In Scotland, Beltane and May Day are almost synonymous. May Day is a Spring holiday celebrated across Europe on May the First. It has ancient origins, some which extend back into the pagan rituals of the Romans. For the Gaelic-speaking people it aligns with Beltane (or Beltainn), celebrated each year on the 30th of April. [...]
The Battle of Culloden was the last battle to be fought upon British soil. The Battle would prove to be the death knell of the Jacobite cause. On the lead up to the Battle, there were who had premonitions that things would not go well for the Jacobites. Events at the Battle of Culloden The [...]
Perhaps nowhere in the world has as many tales of hauntings as Scotland's Haunted Highlands. The Landscape and Scotland's Haunted Highlands There is a haunting quality to the Highlands of Scotland which conjure up images of kilted clansmen appearing out of the mist. The ruins of abandoned cottages are remnants of a way of life [...]
Murder! Massacre! Betrayal! Treason! Glencoe is one of the most spectacular areas of unspoiled wilderness in Scotland. There is a haunting quality about the moor-clad mountains that stand as sentinels over the eight-mile long glen which runs from east to west along the northern border of Argyll. And there are those who say that the [...]
Imbolc is a festival which pre-dates the arrival of Christianity in Scotland. The Coming of Christianity In the dawning of time, when Christian missionaries first arrived on Scotland’s shores, they faced a colossal challenge. They were dealing with a strange mix of peoples: the Dal Riadic people of the West, the indigenous Britons of Strathclyde [...]
On the 25th of January, Burns’ Suppers are held all around the world to celebrate the birth of the great Scottish Poet, Robert Burns. Perhaps one of his most well-known poems’ is Tam o' Shanter. Is it possible that lines to this poem were inspired by his trip to Rosslyn Castle in 1787? A Trip [...]
Saint Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland. On the 30th of November every year, tales are told of how Saint Regulus carried some of Saint Andrew’s bones to Scotland and how the Saltire become the Scottish flag. Who was Saint Andrew? Andrew was a fisherman from Galilee before he and his brother Simon Peter [...]
The origins of Halloween date back to an ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain (pronounced sow-in) which celebrated the harvest and the arrival of the Cailleach. For the Celts who lived some 2,000 years ago, November 1st was their New Year. It was a time when the early farmers met together, bonfires were lit and [...]
Does Orkney’s Tale of the Stoorworm have its origins in Viking Folklore? You may never have heard of Mester Stoor Worm. Yet perhaps like us, you have been following the latest episodes of ‘Vikings’ or ‘The Last Kingdom’. You may have read our recent blog about Viking treachery in the ‘Tale of Maelbrigte the Tooth’. [...]
Robert I, King of Scots is better known by his title Robert the Bruce. This was the man who was to become a legend, a hero, a saviour to his people. This was the man who secured Scotland’s independence from England. He lived in a time when kings saw it as their God-given right to [...]