Scotland March/April 2024 - Sample Issue

ANCESTRY • TRAVEL • CLANS • HISTORY

The world’s leading Scottish-interest magazine

Scottish Islands 11 isles that should be on your bucket list

WIN BEST a stay in

Tours & a fairytale cruises castle 2024

Culzean Castle Clifftop home fit for a President STUART KINGS The Renaissance rulers

Whisky wanderings Behind the scenes in Speyside

COMMUNITY TOURISM

Enrich your visit and meet the locals

Win a luxury stay in a sea-view hotel

ISSUE 133 Mar/April 2024 £5.50

News & events

CLAN COURIER A new national park for Scotland? Plus, book your Hogmanay 2024 tickets now

[CO N S E R VAT I O N ]

NATURE IN ACTION It might come as a surprise to some that Loch Ness and its surrounds, which includes the largely untapped wilderness of Glen Affric, (widely considered to be one of Scotland’s most beautiful glens) is not yet a national park.

However, after the Scottish Government promised to create at least one new national park by 2026, a new partnership involving many local stakeholders put forth the case for the region, hoping national park status will have a positive effect on conservation efforts.

Humphrey Clarke, Chair of Strathglass Community Council, which is leading the bid, says: “We believe Affric and Loch Ness National Park would enable local people to protect and enhance our natural environment for future generations.” newnationalpark.org

[SHOPPING]

A ROYAL TIPPLE

© JAMES SHOOTER/ROYAL COLLECTION TRUST/HIS MAJESTY KIND CHARLES III 2024

© KAREN BENNETT PHOTOGRAPHY

Visitors to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh can now buy a dry gin that uses botanicals found in the palace’s Physic Garden, with proceeds going back into the running and care of the royal residences, exhibitions, and educational programmes run by the Royal Collection Trust.

The Palace of Holyroodhouse Dry Gin has been infused with lemon thyme and mint, while its bottle’s floral design is inspired by the textiles seen on the bed in Mary, Queen of Scots’ Bedchamber within the palace – a foliage-style design of crewelwork that was popular in the queen’s time. £40; rct.uk/visit/palace-of-holyroodhouse

travel

| Islands Special

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© JONATHAN PHOTO: ©NEVILLE JENS ICKLER/ALAMY. ILLUSTRATION © MICHAEL A HILL

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ew places elicit such a sense of longing as the myriad Scottish islands. From the Western Isles to the Inner Hebrides and the Northern Isles, Scotland has been spoiled with sea-enclosed parcels of land that have yielded unique communities and which are fringed with some of the most wildly beautiful white-sand beaches you’ve ever seen.

By day, the landscapes beckon us to explore. Wildlife sightings in the seas, the hills, and skies are frequent, and when we’ve sated our appetite for adventure, nothing beats returning to the cosy cocoon of our holiday home to warm our feet by the open fire. By night, the ink-black canvas of the sky sparkles with stars, occasionally illuminated to awesome effect by the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) – a light show like no other.

With a well-connected ferry network, largely provided

by Caledonian MacBrayne (www.calmac.co.uk), complemented by some unforgettable road and rail routes – Railway Touring (www.railwaytouring.net) runs some luxurious journeys that connect to the islands – getting to these heavenly havens is much easier than one might presume. And once here you need to reset your watch to island time, for nothing needs rushing in the Scottish Isles – here, you have all the time in the world.

Islands Special | travel

Skye Why: The Isle of Skye tops many a Scotland bucket list and for very good reason. Home to the mighty Cuillin – a jagged mountain range that includes 11 Munros (12 if you include Blá Bheinn, just outside the main ridge) – a ubiquitous sight wherever you go on the isle, its dramatic scenery demands regular sharp intakes of breath. Other landmarks, from the Old Man of Storr to the Fairy Bridge and Fairy Pools (pictured), have spawned legends, but perhaps most enchanting of all, are its quieter, traditional settlements, where you will be welcomed like a prodigal son, and lulled to sleep by Gaelic song.

