Haggis does have its detractors, that’s for sure, but on a recent trip to Scotland,there weren’t many other things I could find fault with about this breathtakingly beautiful and diverse country. Everything we experienced, from the delicious food we ate, to the scenery, transportation, history, and people was a delight. It is true that we did not see the darker sides of what may be going on within Scotland, as every country has these. My only point here, is that it was difficult not to feel some degree of envy regarding some of the things they do that are more conducive to a great quality of life.

After traveling nearly 2000 miles over much of the northern half of the country over a period of 3 weeks, I took note of 10 things that I particualrly loved about Scotland; things that I wish we could emulate more often here in the USA. No place is perfect,but they seem to try harder at creating and maintaining a quality of life there that I wish I could have brought back with me when I returned home. Here are the things I loved about Scotland in no particular order:

1)     There is a lack of crass commercialism.Tacky tourist destinations don’t seem to have much of place in Scotland from what we could see. Tourism is alive and well, however, they seem to have resisted the urge to create the equivalent of the Wisconsin Dells, huge theme parks, Las Vegas, Gatlinburg, and the like. How very pleasant and low key. Nature seems to be the biggest star and the biggest winner instead of fake man-made destinations.

2)     There are no billboards to speak of — It is difficult to go on any road trip in most of the U.S. without seeing countless, in-your-face billboards along the roadsides. These are typically huge and ubiquitous, often blocking our enjoyment of nature along roads and highways. In Scotland, advertising is much more restrained. Road signs are small and innocuous, sometimes hard to see. The focus there seems to be on allowing motorists to see the stunning countryside and its natural beauty, unadulterated and unspoiled, rather than as a backdrop for advertisers. 

3)     The food is better on average, and it costs no more than in the U.S. — Over the course of three weeks, we ate at a large variety of eating establishments, from nicer places to cheap-eats restaurants and fish and chips joints. No matter the price point, we noticed that dollar for dollar, the food seemed much fresher, less processed, and tastier. I spent a semester in the UK in the early1980’s and I have to say that the food left a lot to be desired back then. This, however, has changed significantly, and overall, I enjoyed their restaurant food much more than I have in the US in recent years.

4)     On average, cars and roads are much smaller. With gas prices quite high, the average vehicle on the roads in Scotland is quite a bit smaller than most you’ll see here. And not surprisingly, cars get much better mileage in Scotland than in the U.S. This means that cars are spewing less pollution,and roads take up much less land than in this country. Economic incentives seem to work there, as fewer people can afford to drive gas guzzlers in Scotland. Even their recreational vehicles are much smaller than the behemoths you commonly see in tourist areas across our country. I am guessing that many Scots would be appalled at the size of the monsters we drive here.

5)     They typically drive the speed limit –I cannot tell you how much less stressful driving on highways in Scotland was than in the Midwest. Why? Because they actually drive the speed limit. In many areas, cameras catch speeding cars and people are ticketed. Therefore, there was very little tail gating, road rage, feeling pressure to go faster than you are comfortable going, etc. Nice.

6)     Littering is seen far less frequently –I hate littering. I am horrified at the way that littering continues to proliferate in the U.S. Approximately 50 billion pieces of litter are now present along roadways and waterways in the U.S. — this equates to152 pieces of litter per person.[i] Similar amounts of litter is found along roadways as in waterways. So much of it is plastic, which later breaks down and gets into our drinking water and affects so much of life on earth, including humans.

There is rarely a hike in the woods where we do not find and must pack out other people’s trash. In our travels across the northern half of Scotland, we rarely saw any trash along the roadways or trails. I am sure that there is litter in some areas and may just be difficult to see, but it does not seem as commonplace as in some of our natural areas in this country. This amazed us even more when we discovered that there are fewer public trash cans in Scotland. You might think that this would increase littering because it is hard to find a place to put your rubbish, but it appears to have had the opposite effect. In any case, we were duly impressed.  

7)     There is no tipping culture to try to manage –The mystery and stress related to our tipping culture in the U.S. is everywhere, from food service, the hotel industry, salons, contractors, etc. In the UK, tipping is included in the price of the goods and services you pay for, so there is no need to stress over how much to and who to give a tip to. It is taken care of for you as part of the service transaction. No worries, no pressure. I have read that tipping culture (ala U.S. practices) has been creeping into some establishments in the UK in recent years, but there is resistance. We did see tipping jars at a few food establishments in some locations, but the difference is that it is not expected there in the same way that it is here. Their system simplifies life in a small, but impactful way.

8)     Homes are much smaller on average than in the US – Most of the homes we saw in Scotland were quite a bit smaller, on average, and much more modest than the huge homes we see in many of the suburban areas in the US. The homes take up a smaller footprint physically, and from an energy use standpoint as well. Do we really need such huge homes as family size shrinks and climate change is accelerating?

9)     Scotland preserves old buildings and legacy farms –Driving through Scotland, you get a deep sense of history because they have, like so many other European countries, preserved historic buildings and rural landscapes. Northern Scotland has many diverse landscapes, each made up of a wonderful balance of active farm steads, smaller towns and villages, historical sites,and forested lands. This gives the countryside a kind of beauty that I don’t see as much in the US. In too much of the Midwest, where I live, some of the best farmland in the world is being plowed under for housing tracks and strip malls. Farmland and its related businesses are pushed farther and farther out from our city centers, disconnecting agriculture from the people that depend on it the most. In Scotland, the two landscapes seem more integrated and connected. To me, this makes their country a much more pleasing, diverse and visually interesting landscape within which to live.

10)  There are many, many fewer big box stores and dollar stores (for now, at least) — In Scotland, we did not see the kinds of hollowed out and poverty-stricken towns like you see in the rural US. Most villages and towns seemed relatively healthy, and functional. The village square seemed to be intact in most of the small communities we visitied, so big boxstores have only found their niches in the larger cities. I understand that this is changing, sadly. We did see some dollar stores coming into smaller cities and towns there. I can only hope that this trend will not continue, as there is a good deal to loose if it does.

Scotland is a marvelous country to visit. They appear to have grasped the idea of sustainable living. Not everyone cares about these issues as I do, but one thing I do know is that it feels really good to visit places where nature is given higher priority. Most people who visit countries that have done this feel its benefits. Visitors rave about their beauty, wish they could live in such places, and want to return. I am suggesting that there are reasons for this, some of which are outlined above. I hope we can continue to evolve into a more sustainable economy that strives to find the right balance between people making a decent living and a stable and healthy environment. The benefits are not just for “tree huggers”and environmentalists, but for all.

I will return to letter-related matters in my next blog.

[i]“The good, the bad, and the not-so-ugly: Findings from the KAB 2020 National LitterStudy”, Eco Partners, https://www.ecopartnersinc.com/the-good-the-bad-and-the-not-so-ugly-findings-from-the-kab-2020-national-litter-study/.

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