May - June 2022

Scotland Magazine

Celebrating Scotland across the world

Scotland Magazine1 min read
Scotland Magazine
Editor Sally Coffey Assistant Editor Henrietta Easton Consultant Editor Roddy Martine Art Editor Clare White Chairman Paul Dobson Managing Director James Dobson Publisher Simon Temlett Chief Financial Officer Vicki Gavin EA to Chairman Sarah Porter ■
Scotland Magazine2 min read
Editor’s Letter
Scotland is renowned as much for its lochs and glens, towering munros and fertile forests, as it is for its tales of outlanders and heroic clans. For a taste of all of the above, Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, where the Lowlands meet th
Scotland Magazine1 min read
Win A Great British Holiday
There is still time (just) to enter our competition to win a holiday to Britain, which includes tickets to Edinburgh Castle, a stay in a luxury boutique hotel in the Scottish capital, plus a trip to the quaint villages and rolling hills of the Cotswo
Scotland Magazine1 min read
Swap Your Home For A Castle
No, your eyes are not deceiving you. You really can trade in your home for a Scottish castle – at least for a week or two – thanks to a home swap scheme that costs less than £100 per year. Love Home Swap has some incredible properties on its books, i
Scotland Magazine1 min readPopular Culture & Media Studies
Castle Catwalk
A rare 18th-century dress, worn by the 2nd Duchess of Atholl, is to form the centrepiece of a new period fashion show at Blair Castle, in Perthshire, this year. Incredibly, this beautiful dress, made from hand-painted ivory Chinese silk and edged wit
Scotland Magazine1 min read
Power To The People
Locals on the Knoydart peninsula are toasting their success, having bought Britain’s ‘most remote pub’ in what is considered a landmark deal. Until recently, The Old Forge in Inverie, the main port in Knoydart, was owned by Belgian Jean-Pierre Robine
Scotland Magazine1 min readDiet & Nutrition
Follow The Food
Two of Edinburgh’s most luxurious hotels – The Witchery by the Castle and Prestonfield – have joined one of the city’s most prestigious tour operators, Sleigh’s, to offer tailor-made food trails that will give guests unrivalled access to food and dri
Scotland Magazine2 min read
Dates For Your Diary
5-27 August 2022 THE ROYAL EDINBURGH MILITARY TATTOO, EDINBURGH This year’s show will celebrate the power of ‘voices’ through music and military precision. edintattoo.co.uk 5-29 August 2022 EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE The world’s largest cultural arts
Scotland Magazine4 min read
Notes From The Isles
One of my somewhat hubristic assertions has always been that I prefer ‘proper’ weather: rain should drench; sun should burn; the wind should be violent: there should be no boring dreich compromises. I am now regretting such idiocy. A series of bad st
Scotland Magazine2 min read
We’ve Got Mail
My wife Blanche and I enjoyed your review of Glenapp Castle as we have had the pleasure of spending a night there several years ago when it was owned by the McMillan family. It is a charming castle. I don’t remember seeing the Churchill portrait – po
Scotland Magazine6 min read
On the Bonnie, Bonnie Banks
“By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes, Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond, Where me and my true love were ever wont to gae, On the bonnie, bonnie banks o’ Loch Lomond.” This Scottish anthem, supposedly a Jacobite reworking of an earlie
Scotland Magazine1 min read
Plan Your Visit
Take a seaplane trip for aerial views, a private cruise on Loch Lomond, or go off-road in Clan Colquhoun country. You’ll never be short of ideas at this resort hotel. cameronhouse.co.uk A boutique hotel with elegant interiors and delicious dishes fea
Scotland Magazine6 min read
GLASGOW’S Greatest Gifts
Stand in Pollok Country Park and you could be in the heart of the countryside – there are woodlands, fields, and Highland cattle. Of course, you are not in the countryside but in Scotland’s largest city, and though the rural idyll is something of an
Scotland Magazine1 min read
Plan Your Visit