Where to stay: Hotel Eilean Iarmain in a Gaelic-speaking community in the south of Skye, has comfortable rooms, a decent restaurant, friendly staff, and regular folk music sessions in its wood-panelled pub. eileaniarmain.co.uk Getting there: Since opening its bridge in 1995, Skye has seen its visitor numbers soar as people can now simply drive over the bridge from Kyle of Lochalsh on the mainland. However, for a real sense of travelling ‘over the sea’ to Skye, the ferry is best, with the route from Mallaig on the mainland to Armadale in south Skye the most popular. calmac.co.uk

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Words and photos by KATHI KAMLEITNER

Come to Canna How locals from a small island are turning to tourism to help secure the future of their community

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Community Tourism | ISLANDS SPECIAL

THIS IMAGE: Beautiful Canna Bay basking in the sunshine at low tide

© KATHI KAMLEITNER

S

itting at a table outside Café Canna, I hear the clattering of cutlery as merry day-trippers tuck into plates piled high with foraged seaweed salad and freshly landed langoustines and crabs. I see sail yachts bobbing on the moorings in the bay and the top of Coroghan Castle peeking above the clock tower of Rhu Church. So far so good, these were the sounds and sights I had expected. But then the diesel generator at the farm kicks in and a work crew starts up a bellowing grasscutter with a metallic roar in the kirkyard and I am given a reality check.

Like many visitors, I planned my trip to Canna as an escape, hoping to be at one with nature and enjoy the simple pleasures of a small and remote island. “There is a romanticism about this nice and easy lifestyle on Canna, but it is quite hard work and is quite busy. There is always something to do and everybody is expected to muck in,” Isebail MacKinnon, who runs the campsite where I’m staying, tells me.

With only 18 people living on the island, there is little time to idle. It turns out that the Isle of Canna is a bit more complex than I had expected.

Canna is one of the four Small Isles, just south of the ever-popular Isle of Skye. It is best known for its beautiful scenery, best seen from the top of Compass Hill; endearing wildlife like the puffins on Sanday; and the fascinating Gaelic music archive, which is cared for at Canna House by the National Trust for Scotland.

These are just some the reasons visitors like me take on the cryptic ferry schedule and make their way across to the island from Mallaig. For the people who call this island their home though, living on Canna is a continuous effort to build a sustainable community and ensure that tourism is harnessed as a force for good.

Some of the community, like Isebail, have strong family ties to the island and have lived on Canna for most of their

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HISTORY

| Eisenhower & Culzean

LEFT: A photo of Eisenhower holidaying at Culzean in 1951 RIGHT: Culzean Castle was designed by Robert Adam in the 18th century

Words by JANICE HOPPER

KING of the CASTLE Our writer explores the special relationship between a US President and a Scottish castle

A

s the Allies celebrated VE Day in May 1945, one Scottish aristocrat, the 5th Marquess of Ailsa, showed his gratitude to one of the military’s most renowned leaders in remarkable fashion.

The Marquess and his family, the Kennedys, gifted their home and family seat, the dramatic Culzean Castle on the west coast of Scotland, to the National Trust for Scotland in 1945, with one specific stipulation. The top floor of this handsome property had been offered by the family to General Dwight Eisenhower for his personal use for the duration of his lifetime, as recognition of and thanks from the people of Scotland for Eisenhower’s role in the Second World War. The National Trust for Scotland agreed to embrace the stewardship and preservation of Culzean for the nation, and to facilitate Eisenhower’s tenure.

In its annual report in 1945, the National Trust for Scotland wrote: “In honouring this great soldier, the Trust hope that they will be doing something towards increasing the feelings of friendship and understanding between

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ourselves and the people of America.”

The British Prime Minster, Clement Attlee, commented on the gift that bonded Scotland with a key US ally, stating: “On behalf of His Majesty’s Government, I should like to thank sincerely the Council of the Scottish National Trust for their generous action, which well expressed the gratitude of Scotland to a great soldier and a true friend.”

The General himself warmly accepted this rather unusual Scottish gift, making his first visit to his new ‘holiday home’ in October 1946 where he was welcomed in person by the Marquess and Marchioness of Ailsa.

Archive footage reveals Dwight and his son John touring the grounds, paying particular attention to old military artefacts, including impressive cannons cast in 1813 during the Napoleonic Wars. Eisenhower and

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© EVERETT COLLECTION HISTORICAL/STEPHEN DOREY/ALAMY

Eisenhower & Culzean | HISTORY

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