The 30th of November is celebrated by Christians across the world as Saint Andrew’s day; remembering the day that Andrew, one of the Jesus’ twelve apostles, was martyred by crucifixion on an X-shaped cross, also known now as a ‘St Andrew’s Cross’, in Patras, in Greece. However, for Scots, the day is more about celebrating […]
The eldest son of ‘Auld’ (Old) Wat of Harden was William Scott who would succeed his father as Baron of Harden and be knighted by James VI. Harden House is still to be seen about three miles south of Hawick in the Scottish Borders as is the deep glen where Auld Wat hid the cattle […]
Today is the third, and final, Friday the 13th of 2009, and the date has long been associated with superstition and bad luck. The number 13 is considered awkward and irregular because of the ‘completeness’ of the number twelve, which is reflected by the twelve months of the year, twelve hours of the clock, the […]
One of the visitors to our site told us about this great Clan Johnstone legend: The Battle of Dryfe Sands on the 6th of December, 1593 saw the Johnstones and the Maxwells fight it out near the town of Lockerbie. On the day of the battle Lady Johnstone went out with her maidservant to see […]
The Battle of Killiecrankie, fought on the 27th of July, 1689, was part of the Jacobite Risings trying to get James VII/II back on the throne in Scotland, England, and Ireland. It was a bloody victory for the Highland Jacobite army against the government troops (mainly comprising of lowland Scots, incorrectly referred to as ‘English’) […]
The Lords Forrester were a principal family in the Corstorphine area of Edinburgh. Their main home was Corstorphine Castle, a 14th century stronghold which, by the 18th century, was nothing but ruins, and today nothing of the castle remains but a 16th century dovecot. Sometime during the 17th century, a James Forrester was laird at […]
Sir John Carmichael of that Ilk was murdered in June 1600 by a party of Scottish Reivers as he rode from Langholm to Lochmaben to attend a Warden Court. Sir John was born in 1542, son to an illustrious family which hailed from Lanarkshire. He was a direct ancestor of the Earls of Hindford. He […]
Near the village of Milton in West Dunbartonshire lies the Overtoun Bridge; an arch bridge which has become famous for the bizzarely large number of dogs who have leapt over the side to their death. Built in 1895 by Lord Overtoun, the Victorian bridge stands 50 feet over the Overtoun Burn which flows below. The […]
Ard Hill is a wooded promontory on Lochalsh, south of Reraig. It is enshrined in MacKenzie Clan Law. When the Clan needed to communicate with all it’s Clan members, usually to rally them in times of trouble, a barrel of tar would be set alight at the top of the hill. This image of […]
Knock Castle is also known as Caisteal Camus, it is 3.5 miles north of Armadale on the Isle of Skye. It was held by the MacLeods in the fifteenth century, but later passed to the MacDonalds. Knock Castle became the key stronghold for the Lords of the Isles – The MacDonalds. Some say that […]
