Scotland Magazine Issue 22

Getting away from it all for charity

Dominic Roskrow reports on two days of walking in Speyside

It has been a strange summer in both Scotland in particular and Britain in general. World politics and events came knocking at our door in a barbed triple whammy in July. First we had the G8 summit a...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section From the Editor

The world’s eyes on Edinburgh

This has been an eventful summer for Scotland, what with the G8 Summit at Gleneagles Hotel and the accompanying demonstrations in Edinburgh, Stirling and Auchterarder. No sooner had the streets of Sc...

By Roddy Martine in the section Roddy Martine's World

Home of the famous Thane

Charles Douglas visits Glamis Castle, home of the earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne

The other day I met this year’s winner of the Man Booker International Prize, an Albanian of the name of Ismail Kadare, who informed me that he had come to Scotland to visit Macbeth’s castle. I scratc...

By Charles Douglas in the section Historic Houses

The Lake of Mentieth

Nick Nairn is one of Europe’s top chefs and he has a cook school near Aberfoyle. Text and pictures by Andy Hall

The Lake of Menteith, near Aberfoyle in the Trossachs, is Scotland’s only lake as opposed to loch. For the purposes of A Sense of Belonging to Scotland, it was chosen by chef Nick Nairn as his favouri...

By Andy Hall in the section Scenic Scotland

Epic tales & Border ballads

John Hannavycontinues his series tracing the footsteps of Sir Walter Scott

Any writer will tell you that writing about what you know is easier than making it all up! Using locations with strong personal ties draws on your own memories, and helps you weave your own emotional ...

By John Hannavy in the section Scottish Landscapes

A tale of two kingdoms

James Irvine Robertson delves deep in to history to explain the fundamental cultural divisions of Scotland

The great cultural division in Scotland was once Pict and Scot. It lasted for some three and a half centuries and is forgotten. Asimilar gulf, now virtually petered out after lasting somewhat longer ...

By James Irvine Robertson in the section Scottish History

It's looking black for rare grouse

Graham Holliday seeks out the very rare black grouse

The black grouse is one of Scotland’s rarest, yet most spectacular birds. It can be found throughout much of mainland Scotland and in the Inner Hebrides. Like the similarly rare but far larger caperc...

By Graham Holiday in the section Scottish Wildlife

Go wild in the country

Marieke Smegan argues that wildlife alone is worth visiting Scotland for

Scotland has an amazing number of animals. There are hundreds of different species of birds, mammals and sea animals, some of which are quite easy to spot. To list them all would be impossible. Howeve...

By Marieke Smegen in the section Scottish Wildlife

Time traveller

A journey to Gigha is like a journey to the past. Serena Allott reports

It takes just three hours to travel from Glasgow to the Isle of Gigha, but once on board the Tayinloan ferry, chugging across the icy waters of Gigha Sound, you will journey back in time. Originally ...

By Serena Allott in the section Scottish Journeys

A Kingdom to explore (Fife)

A journey from Edinburgh to Dundee is an ideal way to discover the Kingdom of Fife. Dominic Roskrow reports

Mention the Kingdom of Fife and almost certainly the words ‘St Andrews’ spring to mind. But if you don’t know all about St Andrews and the golfing heritage of the region, then you’ve either not been r...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section Regional Focus

Dundee & the Kingdom of Fife

Sally Toms provides a selection of places to visit, places to eat and places to stay in the region

WHERE TO VISIT. Dundee. Broughty Museum Broughty Ferry 15th century coastal fort, featuring a museum of local history and wildlife. Specialises in the history of whaling, and includes armoury and ...

By Sally Toms in the section Regional Focus

New life for Lanark

New Lanark is now a tourist attraction and recognised internationally. But that wasn’t always the case. Hannah Adcock reports

New Lanark is one of Scotland’s most impressive success stories. Just over 30 years ago this historic village was on the brink of ruin, with the scrap metal merchants poised to move in. Today, the v...

By Hannah Adcock in the section Best of Scotland

Facelift for the future

Edinburgh’s “Caley” celebrates more than 100 years of hospitality by seamlessly blending historic with modern

What does it take to bring an historic hotel into the 21st century? For one of two grand dame hotels (the other is the Balmoral) on Princes Street in Edinburgh, it took 130 site operatives a little mo...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section Best of Scotland

Taste of the country

IN EXCLUSIVE ASSOCIATION WITH HotelReviewScotland.com

Roxburghe Hotel. By Kelso, Roxburghshire. Tel: +44 (0)1573 450 331. The Roxburghe Hotel and Golf Course, near the handsome market town of Kelso on the confluence of the Tweed and Teviot rivers, is an...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section Best of Scotland

What Flora did next

Whatever happened to Flora Macdonald, the woman who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie to escape from the British? Jackie Cosh reports

The name Flora Macdonald is famous the world over as the woman who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie to escape from the soldiers of the Hanovarian army. With the Prince disguised as an Irish maid, Betty Bo...

By Jackie Cosh in the section Scottish History

Chance to be a king at the castle

Special private events at Edinburgh Castle are highly popular. Sue Lawrence went to find out what was on offer

On November 24, 1440, a ‘Black Dinner’ took place in Edinburgh Castle in the presence of King James II, then aged 10 years old. A young rival for power, the Earl of Black Douglas, was also invited to...

By Sue Lawrence in the section Scottish Food

Live like a Laird for Hogmanay

If you must only ever spend one night in Scotland, make sure that it’s Hogmanay. And make sure you’re in a castle. Andrew Ross reports

There’s no finer time in the Scottish social calendar than 31st December, or Hogmanay as it is known locally. From the gargantuan Edinburgh street party, with hundreds of thousands of revellers from ...

By Andrew Ross in the section Scottish Celebrations

A complex clan (Clan Fraser)

In this issue James Irvine Robertson looks at Clan Fraser

There is a senior and a secondary branch of Clan Fraser, whose chief is Lady Saltoun, with the 18th Lord Lovat chief of the cadet clan, the Frasers of Lovat. The progenitor of both families, a de Fris...

By James Irvine Robertson in the section Scottish Clans

Border patrol

Mark Nicholls looks at the King’s Own Scottish Borderers and its heartland where Scotland and England meet

The King’s Own Scottish Borderers is a regiment that truly embraces the spirit of its name. In every sense a Scottish regiment, the heartland for the KOSB is the landscape straddling the border with ...

By Mark Nicholls in the section Scottish Regiments

Wild in the country

Gary McLean looks at the best hunting and country sports hotels

Man at one with elements, man in the hills, right in the very heather, breathlessly quiet; or waist deep in the swift river, aware of every eddy and each pebble underfoot. Man the hunter. The hairs o...

By Gary McLean in the section Scottish Hotels

The whisky regions of Scotland

Different regions of Scotland produce different styles of whisky. Dominic Roskrow explains how each area can vary

Been to one distillery and think you’ve seen them all? Think again. Not only do distilleries vary enormously in terms of size and operation, and with regard to the facilities they offer and the tours ...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section Scottish Whisky

Art and antiques news

Sally Toms rounds up all the latest shows and exhibitions

Drambuie collection for sale. Lyon and Turnbull is to auction one of the most important collections of Jacobite art after an extensive tour of Britain, North America and the Far East. The Drambuie Co...

By Sally Toms in the section Scottish Antiques