Previous issue: Last chance to buy Issue 115

Spring is nearly here, summer is on the horizon and we are hopeful that some of our travel plans are finally going to come to fruition. Top of our travel list (when we are allowed) is Aberdeenshire. This issue we explore Royal Deeside, the wild wonderland that took Queen Victoria’s fancy all those years ago.

We’d also love to visit Cape Wrath, the Scottish mainland’s most north-westerly point, though we’ll have to possess a bit of grit and determination to actually get there. In ‘Living on the edge’ we heard from the owner of its one and only cafe and he’s certainly made of sterner stuff than us!

We have to admit, if there’s one thing that’s helped keep our spirits up (excuse the pun) through the pandemic, it’s having a wee dram every now and then, so it was enlightening to speak to some of the distilleries in Speyside, Scotland’s irrefutable whisky heartland.

And until the time when we can see what they’re creating for us at their respective visitor centres, we bring you secret histories and little-known stories that will keep you on the edge of your seat. We found James Gracie’s account of The Chaseabout Raid enthralling. In it he describes how the fearless Mary, Queen of Scots harried her treacherous half-brother!

We hope you enjoy the issue.

A taste of issue 115:

Living on the edge

The cafe and bunkhouse operate out of lighthouse outbuildings at Cape Wrath. Credit: Dejonckheere/Shutterstock

Meet the man who is no stranger to isolation: John Ure, owner of the most remote cafe and bunkhouse in the UK at Cape Wrath.

Read more here.

Delightful Dornoch

Dornoch Beach is backed by sand dunes and you will often have it all to yourself. Credit: John Devlin/Alamy

While Scotland’s islands and west coast are regularly lauded for their beaches, Dornoch’s sheltered golden sands, on the east coast of the north Highlands, are not to be overlooked.

Read more here.

The ones that got away

The Burns Monument and Gardens in Alloway, the Ayrshire village in which he was born. Credit: Shutterstock

We remember the women who became muses to Scotland’s national bard and consider whether Rabbie Burns was more of a rascal or romantic at heart.

Read more here.

The Great British holiday competition

Edinburgh Castle image credit: Shutterstock

What would your dream holiday to Britain include? A trip to Edinburgh, including a tour of its historic castle? A five-star stay in London and tickets to a West End show? How about a stay in the Cotswolds? Well, with our Great British holiday competition, you can win all of this and more.

Enter here.

Also inside the issue:

•  
• Follow Lord Bruce on a virtual tour of Broomhall House, the family home of Clan Bruce
• Discover Dundee’s cultural trail
• Catch up on Kate Francis’s Christmas on the Black Isle, just north of Inverness
• Edinburgh’s first single malt whisky distillery in 100 years is appraised by our Master of Malt
• Enter the lives of a  modern-day Lord and Lady, who didn’t opt for the easy life
• We investigate the Edinburgh evolution of the pseudoscience phrenology
• How to reliably find and prove your royal lines of descent with advice from genealogist Anthony Adolph
• Win a once-in-a-lifetime holiday prize worth £5,000, including a stay in Edinburgh and visit to the castle

Buy your copy here (available from 19th February 2021) or subscribe online to have Scotland delivered direct to your door six times a year.

Cover information: Balmoral Castle (Credit: Bas Meelker/Shutterstock) and Queen Elizabeth II (Credit: Pictorial
Press Ltd/Alamy)