Enjoy winter festivals

Scotland is renowned for its festival programme over summer, but did you know the country boasts a winter programme of festive fun stretching from St Andrews Day in November all the way to Burns' Night in January?

Christmas may be over, but there are still plenty of wonderful Winter Festival activities to help brighten up a chilly January day.

Celebrate Scotland’s National Bard, Robert Burns, at several events in and around his birthplace, Alloway in South Ayrshire. Highlights include the Nine Lives of Robert Burns exhibition and the traditional Burns Night on 25 January.

Alloway 1759 is a day-long commemoration which sees the town propelled back 250 years to the year of Burns’ birth.

In Edinburgh, Hot Rocks Tours offers the chance to explore the geological importance of the city’s Holyrood Park.

Aberdeen's Winter Festival continues with a great selection of comedy, music and theatre across the city. From musicals at His Majesty’s Theatre and concert performances at the Music Hall, to comedy at the Lemon Tree  and the Beach Ballroom’s Burns’ Ceilidh Supper.

Shetland hosts the annual Up Helly AA, Europe’s largest Fire Festival, and well loved celebration of Norse heritage on the last Tuesday of January.

For unrivalled New Year shopping, why not visit the city of Glasgow, known for its famous Style Mile? Enjoy a superb choice of designer and high street brands and find shimmering jewellery at the Argyll Arcade - one of the oldest covered shopping arcades in Europe.