Whether you are a great lover of nature, authors and books, films, castles, whiskies, historical subjects or whatever your tastes you can be sure to find in Scotland a thematic trail about your favourite author or subject. Of course you can create your own itinerary as we’ve done in our previous trips in Scotland, but what I’ve discovered quite recently … Continue reading →
Once upon a time, in a quaint village nestled amidst the rolling hills of Scotland, there lived a man named Robert. Robert was a hardworking and determined individual who had spent most of his adult life striving to own a house. He dreamt of the day when he would finally pay off his mortgage and call the property his own. … Continue reading →
Nessie in Art | The Loch Ness monster, or Nessie for short, is a cryptid (an animal such as Sasquatch that has been claimed to exist but never proven to exist) that is said to live in the murky depths of the Loch Ness Lake. This mysterious, aquatic being has been the subject of many stories, sightings, and theories over … Continue reading →
Dear readers, Here we are again, at the beginning of a new year, hoping for the best in the coming months. Given the sanitary situation we still don’t know when we will be allowed to return to Scotland. En attendant des jours meilleurs I try to compensate my frustrations by browsing our pictures of Scotland, reading or re-reading books about … Continue reading →
There are many books devoted to the subject of Scottish invention and discovery, as well as scores of websites listing Scottish inventions and discoveries with varying degrees of science, but one category caught my attention: the invention of fictional characters. As per Wikipedia, more than forty (40) fictional characters were invented by Scots. Here are just a few of them: … Continue reading →
The largest public artworks in Scotland? The Kelpies! You are invited to take more than a look at these two 30 meter tall horse head sculptures designed by Andy Scott, erected in Grangemouth Park, Falkirk, near River Carron, in The Helix, a new parkland project; there are so impressive…!! By definition, the ‘kelpie’ is a supernatural water horse of Celtic … Continue reading →
Hugh Miller was born in 1802, in Cromarty. It is a lovely little town, a former royal burgh, situated at the end of the so-called “Black Isle” which, contrary to what the name suggests and also, on a quite different register, contrary to Herge’s description of the place in his volume of Tintin entitled The Black Isle, is not an … Continue reading →
Some time ago, our daughter’s best friend was looking for ideas of Scottish fairy tales books for her young daughter and she asked me if I had suggestions. I needed no more to turn to my library for over the years I have collected a number of such books and… guess what… hardly had I opened the first book that … Continue reading →
Gather the bairns and the grown folk and set sail for a fine collection of Scottish tales retold by a master storyteller! Williamson was celebrated for a lifetime of traveling the byways of Scotland, collecting and telling tales. In these 18 stories, broonies, fairies and, of course, a unicorn cross paths with common folk on a regular basis. There’s a … Continue reading →
In every form or shape, the unicorn has always fascinated me and thus, I have gathered many collectables over the years, be it stamps, figurines, book covers, illustrations, postcards, photos…you name it! So, it is with great pleasure that I take this opportunity to share with you some of my findings throughout my numerous quests and more particularly of the … Continue reading →
Did you know that the unicorn gold coins of Scotland are among the most famous and curious of all gold pieces? Greg Reynolds wrote a very interesting article in his series about the fabulous Eric Newman Collection of European coins that went on sale in early January 2014 in which he states : Scottish Rarities No single English coin was … Continue reading →
Indeed, behind long-loved fables of gallants and fairy tales, are great stories, but … are they true? Let’s take for example the fable about Sir Walter Raleigh, a very handsome gentleman, quick-witted gallant, who’s story is said to have laid down his cloak over a mud puddle when Elizabeth I, Queen of England passing by with her retinue stopped near … Continue reading →
As a child touring Scotland I constantly nagged my parents to visit stone circles, brochs and standing stones. As I grew older I began to realise that many of these ancient sites had stories told of them and I found these stories as entrancing as the sites themselves. (Stuart McHardy – On the Trail of Scotland’s Myths and … Continue reading →
Hi Mairiuna! From all the marvelous paths one can travel while exploring the Scottish walking trails, one that I would be delighted to experiment is the Ayrshire Coastal path as illustrated in the map above. Just imagine how exciting it is to see seals, porpoise and perhaps even otters! Wow… We did drive through some of the gorgeous cities along … Continue reading →
. Hi Mairiuna! As you mentioned in one of your recent post ‘St Magnus Cathedral in Orkney: The ‘Light in the North’ , we would have missed seeing the depictions of the Green Man as seen in the guide book, had it not been for the assistance of a very kind gentleman that helped us locate them on the pillars … Continue reading →
