Discover Scotland Issue 57

Welcome to the home of whisky Walking straight across Scotland Putting on a show Highlander style Issue 57

Pictures that changed lives Roo Irvine’s love of cats DIY Scotch pie

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Fraserburgh beach Photo by VisitScotland / Discover Fraserburgh / Damian Shields

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Adventure

Events

Walking a straight line to adventure

Scott Kyle’s back with his Highlander fling

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History

Film

Remembering the Declaration of Arbroath

Picture of the past that shaped a society

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128 Music

Bookmarker

Under Canvas bringing back live Scottish music

A look at life and work of years gone by

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Outdoors

Film

On the trail of forgotten paths

Chance to experience the pleasure of Guilt

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Shopping

Events

Rare Birds goes old school with new shop

Mining a rich heritage with return of the Coal Race

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History

Property

Spellbinding look at Scotland’s witches

Idyllic properties for sale

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Contributors

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Skailg: A wee livener…

Musical Discoveries...

Visiting Lindores Distillery - the birthplace of whisky

Musical Discoveries’ homage to No Mean City

98 Chef in a kilt…

Baking an icon - the Scotch Pie

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Folklore Scotland...

Hunting antiques…

Exploring the folklore of Scotland

Roo Irvine is feline fond of cats

1/216 Cover Photo/Back Photo Cullykhan bay by Fort Fiddes with view Pennan Photo by VisitScotland / Discover Fraserburgh / Damian Shields

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Discover Scotland is an independent magazine published

by Discover Scotland Ltd. The monthly digital title provides an international audience of readers with comprehensive coverage of modern day Scotland, its people, achievements, culture, history and customs.

Every issue covers a variety of topics of interest to thousands of people every month, many of them visitors to Scotland or part of the great Scottish diaspora.

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The content of the magazine does not necessarily represent the views of the publishers or imply any endorsement. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without prior agreement in writing from Discover Scotland Ltd.

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Food & Beverage

Skailg: A wee livener with… Tom Morton

hisky’s coming home Tom Morton goes on a pilgrimage to the spiritual home of Scotch Whisky, Lindores Abbey distillery in Fife. The first written record of “aqua vitae” being distilled in Scotland, in 1494, relates to a monk from Lindores, John Cor.

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ife is not a county, it’s a Kingdom. Its ancient stature is reflected in the way history peeks out at you everywhere you go in this vast lump of north-eastcentral Scotland: the academic, liturgical and political importance of Dunfermline, Culross, and especially St Andrews, where the most senior bishop in Scotland sat in his cathedral from the 10th

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Century until the Reformation; It is a place of contrasts, from the decaying industrial coastlines just north of Queensferry to the glorious fishing villages of the East Neuk. And it has always been reached by ferries across the mighty expanses of the Tay and Forth, latterly replaced by some of the most famous bridges in the world.

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How it once looked Photo by Stewart Cunningham

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I have travelled through Fife by bicycle, train, bus, car and motorcycle, and always something of the place’s strange past rears up unexpectedly, sometimes overwhelmingly. Perhaps nowhere more so than Dunino Den, just 10 minutes from St Andrews.

The Dunino kirk looks small, perky and strangely secretive, perhaps because it is the gateway to mysteries much older than Christianity. A wooded glade, a descent from the airy everyday into something ancient and strange. The Den. It is still used for pagan ceremonies, formal and informal, and modern tokens for healing and contact with fairies, spirits and other elemental beings abound. It is undoubtedly an ancient preChristian holy site with an “altar stone”, a well, and the shape of a footprint carved into the rock.

There’s a more modern wheel carving too. If you can find it deserted, it’s a place, despite the accoutrements of spiritual tourism, of great tranquility and power.

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There are names scattered across the landscape like Cash, thought to be the original home of that famous country singing family.

The vast and intimidating pile Dunfermline Abbey, where some of Scotland’s greatest medieval kings are buried. And always something new to find. Like the mysterious and threatening tower that sits in the neat little village of Abernethy, an iron punishment collar and chain - which gives every appearance of being recently used - firmly attached to its base.

