THE youngest participants in our Seven Wonders of Scotland vote made a wide range of selections - including single malt whisky! That was the choice of Dara Brennan of Glasgow Gaelic Primary School, one of the winners in our schools' contest.
All seven winners get a National Trust for Scotland education membership for their school - and their winning essays and pictures published in The Scotsman today.
The quality of entries was very high, with teachers commenting how enthusiastically
their young charges had embraced the project. Although some schools, notably St Bernadette's Primary in Tullibody, Clackmannanshire, sent in a folder-full of excellent entries, we have limited the winners to one per school, as this was the request at the outset.
Thanks to all the schools which entered the competition. We hope that they are all looking forward to Saturday's Scotsman, which will reveal the winners in a high-quality 24-page magazine, to see if their choices made it into the final Seven Wonders list.
THE KILT
Megan Miller, 11, Sandaig Primary School, Glasgow
RABBIE was in the shop trying on kilts for Aunt Bessie's wedding and his six-year-old sister Laura was teasing him.
"Rabbie's wearing a skirt!" she chanted. "It's not a skirt!" Rabbie yelled. He started thinking about the history of the kilt.
Nessie says: "The tartan kilt is the most noticeable tradition of Highland Scots. But the Highlanders didn't invent the kilt! It was made by the nobles of Scotland and England around 1618. And, Rabbie, a kilt actually is a skirt!"
"Do you like McArthur tartan, Rabbie?" Mum asked. "Or do you prefer Brodie tartan?"
"Och, any mum, just hurry up!" Rabbie just wanted to get out of that shop before...
"Oh! Rabbie you are so cute!" Granny came in and smothered him with kisses. She said: "Oh get MacEwan tartan. That will be Bessie's new surname!"
Nessie says: "The tartans seen today were made by tailors during Queen Victoria's reign. But concepts of tartan and wearing kilts have their origin in the history of clans. Each clan has its own."
Rabbie got his kilt and went home, wondering a little more about it.
Nessie says: "Rabbie, I conclude by saying three things about the kilt: No-one knows who invented it; most Scottish Highlanders wear it; and I'd say the kilt is one of the Seven Wonders of Scotland because it is the traditional uniform of Scotland."
THE BORDER ABBEYS (MELROSE ABBEY)
David Muir, 11, Kirk o' Shotts Primary, Salsburgh, North Lanarkshire
I THINK Melrose Abbey is one of the Seven Wonders of Scotland because Melrose Abbey is beautiful and has lots and lots of history to it.
Round about 1600 AD, there was a monk working in Melrose Abbey and he had very fat lips, so that goes to his nickname 'Fatlips'.
One day, Fatlips was walking down into a chamber underneath the Abbey when Fatlips fell on the ground to his grave death.
A few days later, an old lady said she wasn't scared of Fatlips and she entered the chamber too. A minute or two later, she came out screaming, shouting 'I've seen my death!'
So to this day, hundreds of tourists come to Melrose Abbey for the beautiful view and for the haunting legend of Fatlips.
SCOTLAND'S WILDLIFE
Alex Matheson, nine, Fenwick Primary School, East Ayrshire
I THINK wildlife is one of the Seven Wonders of Scotland because we share our beautiful country with an amazing variety of wild animals, birds and sea creatures. One of the most famous images which portrays Scotland's wildlife in all its splendour is the painting of a magnificent deer stag Monarch of the Glen by Sir Edwin Landseer. Around 300,000 red deer live in Scotland, 6,000 on Jura, which is Norse for "deer island". The vegetation on Jura, which consists of rough grass, heather and shrubs, provides an ideal diet for deer.
Jura is also a haven for other wildlife, including wild goats, hen harriers and golden eagles. The golden eagle is the largest bird in Scottish skies with a wing span of more than two metres. They build their eyries on rocky crags in some of the remotest parts of the country. Each pair requires a territory of around 3,000 acres for hunting, and sharp eyesight enables them to spot prey from up to two kilometres away.
There is not enough space to write about the full richness of Scotland's wildlife, but it covers the length and breadth of the country, from the tiny robin in your garden to the blue whale cruising the ocean off the Outer Hebrides. Scotland's wildlife truly is one of the Seven Wonders.
THE KILT/TARTAN
MELISSA MILLIGAN, 11, Craigour Park Primary School, Edinburgh.
I THINK the kilt should be one of the Seven Wonders because it has been and will be traditional to wear for a very, very long time. Kilts are usually worn to weddings. Kilts are famous because of their tartan, especially famous because you can get tartan that could be your surname, like McKenzie. But my favourite tartan is the Isle of Skye, that is the tartan that my dad wore to his wedding.
