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Posted on February 7, 2013 by | 3 views | comments
The Armstrong Clan has been without a chief for over 450 years, the story behind this is one laced with intrigue, murder, piracy and even hidden treasure. The stuff movies are made from. The story is set around Johnnie Armstrong of Gilnockie and the Border Reivers in the 16th Century. Johnnie Arm...
Posted on February 7, 2013 by | 4 views | comments
Even since the first wild dog came sniffing around a stone age camp fire looking for scraps our relationship with these animals has been a close one. Many stories exist of this bond between man and dog and Scotland has its fair share. However the most famous by far was Bobby - the Skye Terrier. ...
Posted on February 7, 2013 by | 4 views | comments
Throughout history there are incidents that at the time may seem small or even insignificant, the action of a few individuals who would normally be considered mere spectators in the pageant of history. Some obvious incidents come to mind; The Boston Tea Party or the assassination of Archduke Ferdina...
Posted on February 7, 2013 by | 14 views | comments
The year is 1836 and five young boys are roaming Arthurs Seat in Holyrood park, Edinburgh - hunting for rabbits, what they find defies belief and brings back to the public's attention one of the most gruesome periods of our capital's history. Buried in a small cave they find 17 miniature coffins ...
Posted on February 7, 2013 by | 5 views | comments
In recent times the stories of Hannibal Lecter and the real life horrors of Jeffrey Dahmer have provided chilling accounts of cannibalism. However, Scotland can lay claim to one of the most gruesome horror tales ever recounted - the legend of Sawney Bean. Sawney Bean was born in East Lothian appro...
Posted on February 7, 2013 by | 5 views | comments
Never mind Nessie, the scariest creature ever to roam Scotland was the infamous Linton Worm. A 'Worm' was another term used for a dragon (orme or worme is the ancient Norse for serpent), and the Linton worm lived in a hollow on the Northeast side of Linton Hill. This area is still known as 'Worm'...
Posted on February 7, 2013 by | 3 views | comments
Returning to Iona from his mission to Christianise the Picts, Saint Columba approached one of the crossing points of the River Ness. There was a small settlement here, and a group of people were digging a grave for a newly dead man. When Columba asked how the man had died he was told he had been kil...
Posted on February 7, 2013 by | 13 views | 1 comments
Almost every Scottish loch has a monster, or at least stories about a monster. Perhaps they are just convenient tales told by grannies to stop local children playing too near the water? The most common monster in these watery warnings is the kelpie, the waterhorse. The kelpie was a creature that li...
Posted on February 7, 2013 by | 4 views | comments
The year was 1890 and John Norman Collie, a respected scientist and explorer was walking in the Cairngorms. This area now popular with tourists, mountaineers and skiers was an even more desolate and unexplored spot back then. As he approached the summit of Ben MacDhui, The highest peak in this ran...
Posted on February 7, 2013 by | 4 views | comments
“As we were sailing down the loch in my boat we were suddenly disturbed and frightened by a thing that surfaced behind us. We watched it catch us up then bump into the side of the boat, the impact sent a kettle of water I was heating onto the floor. I ran into the cabin to turn the gas off as the ...
Posted on February 7, 2013 by | 2 views | comments
From a time that predates the great Scottish King Robert the Bruce or even the exploits of Scottish Hero William Wallace there lived a great king of Scotland, Alexander III. A ruler who reigned over a great time of peace and prosperity in Scotland but who's tragic death plunged the country into a gr...
Posted on February 7, 2013 by | 4 views | comments
Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick, was descended from a Norman knight, Robert de Bruce, who came to England with William the Conqueror. His grandfather had been one of the 13 claimants to the Scottish throne in 1291, during the reign of the English king Edward I. Edward had chosen John de Balliol, an ...
Posted on February 7, 2013 by | 3 views | comments
Living in Edinburgh you are always aware that wherever you go you are trekking over centuries of history, that you can’t walk anywhere without walking on ancient bones. However in our little office in Leith we were completely unaware of the history right under our feet. King James V died in 1542 ...
Posted on February 7, 2013 by | 4 views | comments
I'm sure most of our readers have either read Dan Brown's book 'The Davinci Code' or at least watched the film of the same name. The connection with Scotland is seen as the story reaches it's climax in the enigmatic Roslyn Chapel. The tale of intrigue surrounding an ancient biblical artefact is a ...
Posted on February 6, 2013 by | 6 views | comments
On the 30th of November St Andrews day is celebrated across Scotland and indeed around the world. So how did this most eligable of all saints come to be Scotland's patron saint? Saint Andrew was one of the original Christian Apostles, he was the older brother of Saint Peter. The name 'Andres is t...
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