Scotland March/April 2023 - Sample Issue

Photos courtesy of Visit Scotland

Inverness Castle and River Ness

Orkney Countryside

Glenmore Forest Park Aviemore

City of Edinburgh

River Tay and Perth City

River Tay and Dundee City

EDITORIAL

Editor Sally Co ey

Assistant Editor Henrietta Easton

2 Jubilee Place, London SW3 3TQ

Tel: 020 7349 3700 Fax: 020 7349 3701

Email: editor@scotlandmag.com

www.scotlandmag.com

ADVERTISING SALES

PUBLISHING

Art Editor Clare White PR Requests pr@chelseamagazines.com

Printed in England by William Gibbons Ltd

Production All Points Media

SUBSCRIPTIONS

UK and Rest of World: www.scotlandmag.com/subscribe

Tel: +44 (0) 1858 438 898

Email: scotland@subscription.co.uk

SCOTLAND, Sovereign Park, Lathkill Street, Market Harborough, Leicestershire, LE16 9EF

USA and Canada:

www.britsubs.com/scotland

Tel: 1-800-925-8215 (toll free)

Email: SCOcustserv@cdsfulfi llment.com

Post: SCOTLAND, PO Box 37518, Boone, IA 50037-0518 (USA only); OR SCOTLAND, 1415 Janette Avenue, Windsor, Ontario, N8X 1Z1 (Canada only)

Annual subscription rates (6 issues)

UK – £23.95; USA and Canada – $39.95/$44.95

Rest of World – £39.95; New Zealand & Australia – AUD $79.95

Did you know you can manage your subscription online? Oversee your print and digital subscriptions online today simply by signing up at https://www.subscription.co.uk/chelsea/Solo/. Stay up to date with the latest issues, update your personal details, and even renew your subscription with just a click of a button.

Back Issues

www.chelseamagazines.com/shop

Distribution

Scotland Magazine Issue #127, (ISSN 1475-5505) (USPS 020-429) is published six times a year (bi-monthly) by The Chelsea Magazine Company, Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place, London SW3 3TQ, UK.

Distributed in the U.S. by NPS Media Group, 2 Enterprise Drive, Suite 420, Shelton, CT 06484. Periodicals Postage paid at Shelton, CT and additional mailing o ces. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Scotland magazine, PO Box 37518, Boone, IA 50037-0518.

UK and Rest of World: Seymour, 2 East Poultry Avenue, London EC1A 9PT, UK Tel: +44 (0)20 7429 4000

SCOTLAND IS PROUD TO SUPPORT THE SCOTTISH HOTEL AWARDS

Simon Temlett, Awards Director simon.temlett@chelseamagazines.com

© The Chelsea Magazine Company Ltd 2023. All rights reserved. Text and pictures are copyright restricted and must not be reproduced without permission of the publishers. The information contained in Scotland magazine has been published in good faith and every e ort has been made to ensure its accuracy. However, where appropriate, you are strongly advised to check prices, opening times, dates, etc, before making final arrangements. All liability for loss, disappointment, negligence or damage caused by reliance on the information contained within this publication is hereby excluded. The opinions expressed by contributors to Scotland magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher.

During my travels across Scotland, I’ve often been blown away by the beautiful craftsmanship still in evidence today – be it makers continuing centuries-old traditions, or contemporary designers whose muse is the local landscape –and so this issue we are celebrating Scotland’s creative side with a bumper Made in Scotland special (p17).

Throughout these more than 30 pages, you can read about the Mull and Iona Arts Trail, which hopes to draw visitors to hidden corners of these neighbouring isles in Made in Mull (p19), learn more about the meteoric rise to world domination of our most iconic pattern, tartan, in Chequered History (p34), and read about that most cherished of Scottish knits, Fair Isle, in Woven with love (p42), plus lots, lots more.

Elsewhere this issue, our history writers has been busy trawling archive materials and mining their own expertise to bring you some fascinating tales of long ago. In The Story of St Kilda (p72), Andrew Millham explores what life was like for the former inhabitants of this remote island group and uncovers a community built on incredible resilience and resourcefulness.