I like tartan; I think all of the colours are cool. I only think that the dark tartan is nice because the light ones are too bright. I like the purples, greens and dark blues because they are nice and dark.
My friend Liam likes dark tartan as well. His favourite colour of tartan is green, red and blue. And my other friend Louise likes light tartan. What is your favourite tartan?
I have a kilt and it is the Isle of Skye, but I have a light one but it is not that light.
And that is why I would like the kilt to be one of the Seven Wonders of Scotland.
NEW LANARK
Rebecca Miller, 11, Bonnyrigg Primary School, Midlothian
I THINK New Lanark Heritage Centre should be one of the Seven Wonders of Scotland because when it was a working mill, it was different - all because of Robert Owen. He provided a home for those who worked for him and their families. The people were cared for, given an education, given a job and much more. Robert Owen made the right decision when he decided to give his workers a home and education. If he cared for his workers, they would, hopefully, repay the favour by working well in the mill.
New Lanark is a fun, yet educational, day out. If you want to view the whole site, you need lots of time, as it covers a lot of land. You can view old class-rooms, houses, a working mill, church, grocery shop, sweet and souvenir shop, not forgetting the millennium experience, which takes you from the present into the future. When you need a breath of fresh air, take a relaxing walk up to the Falls of Clyde and look at the impressive waterfalls.
Having visited New Lanark twice, I would recommend it as a good day out. If you would like to experience New Lanark School as it would have been, you can dress up in the uniforms they would have worn, write on slate boards and play their games. I have done all of this and can recommend it.
The village should be cared for as it played an important part in the industrial revolution. It is an educational and historical village and I think it should be recognised as one of the seven wonders of Scotland.
SINGLE MALT WHISKY
Dara Brennan, 11, Glasgow Gaelic Primary School
EIGHT bolls of malt to Friar John cor wherewith to make aqua vitae.
This entry was written in 1494 in the Exchequer Rolls, the earliest record of distilling in Scotland. However, legend says Dalriadic Scots introduced whisky when they arrived in Kintyre around 500AD. So I'd say we are whisky-making experts with over 15 centuries of practice and experience!
In Scotland, about 125 distilleries produce millions of litres every year. I think single malt whisky is a Scottish wonder because it is Scotland's most successful export, worth £800 million a year and supporting 31,000 jobs. It is exported to about 200 markets world-wide and distilleries play an important part in tourism by welcoming visitors to see whisky be made. Distilleries are found across Scotland from Orkney to the lowlands. Each makes its own kind of whisky in a different way, giving it a unique taste.
Single malt whisky is made from barley, water and yeast. It is usually kept for special occasions such as babies being born, toasting the bride and groom at weddings and saying a fond farewell at funerals. It is also known in Gaelic as uisge beatha, or water of life, and is usually the first drink adults taste each new year. It brings joy, unites families and gets the party going. What other Scottish wonder does all this? None!
ST KILDA
Morgan Green, 11, St Bernadette's Primary School, Tullibody, Clackmannanshire
THE archipelago of St Kilda, the remotest part of the British Isles, lies 41 miles west of Benbecula in Scotland's Outer Hebrides. Its islands, with their exceptional cliffs and sea stacks, form the most important seabird breeding station in north-west Europe. The evacuation of its native population in 1930 brought to a close an extraordinary story of survival.
St Kilda was bequeathed to The National Trust for Scotland by the 5th Marquess of Bute in 1957. In the same year, it was designated a national nature reserve. Just before his death, the Marquess of Bute agreed to lease a small area of land on Hirta to the MoD as a radar tracking station for its missile range on Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides. The lease was renewed in 1976 for a further 25 years.
Today, The National Trust for Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage and the MoD work in partnership to further a continuing programme of conservation and research on the islands and to ensure the care and protection of this World Heritage Site. St Kilda has received many national and international designations in recognition of its outstanding natural and culture heritage which changed in September 2003 when the Trust was granted 'approved status' by SNH to manage the National Nature Reserve directly.
St Kilda is Europe's most important seabird colony and one of the major seabird breeding stations in the North Atlantic. St Kilda is one of 24 global locations to be awarded 'mixed' World Heritage status for its natural and culture significance.
And so it is my opinion that St Kilda should be nominated one of the Seven Wonders of Scotland because it has wonderful history and is a place that we should be proud of as being of our nation.
