In the fraternity of the super wealthy there are many very expensive indulgences that help proclaim the owner’s status; The massive yacht, the exotic cliff top villa, maybe a private jet? However no matter how far up the fortune 500 rankings you go the Duke of Atholl has something that beats every oligarch hands down. […]
I have just returned from a trip to Lewis and came across this wonderful story. It is from the Shiant islands (meaning the holy or enchanted islands). The Shiant Islands lie four miles or so off the coast of Lewis and 12 from the northern tip of Skye. The Shiants are a wild and dramatic […]
The Scott Monument, sometimes referred to as the ‘gothic rocket’, is a Victorian Gothic monument to the author Sir Walter Scott. It stands towards the east end of Princes Street in Edinburgh, and happens to be the largest monument to a writer in the world, and was completed on August 1st 1846. Scott was a […]
Glamis Castle, found in the Angus area, is the historic seat of the Lyon family. The estate was presented to Sir John Lyon as a gift by Robert II in 1376. The Bowes-Lyon family, as they are now, still owns the castle and grounds as the Earls of Strathmore. The family has a large link […]
Around 1489 Alexander, Master of Lindsay, and his brother John, sons of the fifth Earl of Crawford, quarrelled and fought at Inverqueich Castle, in Lower Strathardle. Alexander was severely wounded, he should have recovered had his wife not helped him on his way by smothering him with a down pillow as he lay in bed […]
John MacAndrew also known as Ian Beag Macandra was the most excellent archer that the Highlands or probably Scotland has ever produced. Though not tall in stature he was brave at heart, he was known as Little John MacAndrew. There are many tales of heroic deeds, most of these about fighting off cattle thieves. I […]
The letters of Rachel Erskine, Lady Grange, who was exiled to St Kilda by her husband have now been made public by The Edinburgh University Image Collections. The letters were smuggled to Lady Grange’s solicitor in Edinburgh and offer an incredible insight into the suffering and hardships she endured on the island. Lady Grange spent […]
I recently came across a book called My Favourite Place, where various writers discuss their most-loved places in Scotland. The book was available free from libraries throughout Scotland in 2012 as part of Book Week Scotland. Monty Python’s Michael Palin is featured in the book, discussing the Falls of Dochart in Killin. Killin is the […]
While touring recently around the islands of the Outer Hebrides we came upon this strange story. In 1830 people were busy cutting seaweed at Sgeir na Duchadh near Grimnis on the west coat of the island of Benbecula. One woman spotted a creature several yards out in the water. The creature looked like a woman in […]
There is an old Clan MacDonald legend which dates back to the early 1800s telling of a large dog with a rough grey coat and an unearthly wailing bark that appears to descendants from the Morar MacDonalds at the point of death. The tale begins with a young Highlander called Dugald MacDonald, the young man […]
