In June 1912 a flotilla of small boats sailed away from the tiny island of Mingulay, the boats carried a handful of crofters and their families and marked the end of over a thousand years of island history. The island of Mingulay forms part of the Bishop Islands, a small collection of islands that lie […]
While doing a little bit of research the other day I came across the story of a very interesting Scottish character Arthur Furguson. Here is his story: One sunny morning in 1923 a wealthy American tourist from Iowa was standing in Trafalgar Square gazing with admiration at Nelsons Column. A very well dressed and polite […]
Disney and Pixar are about to release a blockbuster animation that’s set in Scotland entitled ‘Brave’. But if a recent trailer that was released on Youtube is anything to go by it looks like they might need to do a wee bit more research or run the risk of having more than a few angry […]
Dr Giles Jackson an American based academic and long time supporter of the anti capitalist movements worldwide has come up with a novel way of uniting those who support this cause under a tartan banner. He has registered a tartan called ‘Liberty Square’ which he hopes those who support the cause will wear. The tartan […]
Historic Scotland has recently opened a consultation with the public as it moves to increase the number of recognised historic battlefield sites around Scotland. Under plans drawn up areas such as the site of the battle of Loudon Hill, One of Robert the Bruce’s early victories, Mary Queen of Scots defeat at Langside and the […]
One famous battle immediately springs to mind when you think about Robert the Bruce; The Battle of Bannockburn. A great victory for the Scots led by Bruce over the English foe. But before this Bruce’s path had been a hard one and he suffered many humiliations on the route to victory. It all started with […]
In the western isles of Scotland two great clans were locked in a long running feud. The MacLeod’s who occupied parts of Skye and Harris and their neighbouring MacDonalds from Skye and Uist. Over centuries the two clans had a number of pitched battles as dominance of the area swung to and fro. These ‘tit […]
The small village of Arisaig lies on Scotlands West coast to the North West of the town of Fort William. The name ‘Arisaig’ means ‘safe place’. This remote part of Scotland is steeped in history and in particular the history around that most troublesome period known as the Jacobite Rebellions. When ‘Bonny Prince Charlie’ began […]
Yesterday I decided to take a long walk, over from Ballachulish to where we were camping near Duror. It was a magnificent day and here are some photos from my trip. The journey started in Ballachulish. This small town has become well known for the slate which was quarried here from the late 1600s onwards […]
A few days ago we were walking around the North end of Glencoe. A forest path eventually takes you to a rocky outcrop called “Tom a’ Ghrianain”. The legend has it that this hill was the site of a beacon which would be lit by the clan in time of emergencies or when they needed […]