Our resident genealogist, Dr Bruce Durie, starts a new series looking at clan names and their origins by casting a critical eye over one of the most common ancestry claims in I’m a Norman, you know (or are you?) (p52), while James Gracie kicks off another new series on Scotland’s kings and queens, starting with the very rst Kings of Alba, the MacAlpins, in The Early Kings of Scotland (p62). Think bloodshed, family rivalries, and ruined castles. Hollywood lms have nothing on this, so buckle up for the ride.

editor@scotlandmag.com facebook.com/ScotlandMagazine

@Scotland_Mag @scotlandmagazine

COVER IMAGES: Dunnottar Castle is where Donald II, King of Alba, was killed in AD900. © Luigi Vaccarella/4Corners Images.

Inset: A portrait of the first King of Alba, Kenneth MacAlpin. © Historic Images/Alamy

ISSUE 127

17 Made in Scotland

This issue, we celebrate some of Scotland’s finest designers, makers and exports

19 Made in Mull

A new arts trail helps visitors get closer to the creative side of this Hebridean island

28 Orkney’s Crowning Jeweller

Jeremy Flint visits celebrated Orkney jeweller Sheila Fleet to see how her pieces are handcrafted

32 The Quaich

This Scottish cup, so much more than a mere drinking vessel, has been used in ceremonies for centuries

34 A chequered

history

As a major new exhibition opens in Dundee’s V&A, we look back at the history of this most Scottish of patterns

Calgary Arts Trail p19

Kirkwall p28

St Kilda p72

Falkirk p56

Mo at p68

Dundee p8 & 34

42 Woven with love

How the remote island of Fair Isle became known the world over for its unique and colourful knits

46 Meet a cider maker

We speak to Peter Crawford, who produces cider from apple trees planted on his family’s farm 120 years ago

50 Travels with Tom

Our guide reflects on an Scottish medieval bargain

51 Competition

Your chance to win a holiday in the Highlands

52 I’m a Norman, you know (or are you?)

The first in our new series exploring clan names

56 Go Forth

Why Falkirk in the Forth Valley deserves a visit

62 The early kings of Scotland

In the first of a series on Scotland’s kings and queens, we look at the formation of the Kingdom of Alba

68 Scotland’s darkest town

We visit the largely forgotten town of Mo at, Europe’s first dark-sky town

72 The story of St Kilda

We explore what life was like for the residents of the UK’s most remote island group

81 Highland Flings

This season’s best events celebrating Scottish culture and history, both in Scotland and overseas

82 The story behind...

Author Alistair Mo at’s new book explores the stories of Scotland that have been lost in history...until now

Take a teatime break with us

Enjoy more essential stories, covering Scottish history, travel, heritage and culture straight to your inbox. To receive Scotland’s latest news and exclusive letters from the Editor, simply visit scotlandmag.com/ fromtheeditor and enter your email address.

Andy Scott created the largest equine sculptures in the world, and they are undoubtedly considered his masterpiece

CLAN COURIER

Big news for Scotland’s favourite monster, plus a campaign to save a historic ship

[ATTRACTIONS]

NESSIE’S NEW HOME

Of all of Scotland’s myths and legends, the ‘is-she-or-isn’t-she’ mystery of the Loch Ness Monster is the one that attracts the most interest. Now, with its family owners moving on after 40 years, The Loch Ness Centre, near Inverness, is to be given an exciting makeover to the tune of £1.5m by its new owners Continuum Attractions.

Continuum Attractions is behind the hugely popular Real Mary King’s Close visitor experience in Edinburgh, so when the Loch Ness Centre reopens in spring 2023, visitors can expect an engaging and immersive experience.

Juliana Delaney, chief executive of Continuum Attractions, said: “I was keen to

seek out another great Scottish story to tell. We found it on Loch Ness. This is a magical place – it could be our Jurassic Park, and if a monster hasn’t been found here yet, this is the place in which it will be discovered! So, I will encourage everyone to ‘keep looking’”. lochness.com

[WHISKY] DRAMMING UP INTEREST

A whisky club that was started “for a lark” by an Edinburgh whisky enthusiast in 1983 is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, which now boasts almost 40,000 members across the world, has specialised in ‘whisky in its purest form’ – mainly single malt whiskies bottled from single casks that are not diluted with water, artificially coloured or chill-filtered – for four decades.

