Scotland Revealed product reviews

I've always been rather fascinated with Scotland and its stunning scenery, so I was looking forward to checking out this set of 3 DVDs. Unfortunately, the first DVD is a rather dry, drab ramble through a breakdown of Scotland, looking at its major cities and how they've changed, the waterways, the abbeys and castles, etc, and I found it too dry and heavy to watch more than one episode at a time without being at risk of falling asleep. The enthusiasm of the host, geographer Vanessa Collingwood, was quite often over the top and somewhat sickening; the music was grating and downright cheesy in places; and although the scenery was indeed absolutely beautiful, there was barely anything that would be classed as "typically Scottish" in sight... tartans, bagpipes (bagpipe music would've been far more suitable for this dvd!), haggis etc. There was quite a bit of history in this DVD, but it definitely could've been put across in a far more interesting way.

The one disc I did actually enjoy would definitely have been the 2nd disc, which tells of the different Scottish Clans. It gives a bit of the history of each major clan, plus shows the meaning for each Clan name, and the plaid. The lilting scottish accent of the narrator was rather pleasant to listen to, and it was definitely the narration that was the more interesting part of this DVD. It makes for a good DVD to listen to while working, not one of those you need to sit and watch as well.

Not being one for poetry, I found the 3rd disc, filled with Scottish poetry, to also be rather dry, bland, and boring. If poetry is your thing, then you might enjoy this, with the gentle rolling rhyming lilt of the narrator, but if you're not, then don't bother with this disc, as it may just send you to sleep... possibly useful for those who have trouble getting to sleep at night though.