The Scott Monument, sometimes referred to as the ‘gothic rocket’, is a Victorian Gothic monument to the author Sir Walter Scott. It stands towards the east end of Princes Street in Edinburgh, and happens to be the largest monument to a writer in the world, and was completed on August 1st 1846. Scott was a […]
Its with no small amount of pride and pleasure that we welcome aboard our latest guest blogger and addition to the ScotClans family, Susan McIntosh. Those of you who move in clan circles may already know her as she is a ‘weel kent face’ to many who have connections with the clan diaspora. Susan has […]
On Wednesday 22nd July Edinburgh Zoo celebrated the 102nd anniversary of the day it first opened to the public. Going from strength to strength through the years the zoo has become Scotland’s second largest paid for tourist attraction, only being beaten by Edinburgh castle, and attracting over 600,000 visitors every year. This week we will […]
Highland Titles have yet again been shown up for lying to the public. An official ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority has said they must stop saying the land they are ‘selling’ is in Glencoe as it is not. The Wood titled ‘Glencoe Wood’ is in Duror. Please see the full ASA ruling here > […]
Glamis Castle, found in the Angus area, is the historic seat of the Lyon family. The estate was presented to Sir John Lyon as a gift by Robert II in 1376. The Bowes-Lyon family, as they are now, still owns the castle and grounds as the Earls of Strathmore. The family has a large link […]
Around 1489 Alexander, Master of Lindsay, and his brother John, sons of the fifth Earl of Crawford, quarrelled and fought at Inverqueich Castle, in Lower Strathardle. Alexander was severely wounded, he should have recovered had his wife not helped him on his way by smothering him with a down pillow as he lay in bed […]
With the Forth Bridge having recently joined five other areas of Scotland as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, we thought this week we would take a look at what makes these sites so special and worth preserving for future generations. If you were not aware UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and […]
After more than a year of consideration by the UN cultural committee, the Forth Bridge has finally been awarded the coveted Unesco World Heritage status. The Forth Bridge shares this status with only five other sites around the country, New Lanark, St Kilda, the Old and New Towns in Edinburgh, Neolithic Orkney and the Antonine […]
John MacAndrew also known as Ian Beag Macandra was the most excellent archer that the Highlands or probably Scotland has ever produced. Though not tall in stature he was brave at heart, he was known as Little John MacAndrew. There are many tales of heroic deeds, most of these about fighting off cattle thieves. I […]
This old map of Scotland from between 1558 and 1566 is quite interesting. Just look at how big Hirta is at the top of the map.
