November/December 2020

Scotland Magazine

Celebrating Scotland across the world

Scotland Magazine1 min read
Scotland Magazine
Editor Sally Coffey Production Editor Jenny Rowe Consultant Editor Roddy Martine Art Editor Chloë Collyer PR Requests pr@chelseamagazines.com Partnerships Director Lyndal Beeton Group Advertising Manager Natasha Syed natasha.syed@chelseamagazines.com
Scotland Magazine2 min read
Editor’s Letter
As the year draws to a close, I find myself drawn to Scotland even more. Perhaps it’s the Celt in me, but I’ve always found Scotland even more appealing in autumn and winter, when her wild, elemental beauty comes into its own and there are far fewer
Scotland Magazine1 min read
Ships Ahoy
This year has been tricky in terms of travel to Scotland but Red Moon Cruises, a small company based on the Isle of Skye, which runs private small ship cruises around the Misty Isle’s coastline and to other Hebridean isles, is just one firm ready to
Scotland Magazine1 min readSports & Recreation
Shinty Shoot-out
One of Scotland’s finest musicians and composers, Lochaber’s Ewen Henderson, has won a unique competition held to mark the 200th anniversary of the Royal Celtic Society and the fact that shinty has not been played in Scotland this season. Henderson w
Scotland Magazine1 min read
Listen Up
Missing Scotland? The St Andrew’s Society of LA, which celebrates its 90th anniversary this year, has managed to land a series of interesting interview subjects for its YouTube St Andrew’s Society of LA Podcast channel. Most recently, Lord Thurso, ch
Scotland Magazine2 min read
Celebrate Burns Night
4 Dec SAINT ANDREW’S NICHT What? Celebrate the patron saint with good food and good company. Call (270) 585-2360 for reservations.? Where? Ruby Tuesdays, Park Royal Drive, Fort Myers, FL? leecountysas.org 5 Dec MOTHER LODE SCOTS CANDLELIGHT CHRISTMAS
Scotland Magazine1 min readFashion
‘Til A’ The Seas Gang Dry
Looking to buy someone special a gift this Christmas? What could say ‘I love you’ more than a beautiful handcrafted piece of Scottish jewellery inspired by the romantic lyrics of Robert Burns? It could be the perfect accessory for any Burns Night cel
Scotland Magazine1 min read
Great British Holiday Winner Announced
We’re excited to announce that the winner of the Great British Holiday Competition 2020 is Rachel Baylis from Weymouth, who was picked from many thousands of entrants. Rachel wins the holiday of a lifetime, including two nights of luxury at the iconi
Scotland Magazine3 min read
We’ve Got Mail
If you have one drop of Scottish blood in your body, there is a Scotland shaped hole in your heart that can only be filled by going there. Ever since I can remember I have wanted to go to Scotland – ever since my Auntie and my Grandaddy Mac told me a
Scotland Magazine7 min read
The Norse Isles
The NorthLink ferry slipped out of Aberdeen Harbour early evening and I slipped into a comfortable seat, safe in the knowledge that the outside world need not disturb me for at least the next 14 hours as the ferry and I sailed across the expanse of t
Scotland Magazine1 min read
Plan Your Visit
NorthLink Ferries depart from Aberdeen to Lerwick each evening, arriving into Shetland in the morning. The return journey leaves Lerwick in the evening, arriving into Aberdeen in the morning, with the crossing taking between 12-14 hours. There are al
Scotland Magazine6 min read
To The Manor Born
Possibly the quickest way to take ownership of a great estate is to marry an heiress. So it was that Sir Richard Maitland, whose forebears had accompanied William the Conqueror from France in 1066, came into the lands of Thirlestane, Hedderwick and B
Scotland Magazine5 min read
The Jacobite Prince
Standing at the top of the Glenfinnan Monument, mountains rear up in every direction, great sculpted peaks of green and grey rumpling the horizon. The waters of Loch Shiel stretch away beneath your feet, ridged with the force of the wind and filled w
Scotland Magazine3 min read
A Royal Guestbook
Catherine Maxwell Stuart, the 21st Lady of Traquair, grew up at Traquair House, south of Edinburgh, and now lives there with her husband Mark and three children, Isabella, Louis and Charlotte. It was Catherine’s father that discovered the 300-year-ol
Scotland Magazine4 min read
TENNIS SUPERSTAR Sir Andy Murray
What place do you remember most vividly from your childhood? Dunblane Tennis Club. It was just around the corner from my grandparents’ house, and it’s pretty much where I learnt to play the game with my brother. Our Mum [Judy] was also a coach there,
Scotland Magazine3 min read
Wise Buy Or A Waste Of Good Whisky?
I have written about collecting whisky before but, as the auction market is continuing to heat up – there seems to be a new whisky auction site opening up every week –and investing in whisky is now apparently more profitable than either art or wine,
Scotland Magazine6 min read
Tee Time
With wheeling seabirds and arresting views across to the islands of Islay, Jura and Gigha, a strong sea breeze whips the tangy scents of salt and seaweed into our lungs, as we loosen up beside the par-4 first hole at Machrihanish Golf Club, situated
Scotland Magazine5 min read
Chief Of The (half) Century
This year, 2020, marks a special anniversary in the life of Andrew MacThomas of Finegand, and an achievement currently only shared with five other clan chiefs. In May 2020 he celebrated 50 years as the 19th Chief of the Clan MacThomas. Back in May 19
Scotland Magazine6 min read
Fringe Of Gold
There are few places that illicit the spark of excitement necessary to turn an early rise from chore into pleasure than the prospect of a day spent on what King James VI once described as a “Fringe of gold on a beggar’s mantle.” When King James VI de
Scotland Magazine3 min read
The Maiden Of Castle Gloom
According to legend, the daughter of an early King of Scots was imprisoned in Castle Gloom as a punishment for falling in love with a man below her station, giving melancholy names to the surrounding features to reflect her unhappiness. Hence the evo
Scotland Magazine4 min read
Grand Designs
Often described as the high point of the Scottish capital’s first New Town, part of a UNESCO World Heritage site, this year marks the 200th anniversary of the completion of the architectural jewel, Charlotte Square. For centuries the ancient city of
Scotland Magazine4 min read
Pipe Up
Bagpipes are displayed on a Hittite slab at Eyuk, Turkey, which dates from around 1,000 BC. Rather than a fiddle, Nero was likely playing his bagpipes as he watched Rome burn. The pipes were widespread throughout Europe and many countries still have
Scotland Magazine3 min readSocial Science
The Problem With Illegitimacy
Was there ever, really, a general notion that all our ancestors led entirely moral and upstanding lives, free of ‘scandalous’ behaviour that is often, really, evidence of nothing more than our innate humanity? When my grandmother walked up the aisle,
Scotland Magazine1 min read
Give A Subscription This Christmas The Perfect Gift For Family & Friends
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Scotland Magazine5 min read
A Murder Most Royal
In the middle of the picturesque town of Dunblane stands one of the noblest and most imposing of Scotland’s medieval churches. The building dates from the 1100s and contains magnificent woodwork, soaring stone arches and stunning stained glass. From
Scotland Magazine2 min read
The Library
LOCAL LEGENDS BY MARK BRIDGEMAN Tales of intrigue abound in this anthology of stories about Lochaber. Considered the epicentre of Highland disorder by both the British and Scottish governments, Lochaber, a region very loyal to the Jacobites, felt the

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