10 ways Scotland influenced the USA!

10 ways Scotland influenced the United States of America – An infographic with some great facts about how Scotland and her people helped to shape the United States…

Read More

Drumnacoub – A Bloody Battle in the Far North

Battle of Drumnacoub (between 1427 and 1433) This battle was an internal feud among the men of Clan MacKay but also involved some Sutherland men. A disastrous battle, it led to the loss of many senior members of the clan and most of the belligerents on both sides. The origins of the battle begin with […]

Read More

Watching Scotland: A peek at the Scottish Green Party

In the last Watching Scotland blog we took a look at the Scottish Conservative Party, or (from an American point of view) the somewhat unfortunately nicknamed “Tories”. From a right of centre perspective we now swing over and investigate what is going on over on the left with Scotland’s fourth largest political party (out of […]

Read More

The Font Stone

If you’re walking through the Abriachan Gardens you will come across a heart-shape stone which is deeply embedded in the ground called the Font Stone. The flat rock has a hole in the middle which is filled with water. The stone is within the Abriachan Community Gardens, if you follow the path up through the […]

The Westford Knight

What is claimed as a carving on a glacial boulder in the town of Westford, in Massachusetts, USA, is argued to be proof that an expedition, led by Henry Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, landed on the North American continent almost 100 years before Christopher Columbus. The ‘carving’ is subject to much speculation over its authenticity, […]

Border Reivers-Kinmont Willie Armstrong

The capture and rescue of Kinmont Willie Armstrong brought together three of the most colourful characters in the history of the Border Reivers. The impasse that existed between Sir Walter Scott, probably the most notable person to live on the sixteenth century Border, and Thomas Lord Scrope, English West March Warden, is a story of a clash of personalities of awesome proportions. Kinmont Willie? He was lost in the diplomatic wrangling. His capture changed nothing. He went on to reive until his death in about 1603.

Craigievar Castle to reopen to the public

After a £500,000 facelift, taking two years to complete, the National Trust for Scotland has announced that Craigievar Castle is to completely reopen to the public in May. The 17th century castle, which is near Alford in central Aberdeenshire, has had extensive work done to get it back to looking how it originally did back […]

Sir James W. Black dies, aged 85

Sir James Whyte Black, inventor of beta-blocker drugs has died at the age of 85. His family made the announcement yesterday that he passed away after a long illness. Born in Uddingston, Lanarkshire, in 1924, Black was the fourth son of five of a Baptist family. He was raised and educated in Fife, first attending […]