The origins of Scottish Highland dancing like most of our Scottish traditions are swathed in the mists of time. Our proud history and traditions were orally told and passed through the generations. It is said that the old kings and clan chiefs would hold Highland games as a means to select the best men […]
Robert the Bruce, arguably one of Scotlands best known kings died in 1329. On his deathbed he confided in his friend and lieutenant Sir James Douglas, hero of Bannockburn. Now depending on which version of this story you hear he either asked Douglas that his heart be taken from his body and presented at the […]
In this series of articles Rodger Moffet at ScotClans looks at some of the symbolism used in clan heraldry and explores their meaning and origin. In this episode we look at the powerful border clan, Armstrong. This blog should probably have the working subtitle ‘just when you thought you knew the answer’. I have to […]
Scotland has had a long and turbulent history. From the Middle Ages where life was best described by Thomas Hobbes’ quote as ‘Nasty, brutish and short’ through the troubled times of the reformation and on to the Jacobite risings. Here is a rundown of Scots who have met an untimely (or just plain bizarre) end. […]
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 […]
Edinburgh became the sister city of San Diego, USA in 1977. Sister cities were the result of an initiative by President Dwight D. Eisenhower who believed that twinning cities and connecting people at the community level would forge strong international relations and build trust which would result in a more peaceful world. These two cities shared […]
The New Town in Edinburgh is a beautiful area right smack bang in the centre of the city, contrasting greatly with it’s counterpart the Old Town. One straight and neat, in fact considered to be a masterpiece of city planning, the other jumbled and confused but layered in history. Let’s take a look at a very […]
Let’s take a look at 12 amazing facts about the lochs of Scotland, and we’ll start with a wee bonus fact: did you know there are over 760 lochs in Scotland? With that many of them we could give you interesting facts about them all day, but here’s what we thought the best were…
