Scotland Magazine Issue 35

Breaking the habit

Scotland is full of new discoveries, says Sally Toms

You know how it is; you get to know a place well enough and yet always end up going to the same places. Like when you order the same dish from your local takeaway, because you know it’s the one you l...

By Sally Toms in the section From the Editor

Life on Lewis

At this time of year I am usually to be found on the island of Lewis, where I annually meet up with a group of old friends in a stalking lodge, far from the madding crowd. As the temperature drops, h...

By Roddy Martine in the section Roddy Martine's World

Celtic Connections

16th Jan – 3rd Feb 2008
Glasgow

The biggest winter music festival in the world, Celtic Connections features artists from around the globe alongside the very best Scottish talent at venues across the city. From concerts, ceilidhs and...

By Sally Toms in the section Scotland Events

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay

29th Dec 2007 – 1st Jan 2008
Edinburgh

Four days and nights of amazing events kick off the world’s greatest new year party.With the traditional torchlit procession, street performers, fireworks, concerts, ceilidh, the big Hogmanay party it...

By Sally Toms in the section Scotland Events

Scotland Events

Loch Ness Hogmanay Festival 28th December 2007 – 2nd January 2008 (dates tbc) Drumnadrochit A six-day festival which includes daily guided walks, shinty and football matches, a tea dance, a duck race...

By Sally Toms in the section Scotland Events

Scott's country home

Charles Douglas visits Abbotsford House at Melrose in the Scottish Borders, home of Sir Walter Scott

Ihave an enduring image of Sir Walter Scott, the mercurial Scottish author and icon, glimpsed through the window of his town house in Edinburgh late at night seated at his desk with his quill pen furi...

By Sally Toms in the section Scotland Houses

It has to be Harris

In the last of our series on Scottish islands, John Hannavy turns to the Hebridean Isle of Harris

I know Lewis and Harris are really two parts of the same island, and now know that the isthmus [a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land masses, bordered on two sides by water] at Tarbert is ...

By John Hannavy in the section Scottish Islands

Life on the ocean wave

One of the best ways of seeing Scotland is by sailing round it. And if you’re going
to sail you might as well do it in style says Dominic Roskrow

As rites of passages go, facing the elements by helping sail a tall ship takes some beating, it really does. Even when the sun is beating down and a carnival atmosphere has kicked in, when the beer h...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section Scotland Seas

Doctor Livingstone, I presume?

In the latest of our series on famous Scots, we study the life of Scotland’s most famous explorer

David Livingstone was born in Blantyre Mill village on 19 March 1813. The son of a shopkeeper, the young Livingstone lived with his parents, two brothers and two sisters in a one-roomed house beside t...

By Sally Toms in the section Scottish Legends

Come hell or high water

James Carron explores the Elie chain walk, one of Fife’s most unusual coastal walks

The Elie chain walk is one of Scotland’s best-kept coastal secrets. To call it a walk is not strictly accurate; it is more of a scramble, requiring a healthy spirit of adventure, a good measure of agi...

By James Carron in the section Scotland Walks

Aberdeen and Grampian: Wild country

Few areas offer as much variety to the rambler as Aberdeen and the Grampians . Whether it is history, scenery or even whisky, the region is unparalleled. Dominic Roskrow reports

The region stretching from Aberdeen on Scotland’s east coast and up to the north was recently described by British television personality Griff Rhys-Jones as among the most remote rural and mountainou...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section Regional Focus

Where to stay

Atholl Hotel Aberdeen Specialises in hearty and traditional Scottish food and furnishing. Comfortable and reasonably priced. www.atholl-aberdeen.com Tel: +44 (0)1224 323 505 Cluny Bank Hotel Forres ...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section Regional Focus

Where to eat

Atlantis Restaurant, Mariner Hotel Great Western Road, Aberdeen Mix of seafood and Scottish-themed food as well as some classic lamb and steak offerings. Reasonably priced. www.themarinerhotel.co.uk T...

By Dominic Roskrow in the section Regional Focus

The Earls of Argyll

James Irvine Robertson looks at the dramatic history of the noble Campbells

Every Highlander knows that the greatest of all Scottish clans is their own. Many of us are prepared to concede that Clan Donald has had its moments. And what we think of the Campbells is really best ...

By James Irvine Robertson in the section Scottish History

A brush with art

Artist holidays are a great way to get creative and experience Scotland’s outdoors. Kate Ennis reports

Artists have always had a canny knack of making their craft look so effortless. That may explain why art programmes on television enjoy such large and loyal audiences – watch close enough and the secr...

By Kate Ennis in the section Scotland Breaks

Five of the best art holidays in Scotland

Artaquarius South Banks House, Portencross, near West Kilbride, Ayrshire Weekend art breaks, which run on specific weekends from May to September, are ideal if you want to incorporate a short three...

By Kate Ennis in the section Scotland Breaks

Colin Montgomerie

Colin Montgomerie is one of the world’s most famous golf players. We look into his ancestry

Scotland prides itself on the fact that while golf is an elitist sport in many parts of the world, in Scotland it as an inclusive all-embracing pursuit at which anyone can participate and if talented,...

By Sally Toms in the section Scotland Genealogy

The lap of luxury

Ian Buxton visits Corrour Lodge, an exclusive holiday home in the Highlands

Is Scotland credible as a luxury destination, at the very top of the global market? That was the daunting question facing an group of travel writers, and your humble correspondent, on a recent trip to...

By Ian Buxton in the section Best of Scotland

A very modern sandwich

Sue Lawrence provides some more unusual ideas for the humble sandwich

We all do it. We know that at lunchtime we ought to be crunching into our tupperware-packed salads and nibbling on our nutritious, homemade sandwiches. But what do we do? We opt for a shopbought, clin...

By Sue Lawrence in the section Scottish Food

The most ancient earldom in Scotland

James Irvine Robertson turns his attention to the Clan Sutherland, one of the country’s most ancient (and notorious) clans

Like all clans, the Sutherlands have had their ups and downs. For the best part of two centuries, they were cadets of the Gordons. The horrors of the Sutherland Clearances are part of the folklore of...

By James Irvine Robertson in the section Scottish Clans

To the lighthouse

Dave McFadzean looks at the long history of lighthouses in Scotland

Scotland has always had stormy seas and unpredictable weather. Coping with these quickly changing conditions has never been easy. Fantastic storms or pea-soup haar, interspersed with hurricane force w...

By Dave McFadzean in the section Scotland Coast

Soaking up the culture

In the latest of our series on Scotland's great museums and art galleries, Roddy Martine Explores Perth

During the 1980s, I used to occasionally work out of the Perthshire Advertiser offices in Perth, and often mused on how pleasant it would be to live there. With the green swathes of the North and Sout...

By Roddy Martine in the section Scotland Museums

King of the castle

Whatever you are celebrating, a majestic Scottish castle is the only way to go. Natasha Reed discovers 10 of the finest Scotland has to offer

Scotland’s chequered past has left a legacy of castles, particularly in the Highlands and the Scottish Borders, and each keep or tower has a distinctive legacy and romantic story to tell. Many are no...

By Natasha Reed in the section Scotland Accommodation

All in the mix

Rob Allanson explains the mysterious art of whisky blending

People say blending a whisky is a little like conducting a symphony orchestra, when it all comes together you can be swept off your feet. The art of the blender has always been a fascinating one, how ...

By Rob Allanson in the section Blended Whisky

Everything you need to know about... Scottish dancing

First it is important to separate Scottish country dancing from Highland dancing. The essential difference is that Scottish country dancing is social, danced by couples, and comprises reels (circle da...

By Sally Toms in the section Scotland Life