Buried in the beautiful Victorian Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh is David Octavius Hill, a painter who, along with Robert Adamson, pioneered in Scottish and aesthetic photography. They founded the Hill & Adamson Studio in 1843, Scotland’s first photographic studio, when the medium of photography was still very much in its infancy. And from this partnership, […]
View 2012 Highland Games and Scottish Events in a larger map A map pinpointing many of the Highland Games and Scottish events taking place this year across Scotland and North America. If anyone out there thinks I’ve missed some, please feel free to let us know!
A new church is set to be built in Glasgow made out of recycled items ranging from empty beer cans to bales of straw. The church, theatre, and community centre will be situated in Milton, north Glasgow. It has been described as one of the country’s most ambitious recycling projects, and it has had the […]
An interesting angle to the current debate on Scottish independence is what would happen to the British Flag, the Union Jack, should Scotland actually separate from the rest of the United Kingdom. It may seem a trivial point, but the flag and the union are so interwoven that it is worth looking at how it […]
Braemar Castle in Aberdeenshire was first built by the 18th Earl of Mar, John Erskine in 1628, using it as a hunting lodge and strong hold against the powerful neighbouring Farquharson family. The castle replaced the nearby Kindrochit Castle, which is said to have been built sometime in the 11th century. In 1689, John Farquharson, […]
Gordon Casely, a heritage consultant in Aberdeen, has inadvertently discovered that Prince William was a direct descendant of a 17th century Middleton from the small town of Luthermuir in south Aberdeenshire. Mr Casely was trying to discover if William’s soon-to-be wife Kate Middleton had Scottish ancestry, when he came across John Middleton, the son of […]
At the weekend, whilst trying to entertain my mum on a visit down to Edinburgh, I visited the National Galleries for the first time. There’s a great collection of artwork there, a lot of lovely pieces, but the painting that I found most striking and alluring was John Singer Sargent’s portrait of Lady Agnew of […]
View 2011 Highland Games and Scottish Events in a larger map We’ve updated our Scottish Clan Events Map 2011 to now include Highland Games and events that are happening across the USA and Canada. If there any events that you know of that we’ve missed, feel free to leave us a comment with details, and […]
I just found out that outside of the English speaking world, Argentina has the largest number of people of Scottish descent, which I thought was pretty interesting. The Argentine-Scot population currently stands at an estimated 100,000, and has existed, at varying levels, for over 180 years. Over the years there have been some very notable […]
This picture of tartan ribbon is pretty unique as it is world’s first ever colour photograph. The three colour method, which is the basis of virtually all practical colour processes, was suggested by the renowned Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell in 1855, and the photograph was then taken in 1861. Our tartan ribbon strips are […]
