Highland Council has given the go ahead for John O’Groats to receive a £6.5 million face lift from the Manchester based Natural Retreats. Work is expected to start sometime next year and the company are looking to remodel the Journey’s End cafe as well as transform the derelict John O’Groats hotel into a visitor centre […]
One of the world’s leading travel guides has named the Shetland Islands as one of the top 10 regions on earth to visit. The Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2011 places the islands at number six in the world. You can see some of my photos from when I visited the Shetland Islands in 2014 […]
A ban on the trade of seal products by the European Union put an end to the continuation of the sale of traditional seal skin sporrans which are a vital part of Highland dress. However, a loophole in the ban could see the skin make a return with the help of the Inuit people in […]
Tim Vine has one the award for the funniest joke at Edinburgh’s Festival Fringe. His one liner, “I’ve just been on a once-in-a-lifetime holiday. I’ll tell you what, never again.” was deemed the best joke this year by the public after a shortlist of 24 jokes were selected by a panel of eight comedy judges. […]
After 14 years of work, the canopy has finally been removed from the roof of Rosslyn Chapel. The canopy was put up while major work was done to the roof of the chapel which, for hundreds of years, had been letting in rain water leading to structural decay. It took six weeks to carefully remove […]
A Beauly taxidermist is facing criticism from animal rights campaigners for creating sporrans from local road kill. Kate Macpherson, a trained taxidermist for over 20 years, collects badgers, foxes, deers, and stoats from country roads near where she lives, and has licences to handle protected animals. However, this hasn’t stopped a number of complaints from […]
On Sunday (01/08) Castle Sinclair Girnigoe will open to the public after a ten-year long restoration. The £700,000 facelift will try to help preserve the castle’s archeological and historical importance, and there are a further two phases planned, making the restoration a multi-million pound project which intends to turn Castle Sinclair Girnigoe into a major […]
The name Cameron originates from the Gaelic words ‘cam’, meaning wry or crooked, and ‘sron’ meaning nose, suggesting that the progenitor of the Clan Cameron had a crooked nose! Cameron is one of the most popular in the Highlands, and the name of Lochiel, the Chief of the Clan, has always stood for everything that […]
A set of medals, including the Victoria Cross, and a cannonball, has sold at auction for £252,000, more than doubling its predicted £120,000 price. The medals, which were awarded to John Simpson Knox during the Crimean War, were accompanied by a Russian cannonball that was responsible for blowing off Knox’s left arm during the Seige […]
A team of archaeologists led by Dr. Tony Pollard from the University of Glasgow’s Centre for Battlefield Archaeology (Guard) have concluded in a report that the 1745 Battle of Prestonpans probably took place 1/2 km further east than what was initially believed. It is now thought, after extensive work, that the main battlefield was actually […]