The Society, which now has 30 branches across the world, including in the USA and Australia, is celebrating its birthday with a year of activities, which will include releasing a chilli-tinged whisky, assembling a female-only tasting panel, and even attempting a top-secret world-record in honour of its maverick founder, Pip Hills.

Hills explained why he started the club: “I started the whole thing for a lark. At the time, most of the Scotch whisky industry was very dull and most of the whisky wasn’t up to much. I had no great liking for whisky, but when I first tried whisky drawn straight from a cask, it was an epiphany – this whisky tasted astonishing and quite unlike any whisky I’d drunk before. I shared some with my friends and they loved it too, so it seemed like a good idea to share it with more people.”

smws.com

[FUNDRAISING]

RACE TO SAVE HISTORIC SHIP

A campaign is underway to save one of the world’s most historic ships for future generations. HMS Unicorn is almost 200 years old and has resided in Dundee for 150 years.

Considered the third oldest ship in the world still afloat and Scotland’s only preserved warship, HMS Unicorn is in desperate need of £1m worth of conservation works and repairs.

American entrepreneur, John Paul DeJoria, pledged £20,000 to the campaign following a visit to the ship by HRH the Princess Royal, Princess Anne, in September in her role as patron of The Unicorn Preservation Society. In February 2023 the campaign received its highest donation to date – £100,000 from The Headley Trust.

Museum director, Matthew Bellhouse Moran, said: “We are extremely grateful for this donation, which brings us a step closer to achieving our vision of HMS Unicorn becoming a central attraction of the new Dundee Maritime Heritage Centre, as part of Project Safe Haven.”

Members of the public can also support the e orts by signing up for an annual Shipmates membership (£35pp), which includes a year of free visits for the member, plus free visits for a pal.

Once restoration has been completed, HMS Unicorn will move to East Graving Dock in Dundee to form the centrepiece of the Dundee Maritime Heritage Centre. Dundee is also home to RSS Discovery – the ship that took Scott and Shackleton to Antarctica in 1901. frigateunicorn.org/hms-unicorn/supporting-us/becoming-a-friend

HEBRIDEAN HOME FROM HOME

Looking for an island hideaway for your next visit? Isle of Mull Cottages has a selection of self-catering holiday homes in idyllic locations across the Isle of Mull (see our travel feature on Mull on page 19).

At Derryguaig Smiddy on Loch na Keal, for example, you can sip your morning co ee as you gaze over Ben More, while those wanting to escape the daily grind, will surely find the

reset they need at Shore Croft (pictured), a stone cottage at the head of Uisken beach that has bundles of character and other hidden-away beaches, like Ardalanish and Kilvickeon, to discover nearby. Plus, the slipway at nearby Fionnphort is where the Iona ferry picks up passengers to spirit them away to the Isle of Iona for the day. isleofmullcottages.com

HEBRIDEAN ISLAND CRUISES

EXPLORE the haunting beauty of Scotland from two of the smallest, most luxurious cruise shipsHebridean Princess and Lord of the Highlands

DISCOVER the magnificent splendour of the Highlands and Islands, the Great Glen and the Caledonian Canal.

INDULGE in locally sourced gourmet cuisine in the finest restaurants on the water.

RELAX in the elegant surroundings of individually designed cabins offering fine linen, the fluffiest of towels and lavish toiletries.

ENJOY an extraordinary level of service on one of the best holidays afloat.

EXPERIENCE the unique world of Hebridean Island Cruises.

where small means personal and where people count

[CONSERVATION] SCOTS PINES UNDER THREAT

The future of Scotland’s native Caledonian pinewoods, which date back to the last ice age, is on a ‘knife-edge’ according to research by a leading conservation charity.

A four-year study by Trees for Life found that the future of our pinewoods looks bleak due to high deer numbers – who eat pine saplings and strip areas of important vegetation – the spread of non-native conifers, a lack of long-term management, and the climate breakdown.

Caledonian pinewoods, which once covered much of the Highlands, are unique to Scotland and provide crucial habitats to Scottish wildlife, including red squirrels, capercaillie, and crossbills. Following centuries of deforestation, today just 2% of the forest remains.