Magic and ritual stalk this rich farmland, ruins mark skirmishes and full-on battles rooted in religion, politics and sheer tribal greed. The great estuaries of the Forth and the Tay brought international trade, royal visits, invasions both mercantile and military. Parts, however, now feel bypassed, not forgotten exactly but separate. It is, after all and always has been a Kingdom in its own right. And it is a place of pilgrimage.

View from the distillery Photo by Stewart Cunningham

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For 400 years, St Andrews was one of the main pilgrimage destinations in Medieval Europe.

Rich and poor flocked to be near what were promoted as the bones of St Andrew. The bones of someone who walked and talked with Jesus Christ. St Andrews became as important a destination for the faithful as Santiago de Compostela and Rome. And this was long before the invention of golf.

St Andrews may have been the main draw, but pilgrims also headed to Dunfermline to visit the shrine of St Margaret inside the abbey, and many other saints lurked along the road to St Andrews, in wells, in chapels, in handy places for rest and refreshment. Today there are various pilgrimage routes still taken by those seeking spiritual enlightenment. My favourite is the Three Saints Way from Killin in Stirlingshire, the saints concerned being St Fillan, St Serf and St Andrew himself. St Fillan, patron saint of the mentally ill, was reputed to have a glowing arm which lighted the darkness for any benighted unfortunates. However, if you were even more unfortunate and suspected of being mentally ill you would be bound hand and foot and dumped in St Fillan’s Holy pool on the River Fillan near Auchtertyre. If your bonds were loosed, you were thought to be cured. The pool’s power, however, vanished forever apparently when

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a wild bull was thrown into it, and now it’s yet another spot for wild swimmers to immerse themselves.

St Serf (dragon slayer, associate of Adamnan of Iona and therefore a possible whisky drinker) has such a colourful and bizarre set of stories that I will tell only one.

His pet Robin died, but St Mungo brought it back to life. Who was St Mungo? Never mind. We can make that pilgrimage another time.

Pilgrimage has left its mark on the Fife landscape, with many of its ferries, bridges and buildings originally serving the needs of pilgrims on their way to St Andrews. Such was the effect on the place and the people whose own roads to heaven were considered less hard going if they offered succour to pilgrims - that Fife became known as The Pilgrim Kingdom.

While St Andrews is no longer quite in the Santiago De Compostela league when it comes to footsore pilgrims (other than those golfers cramming in up to 54 holes a day on that holiest of turf). There are other spiritual reasons for taking a leisurely, and perhaps chauffeured trip around Fife: Daftmill, Kingsbarns, Cameronbridge, Inchdairnie, Aberargie...distilleries ancient and modern, industrial and microcrafting. And of course, there is Lindores Abbey.

The site underwent many uses before being reborn as the birthplace of whisky Photo by Stewart Cunningham

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I first encountered the town of Newburgh when a group of threatening teenagers chased me down the main street. I was cycling, they were on foot, so I managed to avoid the wicker man they undoubtedly had in mind for me. Or so it felt at the time.

Newburgh is a strange, sprawling place, its medieval origins very evident, the industries that once saw it thrive - linoleum and oilskin manufacturing, salmon fishing, a harbour when the Tay was that much nearer - gone. It began, though, with an abbey - “the church by the water”.

Travelling from Perth, you’re through Newburgh quickly (no gangs of aggressive youth), and then you see the white letters painted on the side of an enormous black shed: LINDORES ABBEY DISTILLERY. It’s immediately opposite a shop selling candle making and beekeeping supplies.

Appropriately enough, for mead was once made here. Lindores was one of the most important stopping-off points for pilgrims.

Now it’s a holy destination in its own right.

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Drew Mackenzie Smith Photo by Stewart Cunningham

“It’s the staff party tonight,” says Drew Mackenzie Smith.

“Mexican themed.” He shakes his head ruefully, and levers himself past the enormous oak banqueting table, made from a single, freakishly massive tree, that dominates the Lindores Abbey Distillery visitor centre. The rubber tips of his crutches squeak on the stone floor as we walk past lumps of 12th century sandstone, remnants of the original abbey ruins recovered during the

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building of the new, state-ofthe-art distillery. An injured leg is causing him some discomfort and making tonight’s party loom threateningly. He may be a little slower getting around than normal, but his steps are careful and assured. Like the measured and highly successful revival of whisky production he and his wife Helen have overseen in what he calls, with absolute sincerity, “the spiritual home of Scotch Whisky.”

