Gruinard island is just off the mainland, in Gruinard Bay, along the A832 halfway between Gairloch and Ullapool. During WWII it became the focus of the UKs secret effort to find a weapon capable of defeating the Nazis. These experiments left the island so contaminated it was deemed out of bounds for almost 50 years. […]
There is an old Scottish tale behind the MacLachlan Coat of Arms. Legend has it that the reason behind the two roebucks (deers) supporting the MacLachlan Chief’s Coat of Arms came in 1249, when King Alexander II made his great show of strength in Argyll, he ordered the local chiefs to send their money (taxes) […]
On the 5th of August, 1388, the Battle of Otterburn took place. This was a skirmish between Scotland’s James, 2nd Earl of Douglas, and England’s Henry “Hotspur” Percy, the son of the Earl of Northumberland. This battle was part of continuous Anglo-Scottish border conflicts that were quite common at the time. It was a decisive […]
There is something about the North West coast of Scotland. Maybe it’s the ancient weather beaten rocks of the shoreline or the near perfect sandy beaches with their scattering of tiny tidal islands. Perhaps its the light or the remote locations. Whatever it is I always feel like I’ve ventured into another world, as if […]
Over the weekend of the 22nd to the 24th of August, Scotland’s Tea Festival will be hosting a series of events in Laurencekirk and Auchenblae in Aberdeenshire celebrating tea and Scotland’s contribution to the tea industry, particularly focusing on the life of local born man James Taylor, who was known as the “The Father of […]
A few months ago we received an email from Sue McIntosh president of COSCA (the Council of Scottish Clans and Associations) The email contained an invitation to join them over at Grandfather Mountain Highland Games in North Carolina. We considered the invitation for about half a second before jumping at the chance; Grandfather Mountain must […]
In the last instalment of this blog I had reached the campsite at Inveroran, the final three stages of my walk would take me across the infamous Rannoch Moor to Glencoe, then on to Kinlochleven and through the Lairig Mhor to Fort William. Day 6 Inveroran to Glencoe Today was one of the days that […]
Having completed what is regarded as the hardest section of the West Highland Way. would I be able to continue?…. After a welcome pub meal I crawled back to my tent and called home. That evening I had wrestled with the dilemma of what to do now; my feet were in a sorry state and […]
In part one of this series of blogs on my West Highland Way walk I had reached the first stop at Drymen. Still ahead of me would be 7 days of walking and some of the most challenging sections of Scotland’s most popular long distance path. Day 2: Drymen to Rowardrennan My first night under […]
For several years I’ve been planning to walk the West Highland Way, one of Scotland’s best known long distance walks that runs for 96 miles from Milgavie just north of Glasgow all the way to Fort William in the North West Highlands. I have just returned from finally managing to complete this incredible and iconic […]
