Scotland’s worst terrorist incident occurred on the evening of Dec. 21, 1988 when a bomb exploded on board a PanAm Boeing 747 air liner on course from Frankfurt to New York. It crashed on the village of Lockerbie (Dumfries and Galloway), killing everyone on board as well as many on the land, a total of […]
Clan Gunn is one of Scotland’s oldest Clans, it’s history dating back centuries. The Clan is descended from Vikings, claiming their descent from Sweyn Asleifsson, a warlike Norwegian known as “the Ultimate Viking”. This most northern Clan inhabited Orkney, Sutherland and Caithness. Clan Gunn has been without a chief for more than 200 years. […]
Iain Sempill – Old Longyne and Auld Langsyne, originally uploaded by Amanda@ScotClans. Iain Sempill told me a fantastic story at The Gathering about how Auld Langsyne by Robert Burns, was based on a less known verse by a certain member of Clan Sempill. A great wee story by a very charismatic clansman.
Scotland’s oldest man, Robert ‘Bob’ Taggart, has passed away on the 13th of August at the age of 109, less than three weeks after being crowned Britain’s oldest man, after the death of First World War veteran Harry Patch. Taggart of Rutherglen, Lanarkshire, was a keen bowler, and even continued to play the sport well into his 100s. He was […]
This tiny ruined church sits in solitude overlooking the sea at Trumpan. Once the centre of a medieval village, Trumpan church now stands as a monument to a dark history where an entire population were massacred. Back in the 1500s The MacDonalds and The MacLeods were engaged in fierce clan rivalry. This came to a head in […]
Our roving reporter took this photo of the preparations for the Gathering this weekend – lots more to follow, watch this space, and hope to see lots of you there!
This tale is one of the saddest stories on Mull. At the foot of the 1,000ft cliffs of Gribun stands Clach na Leannan, the Stone of the Courting Couple. The stone is just 50 yards inland from a road where it passes the first farm coming from Salen direction, with a windbliwn elder tree at […]
Having discovered the game of tennis while in captivity as a child, King James I had his own court built when he returned to Scotland in 1424. When he was constantly losing balls down a nearby sewer, he ordered it to be blocked up. James I had numerous enemies – the nobilty were unhappy with […]
Lord Simple, director of the 2009 Gathering is calling for legislation to prevent cloth woven overseas being sold as ‘made in Scotland’. Currently, tourists in Scotland have no real guarantee that the kilt or scarf they are buying is the genuine article, and merchandise is often misleadingly labelled. The Scottish Tartans Authority has already made […]
With the year of Homecoming upon us we have been getting many requests for Kilts, so our customers can show their Scottish connections. Our friends across the pond have been especially looking for American District Tartans to wear. One that has just recently been asked about is Pennsylvania State tartan. So this is what we’ve […]
