Looking for something a bit different for your holidays? Then head to Scotland

Scotland brands its tourism campaigns with ‘Surprise yourself’ so the least we could do was go check it out.

We sent our cameraman Peter Cooney to the Wickerman Festival in Dumfries and Galloway last weekend. The famous film was shot in that part of Scotland and they now hold a music and arts festival there every year which culminates in the burning of, yep, you guessed it, a Wicker Man.

As you can see from Peter’s video, it looks like we missed a pretty good festival and he assures us he had a very, very good time. But there is much more on in Scotland right now.

Sticking with the Dumfries and Galloway area, which is the extreme south west region of Scotland, there are few better places for very secluded beaches and spectacular scenery and wildlife.

The area is packed with castles, scenic gardens and if you get homesick, Gallie Craig Coffee House swear that you can see Ireland on a clear day from their roof. All you need is the weather…

Staring on August 3, the Kirkcudbright Art and Crafts Trail is must for those interested in the arts. For readers the Wigtown Book Festival (September 28 – Oct 7) looks the business while the Lockerbie Jazz Festival (Sept 28-30) will suit those who can’t wait for Cork’s Jazz weekend.

And if you want a bit more of the culture that Scotland is famous for, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival kicks off later this week, with thousands of shows on for the entire month of August.

With Scotland only a short hop from Ireland, it might be time to head off and ‘surprise ourselves’.

For more info on holidays in Scotland, just click here and for more on what creative treats Scotland has in store for 2012, just click here. Peter stayed in The Cairndale Hotel and Leisure Club.