January The New Year will start with a whizz-bang in Scotland when fireworks form saltires in the skies at midnight, heralding a year of countrywide celebrations titled "Homecoming Scotland" (0845 859 1006; visitscotland.com).
The big hitters are the Commonwealth Games (0844 826 2014; glasgow2014.com) in Glasgow from 23 July to 3 August, and The Ryder Cup (0844 854 2013; rydercup.com) at Gleneagles in Perthshire from 23-28 September, the week after Scots vote on whether to become an independent country.
Other reasons to visit Scotland this year include Bannockburn Live (0844 493 2139; battleofbannockburn.com), marking the 700th anniversary of Edward II's defeat by Robert the Bruce. The battlefield near Stirling has a new visitor centre opening in March, and there'll be a re-enactment of the conflict from 28-30 June (day ticket