You may not expect to hear much about Roman hygiene in Scotland, but you’d be wrong. In Bearsden, a leafy suburb to the north of Glasgow, are the remains of a bathhouse and latrine that were in use more than…
St Giles’, High Kirk of Edinburgh
St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh is more properly known as the City Church, or High Kirk of Edinburgh, as well as the mother church of Presbyterianism. As a shining example of one of those confusing curiosities that we Brits love…
The Palace of Holyroodhouse
Unlike Balmoral, which is a private home, the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh is the Monarch’s official residence in Scotland. And parts of it are open to the public. So, assuming you don’t get to visit palaces too often, you…
The Devil’s Porridge
There is an exceptional little museum in the unassuming village of Eastriggs, in Scotland’s Dumfries and Galloway. The Devil’s Porridge Museum tells an unusual tale, of ‘the greatest factory on earth’, what it produced and the people that worked in…
Rough on the frontier
Near the little town of Bonnybridge, west of Falkirk, you will find the largely buried remains of Rough Castle. This was no fairy-tale fortress, with stone battlements and banners fluttering from romantic-looking towers. The lumps and ditches in the ground…
Kelpies
Any self-respecting student of folklore will tell you that, in Britain, a kelpie (or kelpy) is a Scottish water spirit, a waterwraith. Kelpies are shape-shifters, but usually appear in the form of a horse and are malignant, deriving pleasure from…
The time capsule of Culross
It’s become something of a cliché, to describe a place as ‘being frozen in time’, or similar. But in the case of Culross, a small village on the north bank of Firth of Forth in Fife (try saying that after…
The betrayal and capture of William Wallace
Hard facts about Scottish patriot and hero Sir William Wallace are as elusive as the Loch Ness Monster. The cult of Wallace fascinates me – and the 13th/14th century Wars of Scottish Independence between Scotland and England is a fascinating…
In the middle of Scotland
Have you ever found yourself in the middle of Scotland? Not just vaguely messing about in it, as it were, or immersed in its cultural hub (wherever that is), but bang in the geographical centre of the country? There really…
Robert Burns, an’ a’ that
What is all the fuss about Robert Burns? Robert – Robbie or ‘Rabbie’ – Burns was a prolific poet and lyricist, who died more than 200 years ago. He is Scotland’s favourite bard, still revered throughout the land, the world…
A Queen’s View of the Highlands
The Queen looked west over Loch Tummel and liked it very much. She liked it so much that someone named the view for her. Or, maybe she commanded that it should be so. Sadly, there’s a little uncertainty over which…
Flora MacDonald’s resting place
Flora MacDonald is celebrated as a heroine of the Jacobite rebellion of 1745. The part she played in helping the defeated Bonnie Prince Charlie escape “over the sea to Skye” has even been immortalised in song: “Speed bonny boat like…
Clava Cairns
Less than a mile and a half south-east from the pilgrimage site of Culloden battlefield is a much, much older, and intriguing, reminder of Scotland’s past, Balnuaran of Clava. Balnuaran of Clava is a prehistoric cemetery, 4,000 years old, and…
The pity of Culloden
The Battle of Culloden, fought on 16th April 1746, was the last pitched battle fought on British soil. Like many battlefield sites, Culloden’s oozes an atmosphere of profound sadness, embroidered by its own mythology. It was a long time ago,…