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It sounds too good to be true, a tag line from a brand evangelist’s dream. But it’s based on a simple piece of accounting: an entry in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland for 1494 that states “To Brother John Cor, by order of the King, to make aqua vitae VIII bolls of malt.” This is the first written record of alcoholic spirit - aqua vitae, the water of life, a flavoured precursor to whisky - being made in Scotland. By a monk, probably an apothecary on loan to James IV. The abbey, now a picturesque set of ruins, was established in either 1178 or 1191 as one of a network of monasteries operated by the Tironensian order, Benedictines from Thiron in France, with an outpost in Kelso which supplied the original Lindores monks. The so-called “Church by the Water” was funded by David, Earl of Huntingdon, and built on land given to him by his brother King William I of Scotland.

It was constructed with local red sandstone, and covered a very large area. The site was chosen due to the availability of timber and stone, and for the fresh drinking water available from the stream called the Pow of Lindores..

Photo by Stewart Cunningham

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Photo by Stewart Cunningham

Earl David was either looking for heavenly recompense for his investment or paying back a favour by the Blessed Virgin.

Sir Walter Scott, in his book The Talisman, made famous the tale that Earl David was returning home from a crusade when his ship ran into a severe storm. It’s said that he promised to found a large church in honour of Mary if he survived. He did The Tironensians were masons, distillers, brewers, carpenters, blacksmiths, sculptors, painters, gardeners, beekeepers, musicians and farmers, and they were proud of their manual labour and technical skill. Due to its strategic site on the Tay and importance to pilgrims, the abbey became one of the major religious and political sites in Scotland.

Photo by Stewart Cunningham

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At its peak, the Abbey owned property across England and Scotland, and it was wealthy, both from rentals and from the Crusades, when knights and noblemen paid the monks off to pray for their souls and the souls of their families for all eternity, keeping a candle alight in perpetuity. One of the first things you see on entering the distillery visitors centre today is a candle, kept alight in honour of monks and the men and women they were paid to remember.

Everyone from Edward the First of England to William Wallace visited (not at the same time; in Wallace’s case, he was taking refuge with 300 of his men). And it’s possible that spirits had been distilled there far earlier than 1494

Photo by Stewart Cunningham

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Photo by Stewart Cunningham

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“We’re not making a big fuss about it, but excavations on the abbey site have found what appears to be the base of a kiln still,” says Drew. An archaeological survey prior to the building of the distillery revealed two pits that had strong similarities with kiln bases, as well as evidence of large flues running from the pits. They’ve been preserved and the similarities are remarkable, though professional archaeologists are hedging their bets.

The idea for a distillery on site - Drew’s family has owned the land for several generations - was kindled some 20 years ago when his father saw an unusual figure wandering about the abbey ruins one day. It was legendary whisky writer Michael Jackson (not the one with the glittery glove), who had come on what he called “a grateful Dionysian pilgrimage” to view the place where John Cor plied his trade, and gave birth to the whisky industry. But the journey from that moment to the availability of “proper” whisky has been long and at times tricky.

And John Cor’s aqua vitae has been crucial to the process.

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The rules on producing Scotch Whisky are strict: when a distillery starts producing spirit, that spirit must be aged for at least three years in oak casks, within the borders of Scotland, before it can legally be called Scotch Whisky.

The slew of new, “craft” distilleries that have emerged in recent years have all faced the time lag between construction and actually being able to sell their whisky in different ways, but most have used the raw spirit from their stills to make something that does not require ageing and can be sold immediately to produce much needed profits: gin or vodka.