Admire the Burrell’s world-class collection of tapestries and stained-glass and explore objects spanning six millennia, from prehistoric artefacts, through Chinese ceramics to ground-breaking works by the Impressionists. The glass-walled cafe, with i
Scotland Magazine5 min read
A Royally Good CRUISE
When the Royal Yacht Britannia and Prince Charles sailed out of Hong Kong in 1997 into the pages of history, Her Majesty The Queen, bade a sad farewell. Farewell to a retired maritime steed who had led her and her family on so many glorious adventure
Scotland Magazine4 min read
Perfect Pouch
The making of sporrans has been a part of Scottish culture for centuries. The exact origins of sporrans are unknown, but it is believed that they originated in the 12th century as part of the male Scottish Highland dress A survival of the medieval pu
Scotland Magazine5 min read
The King And The Playwright
Mist hangs over the wintry River Tay, obscuring an ancient oak tree whose aged branches, thick like the arms of a caber-tosser, are propped up by crutches. It is the same kind of weather that envelops the scenes of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth as th
Scotland Magazine3 min read
Glasgow High Street
Atrip to Glasgow without visiting the High Street is a wasted one. The High Street is Glasgow’s oldest and most significant street; it forms the main artery of the city and can easily trace its history back to medieval times. It has played home to ma
Scotland Magazine4 min read
The Soft Touch
Cashmere, that super-soft wool from the Kashmir goat, a breed that originated in the Kashmir region of India, has long been considered the finest material for knitting and weaving cosy scarves and jumpers. The wool is so soft as it is the downy under
Scotland Magazine4 min read
The Home Of Golf
From 10-17 July 2022, the home of golf will host the 150th Open at the world-famous Old Course at St Andrews. The world’s greatest players will descend on Fife’s well-groomed town to try and claim the Claret Jug – the tournament’s trophy – and the pr
Scotland Magazine1 min read
Tee Off Elsewhere
The birthplace of the Open Championship, and designed by golf legend Old Tom Morris, teeing off at Prestwick Golf Club is a rite of passage for any golf fan. Just 30 miles north of Glasgow, the course is built on the rolling sandy land between the be
Scotland Magazine1 min read
Plan Your Visit
For some classic, yet modern Scottish fare book a table at Forgan’s, a St Andrews culinary institution with a buzzy atmosphere, regular live music and a cèilidh every Friday. forgans.co.uk For a ‘sit on the beach and enjoy the sunset’ kind of evening
Scotland Magazine4 min read
Hoaxer Or Hero?
The tale of the 18th-century Ossian hoax is one of the most complex and unusual yarns of the times. It grabbed headlines, involved influential figures around the world, and was the talk of the town A simple version of this narrative sets the scene du
Scotland Magazine1 min read
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Scotland Magazine5 min read
Wild Isle
“Will we see all the Big Five daddy?”, asks my youngest as we roll off the ferry under the brooding hulk of Arran’s hills. We’re here for a week, so I’m cautiously optimistic, with Arran the only isle to boast red deer, otters, red squirrels, golden
Scotland Magazine1 min read
Plan Your Visit
An Alpaca trek on Arran is a novel but beautiful way to enjoy the natural environment of Arran. arranalpacas.co.uk Take a closer look at marine life above and below the water on a snorkelling tour along Arran’s coastline. scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk
Scotland Magazine3 min read
The Story Behind…
Amid lockdown’s many challenges, as musicians, we were able to find a faint silver lining – time. Time to create, time to practice, or even time to forget about music altogether. After several years of non-stop music-making, I decided to do the latte
Scotland Magazine6 min read
Pomp With A Point
Resplendent in decorative tabards of gold, scarlet, and blue, with black and gold bicorn hats, the Heralds and Pursuivants of Scotland are to be seen on parade whenever there is an important display of national pageantry. But there is far more to the

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