James V of Scotland and a Border Widow
James V of Scotland was determined to subject his Border subjects to his rule. His visit to the Scottish Borders in 1530 would see the end of not only Johnnie Armstrong but also Cockburne of Henderland and Adam Scott, known as the King of Thieves.
Diary from St Kilda: Part 1 – Getting there
For me the best part of working at ScotClans is it justifies a lot of travelling around Scotland gathering stories, taking photos and generally exploring really fantastic, beautiful places all to gather information to build up our site. For a good while now I have become more and more interested in St Kilda, the remotest […]
Edinburgh Fringe best joke announced
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. […]
Rossyln Chapel’s new roof revealed after 14 years
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 […]
Sporran maker criticised for use of road kill
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 […]
Castle Sinclair Girnigoe’s Restoration Completed
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 […]
Border Reivers – Jamie Telfer of the Fair Dodhead
Not all men in the 16th century Border Country were Border Reivers. Many endeavoured to live in peace but were inevitably caught up in the theft, feud and blackmail. It would seem Jamie Telfer was one who fell foul of the animosity and confrontation yet, in this incident, achieved a more than satisfactory outcome.
Fyvie Castle and the ghostly trumpeter
Fyvie Castle, near Turiff in Aberdeenshire, is haunted by the ghost of a phantom trumpeter who first made his appearance there in the 18th century. The trumpeter was a man called Andrew Lammie and he fell in love with Agnes Smith, the local miller’s daughter. Agnes’ parents did not approve of Andrew Lammie. Learning that […]
The Cameron Men
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 […]