Not Lindores, whose stills began gushing in 2016. “Gin was an obvious thing to produce, but I just said, no, it’s not part of our story,” says Drew. “Call it taking the moral high ground if you will, but we decided to stick to our origins and produce aqua vitae, using the same botanicals that would have grown on the site back in the 15th Century, and been used by Brother John Cor.” In fact it would be five years, not three, before the Mackenzie Smiths felt sufficiently comfortable with their product to bottle it and

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sell it as a finished single malt.

And again, there was an ethical decision to be made - should that first release be at an exorbitant price, with the subsequent “flipping” of bottles at everincreasing surcharges to collectors - or should it be available to everyone? The conundrum was solved by producing a “The 1494” limited edition in a special bottle and bottling the same liquid in a straightforward packaging for wider sale “but through independent retailers.” That was released to great acclaim just a few weeks before my visit.

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at £45 for 75 centilitres. Along with the finished whisky, the Aqua Vitae and the “new make” spirit (straight from the stills) are available to taste and buy on site.

“There will be special finishes and releases in the future,” Drew says.

“We have sourced some oak from wood actually grown at Thiron in France, and there will be limited edition whisky aged in casks made from that wood, with some malt obtained from the fields surrounding the monastery there.

Normally, we source our malt from two local farms near the abbey here in Fife.”

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The great glass hall which contains the Lindores stills looks out over the remains of the abbey, and attached is the Legacy Bar, which is open to the public on some weekend evenings.

There you can try not just the mature whisky, but aquavitae and associated cocktails. If you wander downstairs, you can take in the great affirmation of Aqua Vitae’s, and by association, whisky’s power, taken from the famous “Chronicles” by Raphael Hollinshed, published in 1577 and a source for Shakespeare, Marlowe and Edmund Spenser.

And for Drew Mackenzie Smith, who cheerfully appropriated a section originally written about Irish spirits.

“I know it’s not about Scotland,” he says, gazing up at the massive display with some reverence, “but I liked it.” Written in hard to decipher old English, I have carried out a rough paraphrase: One Theoricus wrote a proper treatise about Aqua Vitae, wherein he praised it to the ninth degree.

He distinguished three sorts thereof - Simplex, Composita, and Perfectissima. He noted the ingredients necessary to make it.

He wisheth it to be taken as well before eating as after.

It dries up the breaking out of hands, and kills the flesh worms, if you wash your hands therewith.

It scours all filth and blisters and from the head, if it is used to wash the hair daily before meals

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Being moderately taken, he says, it slows age, it strengthens youth, it helps digestion, it cuts phlegm, it abandons melancholy, it relishes the heart, it lightens the mind, it quickens the spirits, it cures the dropsy (water retention), it heals choking, it clears kidney stones, it expels blockages, it cures wind, it keeps and prevents the head from whirling, the eyes from being dazzled, the tongue from lisping, the mouth from being muffled, the teeth from chattering, the throat from rattling, the reason from being stifled the stomach from rumbling, the heart from swelling, the belly from itching, the guts from rumbling, the hands from shivering, the muscles from shrinking, the veins from crumpling, the bones from aching, the marrow from soaking.

Vlstadius also ascribed thereto a singular praise, and would have it tested by being set on fire, which he takes to be a token to know the goodness thereof. And truly it is a sovereign liquour, if it be orderly taken.

Aqua vitae was essentially diluted distilled spirits flavoured with plants and botanicals, and the version available at Lindores has the herbal tang of bitters. It uses plants such as Sweet Cicely, grown in the Lindores gardens, as well as Douglas Fir, basil flowers and dried fruit.

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“We’ve tried our best to authentically recreate what John Cor’s recipe would have been,” says Drew, a trained Cordon Bleu chef with many years of experience in top country houses and hotels. “We’ve reimagined it and it’s distilled in pot stills, then infused with a blend of spices and herbs, including cleavers, and sweet cicely, which grow in our gardens, in the grounds of the ancient Abbey. It is entirely natural, with no added sugars.”

It is delicious, as is the five-year old whisky, remarkably mature for such an early bottling. That extra two years of ageing beyond the legal requirement has been well worthwhile. But you can taste the origins of its quality in the new make spirit also available to buy from the distillery. At 63.5 percent alcohol, even neat, it has a delicacy that leads, after years in oak to something special.

