheim Palace · Canterbury Cathedral – St. Augustine's Abbey – St. Martin's Church · Bath · Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape · Derwent Valley Mills · Durham Castle and Cathedral · Ironbridge Gorge · Jurassic Coast · Frontiers of the Roman Empire (Hadrian's Wall) · Kew Gardens · Liverpool · Maritime Greenwich · Westminster Palace – Westminster Abbey – St. Margaret's Church · Saltaire · Stonehenge and Avebury · Studley Royal Park and Fountains Abbey · Tower of London
Scotland	Edinburgh Old Town and New Town · Heart of Neolithic Orkney (Maeshowe • Ring of Brodgar • Skara Brae • Standing Stones of Stenness) · New Lanark · St. Kilda
Wales	Castles and Town Walls of King Edward I in Gwynedd (Beaumaris Castle • Caernarfon Castle • Conwy Castle • Harlech Castle) · Blaenavon
Northern Ireland	Giant's Causeway
Overseas territories	Henderson Island · Gough Island and Inaccessible Island · St. George's Town

Donate to Wikimedia