Perched atop a hill overlooking the Beauly Firth in Inverness, the Clachnaharry Monument commemorates a particularly fierce battle between Clan Munro and Clan Chattan that occurred in 1454. After a day of sunbathing (in April) in the Highlands, I decided to take advantage of the unusually warm evening and take a walk out to the […]
Upon the death of Scottish Doctor and Suffragist Elsie Inglis, Winston Churchill remarked that Inglis and her band of nurses would ‘shine in history’. From a Lady who raised rebel troops, to a seafaring businesswoman, here are five real-life heroines who have shone against the backdrop of Scottish history: Dr. Elsie Inglis – Surgeon and […]
A number of molehills have sprung up across the battlefield site at Culloden, much to the delight of a Jacobite supporters group. The Circle of Gentlemen – a Highland based Jacobite supporters society – is welcoming the site’s newest residents and hoping the creatures will be kept from harm. Said to have played a role […]
Last Friday Amanda and I attended the memorial service for James Charles Macnab of Macnab, 23rd Chief of Clan Macnab. The memorial was held in the Killin Kirk, followed by interment of the ashes of James and his wife Diana on the ancient Macnab burial island of Innis Bhuidhe. The journey from Edinbugh to Killin […]
Rosslyn Chapel is famous for appearing in Hollywood blockbuster The Da Vinci Code, as the last resting place of the Holy Grail. The chapel has always been shrouded in legend, mainly concerning hidden treasure hidden within it’s grounds, clues within the ornate carvings, just waiting to be deciphered. A new book just published claims to […]
One of the most fascinating things about Scotland is the way that a country steeped in history and tradition is colliding with the new. This is especially true of Scotland’s clans – distinguished by heraldry tracing back over a thousand years – and how this is manifesting itself in modern life. Last week I had […]
In 1545 the aptly titled War of Rough Wooing was in full, ruthless swing. In order to gain Scotland’s allegiance to England, King Henry VIII employed the curious tactic of scorching and pillaging Scotland into submission. In retaliation, approximately 2,500 Scottish soldiers were raised by the Chief of Clan Douglas, Archibald Douglas 6th Earl of […]
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have discovered accounts dating back more than one hundred years of Morag of Loch Morar. The descriptions paint a conflicting view of the monster, who is reputed to inhabit the Loch in the remote Lochaber area of the Highlands. One account describes her as a mermaid-like creature with flowing […]
A handwritten, unpublished work by a Scottish music hall performer known as the world’s worst poet is set to fetch thousands of pounds at auction. Edinburgh-born William McGonagall, won notoriety in the 19th century as an extremely bad poet, and to this day is regarded as the worst in English literature. His works were so […]
THE world’s top haggis hurler Alan Pettigrew has announced he is to quit before his 29 year old record is broken. His world record was set in 1984 when he threw a 1lb 8oz haggis 180ft and 10in on the island of Inchmurrin on Loch Lomond. But the retired school janitor, from Saltcoats, Ayrshire, fears […]
