Meggernie Castle was built by a man called ‘Mad’ Colin Campbell, he was called this because it was thought that he suffered a blow to the head while he was married to his first wife sometime in the early 1580’s. We do know that in August of 1583 he made a complaint saying, “three score persons or […]
Agnes, Countess of Dunbar was also known as Black Agnes because of her black hair and eyes and also her sallow complexion. She was married to Patrick. 9th Earl of Dunbar and her parents were Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray and Isabel Stewart of Bonkyll. The main reason we remember Black Agnes is because of her […]
It was 1460 when King James III gave the order to flood the ground between Old Town and Princess Street to strengthen the Castle’s defences. To do so a dam was built where the North Bridge is today and natural spring water from the original St. Margaret’s Well was used for the flooding that created […]
Dundonald Castle is not one of Scotland’s most famous castles, yet it deserves to be. To look at the ruins now, sitting atop a hill in Ayrshire, you wouldn’t realise that it was once a royal residence, and that it played a crucial role in Scotland’s history. Dundonald has been called the cradle of the […]
Francis Alexander Mackinnon, born April 9, 1848, was the 35th chieftain of the Mackinnon Clan and a Test cricketer for England. Arunabha Sengupta remembers the life and career of the man who was the second batsman to be dismissed during Test cricket’s first hat-trick. This article was originally written for The Cricket Country, and has […]
Having seen dozens of top ten places to visit in Scotland, mostly compiled by tourist guides who’s writers have barely scratched the surface we felt it was time to weigh in with our personal view. At ScotClans we spend a lot of time travelling to parts of Scotland collecting stories and legends and capturing the […]
Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital and my all time favourite city, is full to the brim with interesting tales, facts and histories that have built up over it’s very long lifetime. We wanted to share a few of the shorter gems(We’ll give the longer one’s a post to themselves :)) that we found whilst doing some research […]
There is something about the North West coast of Scotland. Maybe it’s the ancient weather beaten rocks of the shoreline or the near perfect sandy beaches with their scattering of tiny tidal islands. Perhaps its the light or the remote locations. Whatever it is I always feel like I’ve ventured into another world, as if […]
Blair Castle, one of Scotland’s biggest tourist destinations and the ancestral home of the Murray Clan, is marking Scotland’s Year of Homecoming with an open invitation to all Murrays across the globe to visit their ancestral home, and their visits to the Castle will be absolutely free. The Castle, which has been the home of […]
The seat of Clan Boyle, also known as the ‘graffiti castle’, is set to reopen after a five year £500,000 renovation. Kelburn Castle near Largs, North Ayrshire was closed in 2009 following a fire in the roof. Extensive renovations have now been finished and it is to reopen at the start of April as a […]
