Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a 96-mile (154-kilometre) border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, the North Sea to the northeast and the Irish Sea to the south. The country also contains more than 790 islands, principally in the archipelagos of the Hebrides and the Northern Isles. Most of the population, including the capital Edinburgh, is concentrated in the Central Belt – the plain between the Scottish Highlands and the Southern Uplands – in the Scottish Lowlands.
Stirling is a city in central Scotland, 26 miles (42 km) northeast of Glasgow and 37 miles (60 km) north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its merchants and tradesmen, the Old Bridge and the port. Located on the River Forth, Stirling is the administrative centre for the Stirling council area, and is traditionally the county town of Stirlingshire. Proverbially it is the strategically important "Gateway to the Highlands".
Glasgow is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 635,640. Straddling the border between historic Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire, the city now forms the Glasgow City Council area, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and is governed by Glasgow City Council. It is situated on the River Clyde in the country's West Central Lowlands.
Kirkwall is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland.
North Lanarkshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also borders East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk, Stirling, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian. The council covers parts of the traditional counties of Dunbartonshire, Lanarkshire and Stirlingshire.
Glasgow Queen Street is a passenger railway terminus serving the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland. It is the smaller of the city's two mainline railway terminals and is the third busiest station in Scotland behind Central and Edinburgh Waverley.
Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling.
Kilsyth is a town and civil parish in North Lanarkshire, roughly halfway between Glasgow and Stirling in Scotland. The estimated population is 9,860. The town is famous for the Battle of Kilsyth and the religious revivals of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. The town now has links with Cumbernauld at one time being part of Cumbernauld and Kilsyth District Council. The towns also have the same members of parliament at Holyrood and Westminster.
Colzium House and Estate is about 500 metres to the north-east of Kilsyth, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The present house dates from 1783 and was extended and modernised in 1861. The name may mean "defile leap".
Bishopton (/bɪʃəptən/) is a village in Renfrewshire, Scotland. It is located around 2 miles (3 km) west of Erskine.
Lenzie is an affluent town by the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway in the East Dunbartonshire council area of Scotland. It is about 6 miles (10 km) north-east of Glasgow city centre and 1 mile (2 km) south of Kirkintilloch. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 8,873. The ancient barony of Lenzie was held by William de Comyn, Baron of Lenzie and Lord of Cumbernauld in the 12th century.
Croy is a village in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. A former mining community, Croy is situated south of Kilsyth and north of Cumbernauld, some 13 miles (21 km) from Glasgow and 37 miles (60 km) from Edinburgh on the main railway line between the two cities. Croy has a population of about 1,390.
The demography of Scotland includes all aspects of population, past and present, in the area that is now Scotland. Scotland has a population of 5,463,300, as of 2019. The population growth rate in 2011 was estimated as 0.6% per annum according to the 2011 GROS Annual Review.
The history of the Jews in Scotland goes back to at least the 17th century. It is not known when Jews first arrived in Scotland, with the earliest concrete historical references to a Jewish presence in Scotland being from the late 17th century. Most Scottish Jews today are of Ashkenazi background who mainly settled in Edinburgh, then in Glasgow in the mid 19th century. In 2013 the Edinburgh Jewish Studies Network curated an online exhibition based on archival holdings and maps in the National Library of Scotland exploring the influence of the community on the city.
Ayr railway station serves the town of Ayr in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is situated in Smith Street, off Burns Statue Square. The station, which is managed by ScotRail, is on the Ayrshire Coast Line, 41+1⁄2 miles (66.8 km) south-west of Glasgow Central.
Crossrail Glasgow is a proposed railway development in Central Scotland to connect the stations Glasgow Central and Queen Street. It has been estimated at a cost of £200 million.
Banton is a small village situated near Kilsyth in North Lanarkshire, Scotland.
As recent as the 2011 census, Christianity was the largest religion in Scotland. In the 2011 census, 53.8% of the Scottish population identified as Christian when asked: "What religion, religious denomination or body do you belong to?". The Church of Scotland, a Presbyterian denomination often known as The Kirk, is recognised in law as the national church of Scotland. It is not an established church and is independent of state control. However, it is the largest religious grouping in Scotland, with 32.4% of the population according to the 2011 census. The other major Christian church is the Catholic Church, the form of Christianity in Scotland prior to the Reformation, which accounts for 15.9% of the population and is especially important in West Central Scotland and parts of the Highlands. Scotland's third largest church is the Scottish Episcopal Church. There are also multiple smaller Presbyterian churches, all of which either broke away from the Church of Scotland or themselves separated from churches which previously did so. According to the 2019 Scottish Household survey, since 2009, there has been an increase in the proportion of adults reporting not belonging to a religion to 56%. The trend of declining religious belief coincided with a sharp decrease since 2009 in the proportion of people who report that they belong to the Church of Scotland, from 34% to 20% of adults. Furthermore 13% reported belonging to the Catholic Church.
James Douglas Hepburn is a Scottish politician who has served as Minister for Higher Education and Further Education, Youth Employment and Training since 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he has been Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth since 2011, having previously represented the Central Scotland region from 2007 to 2011.
Cumbernauld is a large town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth most-populous locality in Scotland and the most populated town in North Lanarkshire, positioned in the centre of Scotland's Central Belt. Geographically, Cumbernauld sits between east and west, being on the Scottish watershed between the Forth and the Clyde; however, it is culturally more weighted towards Glasgow and the New Town's planners aimed to fill 80% of its houses from Scotland's largest city to reduce housing pressure there.