Something spiritual. Brother John Cor would be proud.

I wonder what John Knox would make of it all? It was he, after all, that legendary pioneer of protestantism, who once led an inflamed crowd from St Andrews, following the murder of Archbishop George Beaton, and helped ransack Lindores.

Apparently encouraged the working folk of Newburgh to take its stones for their own houses.

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By the end of the Reformation, the Abbey was beginning to be dismantled (with the Abbey clock purchased by Edinburgh Town Council), but by the 17th Century, the deserted ruins were nothing more than a quarry, with slate, stone and carvings being taken and used in the building of many houses in neighbouring Newburgh. So John Knox had his way in the end. But did he, I wonder, ever partake of some of the aqua vitae pioneered there

by John Cor? We know that his mentor John Calvin was partial to a glass of wine, but surely the water of life would have been attractive to the great reformer Knox after a bout of monasterydismantling? Alas, on this the stones are silent.

I leave Lindores, heading not for the bones of St Andrew but the great angel’s wing of the Queensferry Crossing, which will take me across the Forth and then west to Glasgow. David wishes me a safe journey, his crutches already being tested for the Jarabe Tataio and Danze De Diablo which will be undertaken tonight in the shadow of the dully shining copper stills, the ghosts of John Knox and John Cor doubtless watching. One in approval, one possibly not.

Visitors on a tour Photo by Stewart Cunningham

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Tasting Notes Lindores Abbey New Make Spirit Drink 2021

Nose This smells of a working distillery, one where alcohol is being produced and is running in that beautiful stream through the glass and brass “spirit safe” (locked and accessible only with customs and excise permission). Fresh and clean, with a hint of ozone and glacé cherries, hospital laboratories and dentist’s surgeries. Pears and violets.

Palate Don’t drink this neat. It will burn and deactivate your tastebuds. A little water will make it tastable, and as a raw spirit goes, this is very good indeed. Assured and with the hints there that, once aged, the associated whisky will be worth waiting for. As it is, good vodka with a slight herbal tang, the cardboard fruiness of unripened strawberries in a punnet, the maltiness of pre-whisky and old stones from a mountain stream sucked on a dry day.

Finish Very, very long and incredibly, powerfully fragrant. Not in any way aggressive and abrasive, at least at first. Springwater with a touch of aniseed and newly mown grass. But...it doesn’t go away. 12 hours later, despite having sampled some Pinot Grigio, a Tyrconnel and many coffees, I was still getting flashbacks.

63.5 percent alcohol

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Tasting Notes Lindores Abbey Distillery Aqua Vitae

Nose There used to be an old herbalist my mum would take me too, and this is the smell you get when you open a bottle. An apothecary from Harry Potter! Ginger, the kind of cinnamon balls you used to get in big glass jars. Fruitcake and Christmas trees.

Palate Angostura bitters in Coke, or Underberg with American Cream Soda. A sweetness which never overwhelms. Dark chocolate gingers with parma violets and strawberry liqueur. You get the sense that it’s doing you good, or that it ought to do you good as long as you don’t drink too much. Best neat.

Finish Victor V sweeties and ginger wine, fading gently into a fireside glow. Logs crackling, probably well seasoned pine. Outside, the snow is beginning to fall and the forest darkness is closing in, comfortably.

40 percent alcohol

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Tasting Notes Lindores Lowland Single Malt Scotch Whisky MCDXCIV

Nose And here we are - five years old and matured in wine barrels, sherry butts and bourbon casks, but the new make spirit overtones are readily evident. That blue-sky windswept freshness, the Kirsch overtones and whiff of the sea on a stormy day.

Palate The aroma does not prepare you for the taste, which is amazingly mature and defined. Those extra two years in wood have paid dividends. There’s sherry, but not cloyingly so, with a lightness of touch coming from the Bourbon barrels. Vanilla, caramel and a range of fruits, but there’s a gingery burst of heat and preserved figs.

Finish Fades away over a long period of time, all apple pie and vanilla cream with a touch of warm, firelit libraries. For a five year old whisky straight off the starting blocks in a new distillery, it’s very impressive. Mind you, they did have 500 years of a head start.

