In the South of Scotland sitting right on the border with England the small village of Gretna Green is a popular tourist destination. A small satellite to the slightly larger town of Gretna. For nearly 250 years it has been synonymous with runaway marriages and has in time become one of the most romantic places in […]
As residents of Leith, the very fashionable port area to the north of Edinburgh I’ve always been curious about any clan connections this neck of the woods may have – We are – it appears- in the heart of Logan country… The Logans of Restalrig. Lochend park and its central loch, a haven for birdlife […]
Buried in Edinburgh’s Grey Friars Kirk are the bones of Christian Shaw. Christian came from a fairly wealthy family, and in her adult life became an industrialist who pioneered the invention of thread. Because of this, she’s regarded in relatively high esteem, alongside other Scottish inventors who helped shape our country and economy. But Christian […]
Scotland’s been responsible for so many inventions that one wonders just where we would be today without them. We all know the main ones – golf, the television, the telephone, the bicycle, the steam engine (okay, we don’t still use that one but it sure was important) – but here are 7 equally interesting/important ones […]
Archaeologists think they have discovered a ‘lost dark age kingdom in Dumfries and Galloway. The sixth century Kingdom of Rheged has always been a mystery, now they believe they have found the Royal Pictish Seat of this Kingdom. The location of Rheged had previously been thought by many historians to be in Cumbria. Pictish carvings […]
Clans and Families attending The Tattoo in August 2017 Updated 16.1.17 1 Here is the latest list of what Clans are marching on what days for The Splash of Tartan. There will be a series of Clan Parades that will take place each night of the Tattoo. This will be a major event within the Clan-themed […]
Clan chiefs have been sending out rallying calls to their Clansmen and Clanswomen all over the world to come and join them at the Edinburgh Tattoo this August. Rather than setting a fire on-top of a hill – this time they’re using the internet. Back in 2009 many of us remember the epic Clan March […]
It may be sister cities with San Diego, but what you might not be familiar with is Edinburgh’s more subtle connection with America’s Windy City. Sprawling 463 feet into the air at the bottom of Chicago’s famous ‘Magnificent Mile’ is the Tribune Tower, home to the Chicago Tribune and an epitome of the American architect’s desire […]
At Howburn Farm in South Lanarkshire, a scattering of flints, discovered by the Biggar Archaeology Group, turned out to be the earliest evidence found of human habitation in Scotland. The flints have been dated between 12,000 and 14,000 B.C. The implements are about 4cm in length, and as many as 40,000 fragments have been uncovered […]
A wonderful story from a broadside (early version of a newspaper) from 1828, about a man who was auctioning off his drunken wife at the Grassmarket in Edinburgh. Details of the extraordinary auction are held by the National Library of Scotland in its vast collection of broadsides, single newssheets which were distributed or pinned up […]
