Throughout the month of August in Edinburgh, look up to the sky above Edinburgh Castle at approximately 10:30pm and you’ll be greeted with a spectacular firework display. It’s currently festival time in Edinburgh, so this nightly nocturnal pyrotechnic treat means the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo has reached it’s grand finale for another evening. Performed every […]
The events company Unique Events and the National Trust for Scotland organising the signature event of Homecoming 2014, Bannockburn Live 2014 have just announced that sgian dubhs cannot be worn to the event stating safety reasons. We believe this is not only wrong but will cause more safety problems as well as bad PR for […]
Compiling 500 years of Scottish history is by no means an easy feat. Countless pages of history books burst at the seams with tales of battles, inventions, kings and queens, acts of law, migration, song – it’s hard enough to even pick where to begin. However, Scottish artist Martin Fowler has done just that, compiling […]
Just off the A68 on the outskirts of the Scottish Borders, a small sign points towards the remnants of an ancient highway. Known as Dere Street, the road was once a bustling hive of Roman (and later Medieval) activity that connected York with the Firth of Forth. You have to use a fair amount of […]
With only one week to go until the beginning of the largest Highland Games held outside of Scotland, this years gathering at Grandfather Mountain is shaping up to be one of the biggest. The games are held in the North Carolinian high country over four days attracting more than 50,000 punters, and coincide with the […]
A week ago I took advantage of a lovely sunny day in Edinburgh and cycled along the Innocent Railway, then on to Craigmillar Castle. The castle is an amazingly well-preserved 14th Century castle just on the outskirts of the Scottish capital. It was home to the Preston family for over 250 years and was visited […]
The Scottish Highland Games Association has for the first time published a universal Code of Conduct to be used by competitors and judges. The 15-page document aims to impose identical rules at more than 60 Highland games across Scotland, endeavouring to do away with an alternative form of events and disciplines. One rule strictly forbids […]
Perched atop a hill overlooking the Beauly Firth in Inverness, the Clachnaharry Monument commemorates a particularly fierce battle between Clan Munro and Clan Chattan that occurred in 1454. After a day of sunbathing (in April) in the Highlands, I decided to take advantage of the unusually warm evening and take a walk out to the […]
With Tartan Day just around the corner, we’ve put together a selection of global events celebrating Scotland’s contribution to the world. This year’s festivities range from a Ceilidh in Cuba, to historical reenactments in Buenos Aires and Whisky tasting in the Netherlands. Celebrated on April 6, Tartan Day falls on the anniversary of the signing […]
Last Friday Amanda and I attended the memorial service for James Charles Macnab of Macnab, 23rd Chief of Clan Macnab. The memorial was held in the Killin Kirk, followed by interment of the ashes of James and his wife Diana on the ancient Macnab burial island of Innis Bhuidhe. The journey from Edinbugh to Killin […]