Trees for Life’s senior ecologist, James Rainey, who led the study, has called for urgent action. He said: “These pinewoods should be playing a key role in Scotland’s fight-back against the climate and nature emergencies, but right now most are on their last legs. It’s not too late to turn this around, but that means seriously stepping-up restoration and rewilding action.” treesforlife.org.uk

Photo Credit: Gavin Macqueen Photography

Notes from the Isles

ABOVE:

Kate and Cronie, her faithful Border Terrier

RIGHT:

Words by KATE FRANCIS

This Christmas, most of my family were with their in-laws, so it was just Mary and me here. My notorious Scrooge-like frugality kicked in and I decided not to buy a Christmas tree, at vast expense, and then after its 12 nights of glory, consign it to the bon re. Instead, I pruned some branches from a r tree in the wood above the house, tied them together to form a somewhat eccentrically shaped tree on which I hung lights and baubles. Our 61-year-old angel, made by a babysitter from scraps of my wedding dress, with tinfoil wings, perched precariously on top. The effect was, for want of a better word, unusual!

We went to church with my lovely neighbours, John and Maggie, who then returned to their house while Mary and I opened our presents round the home-made ‘tree’ and ate smoked salmon and paté nibbles. Mary then spent the afternoon toiling in the kitchen while Cronie and I went for a walk and then John and Maggie joined us. We sat round a blazing re, swapping stories, jokes and Hebridean memories and then Mary served us a delicious leg of local lamb accompanied by several exotic side-dishes.

Maggie had made some scrumptious mince pies and I contributed a Tesco’s Finest Christmas Pudding, which was extremely tasty. Altogether, we had a very happy Christmas.

The farm track up to my house is quite steep, with a nal right-angle bend to get to the back door. This becomes a daunting skating rink when there has been a frost after rain or snow. Walking is hazardous and trying to get the car up can

This issue our friend re ects on a quieter than normal festive period and loses something very precious…

A Scottish barn owl, like the one that paid a visit to Kate and Cronie on Halloween

end in disaster. So far, this year, I’ve managed to avoid having to abandon the car on the frozen corner but there’s still plenty of winter to get through. The trick, I’ve discovered, is to keep my foot on the accelerator all the time, gently but rmly.

It was 64 years ago this April that my beloved Douglas and I returned from our honeymoon and moved into our married quarter in the grounds of Cameron Barracks in Inverness – the rst of the 21 houses we lived in during our army life. The day we moved in, Douglas gave me a slim, oval, gold bangle as a wedding present and it has been on my wrist ever since...until, a couple of weeks ago. I was having a shower and realised it had gone. Total panic. Because it was as much a part of me as my wedding ring, it could have been missing for several days before I noticed. I ransacked the house, the car, the garden.

Its circumference is too small for it to have slipped off, but I always wear thick gloves outside and Cronie and I go for two daily walks, each at least three miles long, along tracks paved with fallen leaves, mud, ice, and snow; sometimes we cross elds. Whenever I put Cronie on the lead or pull my handkerchief out of my pocket, I wrench my right-hand glove off with the glove-padded thumb of my left hand: my bangle is so slender that I could easily remove it without feeling it through the cuff. This means that I could have dropped it anywhere within about a six-mile radius of my house.

During the week before I noticed my loss, I’d been to shops and supermarkets stocking up for Christmas, taking my gloves on and off the whole time, as well as to the airport to meet a daughter, and to the station to meet another daughter. I’ve reported my disaster to the police and to any lost-property of ce related to anywhere I’ve been, and I’ve pinned up ‘Lost’ notices on every board I can nd. So far – zilch.

The only good thing that has come out of this is that I’m

now on such good chatting terms with almost everybody who walks around the Black Isle. I get stopped by total strangers: “Have you found your bangle?” One man said he was going to hire a metal detector for me.

I’ve now made a pact with my guardian angel, St Francis: the moment I see my bangle I shall give up my vape for a month...I’m now worried that I may have to extend that to six months, or even a year.

