The aftermath of the 1650 Battle of Dunbar saw the grave mistreatment of 5,000 Scottish prisoners-of-war at the hands of the English Parliamentarian army. These battle-weary prisoners were starved of food and sleep, whilst at the same time force-marched over 100 miles to a makeshift prison in hellish conditions. Yet this is one of the […]
The story of how Scotland got it’s name is an interesting one. Tradition has it that the legend starts back in ancient Egypt, where a pharaoh’s daughter, called Scota, and two Greek princes formed a group which was very troublesome and they were banished because traditionally, Scota and her group had a reputation everywhere […]
Thomas Learmonth from Ercildoune (now Earlston), better known as Thomas the Rhymer was a 13th century Laird, poet and a supposed prophet. Legend tells us how Thomas the Rhymer went out walking one day and fell asleep beneath a tree on the side of the Eildon Hills. He awoke to find a shining woman sitting […]
Clan Cunningham USA (CCUSA) society has changed it’s name to Clan Cunningham International (CCI) with the intention of uniting all of the various Cunningham societies under a new chieftain. CCUSA claimed that after their recent trip to Scotland, where they represented Clan Cunningham at The Gathering, it was made clear to them that Cunninghams […]
Lachlan Cattanach has been titled as the ‘only bad chief of Clan MacLean‘. Just outside the south-east corner of Pennygown chapel, near Salen on the Isle of Mull, there are two carved slabs lying on the ground. Apparantly, these graves are of this chief and one of his wives. The two were reported to have […]
Scotland’s worst terrorist incident occurred on the evening of Dec. 21, 1988 when a bomb exploded on board a PanAm Boeing 747 air liner on course from Frankfurt to New York. It crashed on the village of Lockerbie (Dumfries and Galloway), killing everyone on board as well as many on the land, a total of […]
Iain Sempill – Old Longyne and Auld Langsyne, originally uploaded by Amanda@ScotClans. Iain Sempill told me a fantastic story at The Gathering about how Auld Langsyne by Robert Burns, was based on a less known verse by a certain member of Clan Sempill. A great wee story by a very charismatic clansman.
Scotland’s oldest man, Robert ‘Bob’ Taggart, has passed away on the 13th of August at the age of 109, less than three weeks after being crowned Britain’s oldest man, after the death of First World War veteran Harry Patch. Taggart of Rutherglen, Lanarkshire, was a keen bowler, and even continued to play the sport well into his 100s. He was […]
This tiny ruined church sits in solitude overlooking the sea at Trumpan. Once the centre of a medieval village, Trumpan church now stands as a monument to a dark history where an entire population were massacred. Back in the 1500s The MacDonalds and The MacLeods were engaged in fierce clan rivalry. This came to a head in […]
Our roving reporter took this photo of the preparations for the Gathering this weekend – lots more to follow, watch this space, and hope to see lots of you there!
