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This sport – rather like bowls on ice – is the one in which the Scots usually excel at the Winter Olympics. Heavy circular granite stones are used, with a flat base and a handle on top. The curler slides the stone down the rink towards a bull’s-eye and team mates, armed with brushes, polish the path ahead of the stone if more momentum is needed.

Innovative presentation has made this aquarium a phenomenal success. Not only does it seem to have every imaginable species of dangerous, beautiful and ugly fish, but it also houses them in a network of glass tunnels, so that great shoals of glittering fish surround you. The more adventurous can even swim with sharks!

The full chill and hazards of Antarctic exploration grip you in this superb hi-tech exhibition. Focusing on the heroic and tragic expeditions of Shackleton and Scott, this display uses original film footage as well as stunning modern images and interactive computer screens. The highlight is a tour of the Dundee-built boat RSS Discovery, the one that carried Scott and his companions on their ill-fated expedition. (While in Dundee check out the Contemporary Arts Centre on Nethergate for great exhibitions and its fine bistro-café.)

Cloning – producing an identical organism from a single cell of one “parent” – has been used to manipulate plant life for centuries. In 1997, scientists at Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute produced the first successfully cloned mammal, Dolly, propagated from a single udder cell of a sheep.

This castle of turrets and spiked domes is home to the Duke of Buccleuch. Begun in 1676, it was such a lavish undertaking that it almost ruined the family, but they bounced back and filled it with treasures. Particularly enticing are the silverware and rich oak panelling. Great walks and cycleways in the vicinity.

Founded in the 11th century by Queen (later St) Margaret (see St Margaret’s Chapel) , the abbey’s stunning feature is the 12th-century Romanesque nave. This was the burial place of Robert the Bruce – without his heart, which he requested be taken on a crusade to the Holy Land. A skeleton with the heart chamber cut open was discovered in a grave here in 1818; the site is now marked by a plaque to honour the hero of Bannockburn (see Battle of Bannockburn) .

The greatest castle in a land that’s full of them, not only prized for its crowning position in the capital’s heart, but also for its important history and the national treasures it holds (see Edinburgh Castle) .

This world famous castle wears the nation’s history. Here you’ll find the Scottish Crown, Sword and Sceptre, and the legendary Stone of Destiny. The Royal Mile treads a straightish but diverting path from the Castle to Holyrood-house (see Edinburgh Castle) .