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Adventure

alking the line

By Scott Aitken

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verybody knows the shortest route between two points is a straight line but when that involves an almost 50-mile journey, across some of the most challenging landscapes in Scotland, it’s not so much a shortcut as a feat of endurance.

However, two determined Scottish adventurers have just completed such a wild and challenging

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journey to become the first people to travel the “longest straight line in Britain without crossing a road”.

Calum Maclean and Jenny Graham, hiked, climbed, scrambled and waded the route from the A9 to the A939 through the heart of the Cairngorms National Park.

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They followed a bearing of 67 degrees, approximately eastnortheast, for four days non-stop, wild camping each night wherever they stopped.

The Highlands terrain, with no paths or trails, included steep hills, mountain summits, forests, crags, gullies, river crossings,

countless streams, a waterfall, bogs, peat hags and many miles of thick heather.

The pair finished the 48.8 miles (78.55km) journey – with a total ascent of 18,720 feet (5,706 metres) - in 83 hours and 56 minutes.

Calum Maclean and Jenny Graham Photo by Johny Cook

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“Walking in a straight line did feel very unnatural. I had a mix of feelings, from monotonous and depressing to really joyful.

Overall, it was quite gruelling,” said Calum, 32, of Aberfeldy, Perthshire.

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“But, then, when we reached the summits and got the opportunity to gaze back from where we’d come, it was a real feeling of satisfaction.

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“We could draw a line with our eyes, which linked the heather below our feet to the river in the glen below, the deep hidden gullies, rocks on far off hills and beyond into the distance.

“In those moments, I think the purpose of walking a straight line became a bit clearer.”

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The route of the longest linear walk in Britain without crossing a road was first created in 2018 by map makers Ordnance Survey (OS) after a question posed on Twitter.

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Roger Dalton (@100in7) wrote: “What (and where) is the longest distance you can walk in a straight line in England/Wales/Scotland without crossing a road (defined as a paved surface for vehicular use).”

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Intrigued, OS experts set about searching for a route and decided the longest straight line between tarmac roads was from the A9, just north of the Drumochter Pass, to the A939, suit of Corgarff.

They concluded the exact straight line distance was 44.43 miles (71.5km) with a total ascent of around 5394m (17,700ft).

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The highest point is the summit of Beinn a’Bhuird at 1197m (3927ft).

It is the 11th highest mountain in the UK. Other mountains on the route include Beinn Bhrotain and Ben Avon.

At the time of plotting the line, an OS expert commented: “I wouldn’t recommend anyone do it unless they are very conversant with a map and compass. It is not following known tracks or paths and it looks like there may well be several scrambles along the way, too.”

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“Walking in a straight line sounds like the simplest of all adventures but it turned out to be the most complex navigation of any trip I’ve been on,” said Jenny, 42, a roundworld record-breaking cyclist from Inverness.

“However, completing the route and sticking as close to the line as possible while exploring the national park in such a unique fashion was pretty special.”

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The project, supported by EXPED UK (Expedition Equipment) and clothing sponsor Montane turned out to be much harder than imagined to keep a straight line on unpredictable terrain.

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”It’s really tricky to stop yourself veering from the bearing on rough ground. You think you know what a straight line is but then you look at the GPS and realise you don’t,” said Jenny.

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“You also have to let go of everything that is in your head.

Sometimes this means not doing what appear to be the most sensible when looking at the terrain.”

Calum added: “We tried following a compass bearing but it wasn’t that accurate. Then we followed a line on our GPS devices, which was better but still difficult.

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“Even a small gully is hard when you have to go in a straight line.

Common sense says go round it, but we were determined to stick to the straight line.”

The pair was surprised by how slow their progress was. Jenny said: “We walked in a straight line for 11 hours and we covered just 10 miles on day one. They were the toughest 10 miles of my life.

“On day two, it took us 13 hours to do 13 miles. That’s a mile an hour. It was so tough on all the heather and with so many steep ups and downs.”

Calum revealed that when walking through peat hags on the first day they were reduced to a speed of “just 3km per hour. That is so slow!”

