An English food historian has declared Haggis as an English delicacy, claiming the Scottish origins of the dish are as “made up” as tartan. Peter Brears has described Haggis as a ‘fine English dish’ in his new book Traditional Food in Northumbria, stating the food was made throughout England from the late 14th Century. Brears […]
A week ago I took advantage of a lovely sunny day in Edinburgh and cycled along the Innocent Railway, then on to Craigmillar Castle. The castle is an amazingly well-preserved 14th Century castle just on the outskirts of the Scottish capital. It was home to the Preston family for over 250 years and was visited […]
Work has begun on restoring the final resting place of twenty generations of Campbell chiefs. Built in 1798, the current mausoleum is on the site of an earlier chapel where Campbells have been buried since the 15th century. The mausoleum is located within the grounds of Kilmun Parish Church on the banks of the Holy […]
A dictionary of an extinct language spoken only in the remote Scottish Highlands has been uncovered in an English charity shop. The two-volume Norn Dictionary was anonymously donated to the Willow Burn bookshop in County Durham, and with a price tag of £120 is the most valuable item to date handed into the shop. Originally […]
In the little community of Marchmont in Edinburgh, one of the interesting characters you’ll see about the streets is Sonny Fascia, otherwise known as DJ Sonny. I first met Sonny at the cosy pub in the heart of the area The Earl of Marchmont, where he introduced me to his unique brand of Scottish turntablism […]
Drum Castle, ancient seat of Clan Irvine, has received a £700,000 conservation grant from Historic Scotland. The 700-year old castle boasts the oldest keep in Scotland and is the oldest intact building under the care of the trust. The castle is to undergo specialist works to remove cement pointing, replacing it with traditional, breathable lime […]
The Highlands in the spring time are a busy, bustling place. Tractors hold up traffic on the A9, lambs dot the earthy-coloured countryside and freshly sown fields of barley await the warmth of summer. A few weeks ago I visited the Highlands for the first time to interview my second Clan Chief, traveling about half […]
Perched atop a hill overlooking the Beauly Firth in Inverness, the Clachnaharry Monument commemorates a particularly fierce battle between Clan Munro and Clan Chattan that occurred in 1454. After a day of sunbathing (in April) in the Highlands, I decided to take advantage of the unusually warm evening and take a walk out to the […]
Lordscairnie Castle – situated on the outskirts of Fife near Moonzie – was built between 1493 and 1498 by Sir Alexander Lindsay, seventh Earl of Crawford. The forlorn ruins are being sold for around £200,000, with selling agent Smiths Gore hoping to find an ’emotional purchaser’ ready to take on the castle’s challenges. At the […]
Upon the death of Scottish Doctor and Suffragist Elsie Inglis, Winston Churchill remarked that Inglis and her band of nurses would ‘shine in history’. From a Lady who raised rebel troops, to a seafaring businesswoman, here are five real-life heroines who have shone against the backdrop of Scottish history: Dr. Elsie Inglis – Surgeon and […]
