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 […]
Our wee series of articles on Edinburgh continue today with a look at some of the symbols that have become synonymous with the city, their origins and what they represent and we’ll start off with what must be the most famous of them all, the Luckenbooth…. The story of the Luckenbooth begins on the Royal […]
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 […]
Intrinsically linked like bread and butter, whisky and the Clans are about as all things Scot as you’re going to get. Here are our top five links between the water of life and Scotland’s oldest families. 1. Dalmore In 1263, an ancestor of Clan Mackenzie saved King Alexander III of Scotland from being gored by […]
Edinburgh has a rich history of ghosts and ghastly characters, so much so that it is supposedly the most haunted city in all of Europe! Most of the tales and sightings take place around Edinburgh’s Old Town, in particular the Castle, which is said to be home to as many as seven spirits, the vaults […]
Greyfriars Bobby is known around the world as the epitome of man’s best friend, not budging from his masters grave from the day of his burial in 1858 up until his own passing in 1872. The story is well known in Scotland and around the world, through several books and films, particularly the 1961 Walt Disney […]
A stone discovered by chance in a graveyard on the Isle of Canna in the Inner Hebrides is Scotland’s first known example of a bullaun “cursing stone”, researchers and archaeologists have revealed. The cursing stone dates from approximately 800 AD. Interestingly, these cursing stones are sometimes linked with the earlier forms of Christian crosses. […]
Let me start off this post with a caveat. If you are a serious scholar or indeed if you have ever read a book or even paid attention during a documentary about the Jacobite rebellions then best to move on – nothing to see here - mind your step on the way out. The reason […]
Today a lovely pink envelope dropped through our letter box at the ScotClans office, always like pink envelopes – bills don’t tend to be in them. Inside was a thank you card, a newspaper cutting and a note all from Mrs Jill Sharp. A while back Jills Pen-Pal had contacted us telling us Jill’s story […]
Last week we reported that Edinburgh’s famous Greyfriar’s Bobby statue had undergone restoration work after years worth of tourists rubbing his nose for good luck. Less than 48 hours following the painstaking work to turn his shiny nose back to black, an abrasive material was “intentionally used” on the nose, stripping the repaired area. Police […]