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Many miles of deep heathercovered hills, mountains and moorland made the going arduous. Jenny said: “At some points I was crawling up heather on my hands and knees.”

Calum added: “I was cursing every bit of heather on day two.

But also the terrain was incredibly monotonous at times. It was a real slog.”

By the end of day three, the friends had journeyed 61 hours in a straight line. Jenny said: “We sleep, eat, cross everything in our paths in one straight line. It is very hard but also amazing.”

Calum added: “We knew there would be many crags on the straight line and we were worried about what we would come across. There were huge slabs on some descents and they were wet with water running over them.

Photo by Johny Cook

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“A few times we attempted to down climb but it was too risky and so we had to slightly detour off the line. This only happened a few times though, thankfully.”

Another tough section came at the end of the the longest straight line on day four. Calum said: “The line just stopped but we weren’t at a road. It stopped at a track.

“We looked at the map and we had to make it through a thick forest to get to the A939. This was one of the toughest parts of the entire line.

“We actually did a few kilometres more than OS had suggested for the route because we needed to make it to the road.”

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On day one, Calum, a keen wild swimmer, was delighted by the discovery of a hidden waterfall.

He said: “We found a stunning series of waterfall pools tumbling through a gorge, which resembled a series of steps.

“It was a place I might never have visited if it weren’t for walking the line – and they’re now bookmarked for a return to swim, as they were about 100m off the line, which was too far for us!”

As they came to the high hill pass of the Lairig Ghru on day three, the walkers were treated to “amazing views”. Calum said: “There was a temperature inversion and the view was amazing. It was very uplifting.”

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They also enjoyed days of sunshine and “the best blaeberries; so sweet and juicy.”

As the days passed, the pair became more familiar with their challenge. Jenny said: “I am not used to walking with a backpack – they weighed about 16kgs – and at first it was hard. I was really worried about my sore ankles the first night. But then I think my body adapted.

“It was such a cool experience, doing something that others had not and reaching places I had never visited despite thinking that I knew the Cairngorms so well.”

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Events

Time for another fling F

ans and lovers of all things Scottish will descend on Glasgow this month for the eagerly anticipated return of the annual Highlander Fling.

The celebration of Scottish talent, produced and organised by Outlander actor, entrepreneur and Discover Scotland contributor Scott Kyle, is back at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Glasgow on 11 September for one night only.

The show, which was forced to cancel last year due to the Covid pandemic, has become something of a highlight in the calendars of many returning visitors to Scotland.

The yearly event was launched

by Scott, who played Ross the blacksmith in two series of the internationally popular television show based on the books by Diana Gabaldon, back in 2017 as a showcase for Scottish music, dance and theatre.

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Reeling at the Highlander Fling

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At the last event in 2019, shortly before the world was thrown into lock down by the pandemic, the Highlander Fling attracted hundreds of guests from around the world.

Many of the people who flocked to attend the show had travelled from across the UK and as far a field as Australia, Brazil, the USA, Canada and mainland Europe.

For many of the audience it was an opportunity to meet with other Outlander fans, enjoy some Scottish culture and maybe mix with a few surprise celebrity guests.

Despite the extra safety restrictions in place this year to keep everyone as safe as possible the party looks set to be another success.

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Among the performers topping the bill this year is Jon Ritchie’s Swing Sensation big band. There will also be performances from the Dunfermline Pipe Band, Sarah Hendry Dance School, singer Kevin Gore, and Dance Vibes providing the ultimate Scottish experience - complete with a Highlander buffet.

“This year looks set to be another great event,” said Scott, who has seen his idea take-off with Highlander Flings springing up in France, Holland, Canada and several states in the US. “Some of the people who have come in previous years liked it so much they wanted me to take the concept over to their own countries. If it hadn’t been for Covid last year there would have been four Highlander Flings in the US alone. All being well they will now take place next year in 2022.”

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On the day after the Fling, on Sunday 12 September, Scott has hired an open top bus to take some of the hardy party goers on Hangover Tour of some of the country’s top tourist attractions.