One of the most memorable highlights of 2022 was an unexpected evening visitor at Halloween. I was sitting in my armchair, reading, with Cronie and her boyfriend Basil, who was staying with us, snug in their beds at my feet. Suddenly, I heard a sharp rapping on the window opposite me and the dogs started barking furiously. I had forgotten to pull down the blind and there, on the windowsill outside, was a barn owl. At rst, I thought it must be a Halloween trick-or-treat neighbour with a puppet, but I soon realised it was real. It pecked frantically at the glass with its beak, nudging it with its head and wings: it seemed to be asking to come inside, but the dogs made that impossible, so I just sat there watching it, almost in tears with delight.

After about ve minutes it gave up and ew away in a huff. I got out my bird book: barn owls are not social birds and avoid contact with people. The next morning, I discovered a dead mouse on the windowsill and decided that it was de nitely trick-or-treat!

I saw the new year in cosily tucked up in my bed with Cronie. No rst-footers as the bells rang out at midnight: no tall, darkhaired man bearing a coin, a bun, salt, coal, and whisky, to bring me prosperity, food, avour, warmth and good cheer, but I can remember the days when we used to gather our neighbours together and greet Hogmanay in proper Hebridean style, especially with the drams for good cheer.

the Window into Scotland | JOURNAL © IAIN LOWSON WILDLIFE/ALAMY

I can remember the days when we used to gather our neighbours and greet Hogmanay in proper Hebridean style

WE’VE GOT MAIL

A selection of messages from our readers across the globe

WHAT DID DUNDEE DO WRONG?

When are you going to include Dundee on your map, which appears on your contents page, as well as the various other maps throughout the magazine?

The fourth largest city in the country surely warrants inclusion? Maybe, my question should be...why do you exclude it?

Margaret Gentilcore, Chicago, USA, Born Dundee Royal Infirmary, March 1946

EDITOR REPLIES:

The maps relate to the places mentioned in each issue, so the reason for the omission is Dundee hasn’t been the focus of a piece for a while. However, this issue’s tartan feature (p34) is all about a Dundee exhibition, and

we have a news story on one of the city’s historic ships on page 6, so it’s on the main map this issue. We’ll also include it on other maps going forward. Sorry.

THE PULL OF MULL

My husband and I love your magazine and pore over every issue. I have now discovered that I have Scottish ancestry (along with English and Irish) and I am so very proud. Apparently, one of my ancestors was Summersett McFadden, daughter of Andrew (1675-1753) and Jane Lindsey (1687-1776) McFadden of the Isle of Mull.

I have traced the family name from Scotland to Ireland to Maine.

My 4th grandfather was John Salley and his grandson, Horace B. Salley, my great grandfather, enlisted in the American Civil War from Maine and was injured at the Battle of Cedar Mountain, VA. Somehow, during and after the Civil War, the spelling came to be Sailley, which is my mother’s maiden name. It was very exciting for me to read Myths, from Mull to Braemar in Issue 124 (November 22) so I just ordered a copy of Helen Fields’ latest book, The Last Girl to Die

My husband, Jerry, and I had planned a trip to Scotland this past year, but it had to be cancelled. Our Scotland trip is still a top priority for us.

D’nis Lynch, by email

P.S. No wonder I have always loved plaid.

MORE FOR MORAY

I enjoyed John Miles’ article, The Unsung Warrior, (Issue 125, January 2023). The good news is that we are working to bring forward Andrew de Moray’s contribution to the fight for independence and his partnership in battle with William Wallace through a giant statue of the two side by side to be erected on the battlefield site close to Stirling Bridge. This is a project of the Guardians of Scotland of which I am a trustee and founding member. We hope the public will respond with generous financial contributions.

Fergus Wood, Former Provost of Stirling, Kinlochard

AN ISSUE TO TREASURE

CAMERA READY

Last summer, my wife and I spent two months in Scotland and took many lovely pictures, including this one. I took this in Edinburgh with the castle in the background and a bee caught mid-flight on its way to a thistle.

Alan Brown, Georgia, US

Once again Scotland magazine has made my day. This issue (Issue 125, January 2023) was filled with things I love: Skye, my favourite hotel; lovely photographs of the Queen’s last journey; glorious moorland abloom with heather; the tiny red-backed Sandpiper; and my favourite duo, Kate and Cronie with their cockle adventures, ending after church and a visit to place a posy for Douglas. How lovely. Kate Francis is a treasure. From my isle to yours, blessings on all.

Mary Coleman, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA