The Highlands in the spring time are a busy, bustling place. Tractors hold up traffic on the A9, lambs dot the earthy-coloured countryside and freshly sown fields of barley await the warmth of summer. A few weeks ago I visited the Highlands for the first time to interview my second Clan Chief, traveling about half […]
Clan Munro has helped to bring a Highland military museum fundraising campaign one step closer to victory. Hector Munro of Foulis, Chief of Clan Munro, has donated £15,000 on behalf of the clan and wider family to the Highlander’s Museum fundraising appeal. The Highlanders are the descendents of Scottish Regiments originally raised from the clans […]
The small village of Arisaig lies on Scotlands West coast to the North West of the town of Fort William. The name ‘Arisaig’ means ‘safe place’. This remote part of Scotland is steeped in history and in particular the history around that most troublesome period known as the Jacobite Rebellions. When ‘Bonny Prince Charlie’ began […]
For thousands of years the Scottish Highlands were covered in a forest known as the Great Wood of Caledon, an extension of the Eurasian Boreal Forest and the Wild Wood of folklore and legend. Today only fragments remain, isolated in the deepest reaches of the mountains, but exisit they do; and they offers us a glimpse into a lost world. The Caledonian Pineforest, is it is referred to today was systematically felled and burned over the last thousand years and today the remnants offer a last sanctuary for many rare and ellusive plants and animals, and are protected for the future. This is the story of that forest.
For centuries the Parallel Roads of Glen Roy had baffled both scientists and myth-makers alike; and solving the puzzle would reveal an amazing picture of our geological past. Glen Roy, in Lochaber has three distinct, parallel terraces running the length of both sides of the valley; and it wasn’t until the mid 19th century did geologists realise that they were looking at ancients shorelines from a lake dammed back by huge glaciers. The understanding that Scotland was once glaciated opened up the study across the world; but it was here that scientists had their ah-ha moment.
Most people have a fixed idea of what a Scottish accent is, thanks to film and television; and, generally it’s sort of Glasgow-ish, with a hint of Edinburgh. This is no coincidence, as nearly two thirds of the Scottish population lives in the Greater Glasgow – Edinburgh corridor, and this kind of accent prevails. That’s […]
Highland Council has given the go ahead for John O’Groats to receive a £6.5 million face lift from the Manchester based Natural Retreats. Work is expected to start sometime next year and the company are looking to remodel the Journey’s End cafe as well as transform the derelict John O’Groats hotel into a visitor centre […]
Highland Homecoming will welcome locals and visitors to enjoy the best of the Highland’s rich heritage and culture with a programme of over 100 events including spectacular street theatre, music, storytelling and of course world famous ceilidhs. Some of the programme highlights include a performance by the sublimely talented award-winning Gaelic singer songwriter Julie Fowlis, […]