“The Hangover Tour proved to be a major success in 2019 after the last fling so we had to do it again this time,” said Scott, who has a planned an exciting mystery

excursion for those looking to explore beyond the confines of Glasgow city.

“It’s a great way to blow away the cobwebs from the fun and frolics of the night before.”

Tickets for the Highland Fling and the Hangover Tour are available from www.scottkyle.co.uk

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History

resh look at the Declaration of Arbroath A

new exhibition telling the story of The Declaration of Arbroath commemorates the 701st anniversary of one of the most iconic documents in Scotland’s history.

The newly refurbished visitor centre in the grounds of Arbroath Abbey is hosting the exhibition, postponed from last year due to the pandemic, which features 50 historic artefacts, telling the story of the Abbey and its key role in Scottish history.

The Declaration was sent in 1320 from Arbroath Abbey to Pope John XXII by Scotland’s barons, asking the Pontiff to recognise Robert the Bruce as the lawful King of Scots.

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Exploring the history of the Abbey from its founding in 1178 to the present day, the new exhibition draws upon an engaging mix of technology and traditional crafts.

It includes an animated film on the letter and its reception by the Pope; an interactive console providing biographies of each of Scotland’s barons who added their names to the document, and a digital

reconstruction of the Abbey as it would have been at the time of the Declaration.

Included in the exhibition is the new Arbroath Tapestry, handmade by local embroiderers to celebrate the Declaration’s 700th anniversary and designed by East Lothian artist Andrew Crummy, the man behind the Great Tapestry of Scotland.

Newly refurbished visitor centre at Arbroath Abbey Photo by HES

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Other key highlights from the new exhibition include a new facsimile of the surviving Declaration of Arbroath created by the internationally renowned craftsman, David Frank. This was commissioned

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by National Records of Scotland (NRS) and donated to the people of Arbroath.

There is also a marble tomb effigy of King William I, commissioned by King Robert

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I (the Bruce), which provides a material link between two of the central characters in the Abbey’s story: William, who founded the Abbey and Robert, on whose behalf the Declaration of Arbroath was sent.

Medieval items found during excavations at the site are also being displayed for the first time, including arrowheads from the Wars of Independence and items used daily by the monks who lived there.

Arbroath Tapestry Photo HES

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“The investment Historic Environment Scotland has made in the visitor centre refurbishment has transformed it into a state-ofthe-art space where visitors can immerse themselves in this new interpretation offer and enjoy these artefacts and their connection to the Abbey, the town, and the part it played in Scotland’s history,” said Alex Paterson, Chief Executive of HES. “One of the key aspects of this exhibition is the people and the partners that have made it possible, from the embroiderers who have

created this wonderful tapestry to partners such as NRS who donated the facsimile, to our staff who have worked hard to create an immersive experience.

“We very much hope that visitors enjoy this new visitor experience and the retelling of one of the most iconic moments in Scotland’s history.”

Visits to the new exhibition need to be pre-booked via the HES website. For more information and to book visit www.historicenvironment.scot

Facsimile of the surviving Declaration of Arbroath Photo HES

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Musical Discoveries

Theme for a city “Y

es I know the city like a lover, good or bad it’s hard to love another,” is a line familiar to millions of fans of the Scottish detective series Taggart and a fitting tribute to the city in which the show is based - Glasgow.

Written by Mike Moran and performed by Maggie Bell, Scotland’s answer to Janis Joplin, the song No Mean City, which is featured in this month’s Musical Discoveries show, will be forever associated with Glasgow and the gritty crime drama.

The original soundtrack launched the tv series way back in 1983 when actor Mark McManus brought to life the world weary, dour but likeable Detective Chief Inspector Jim Taggart.

Glasgow skyline Photo by Caitriana Nicholson CC BY-SA 2.0

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Music to accompany reading Discover Scotland www.discoverscotlandmagazine.com 1: Love and Money - River of People 2: The Big Dish - European Rain 3: Roddy Frame - 40 Days of Rain 4: Lavender Lane - Blame 5: Paolo Nutini - Iron Sky 6: Eddi Reader - Patience of Angels 7: Karine Polwart - Whatever’s Written In Your Heart 8: Gerry Rafferty - Lost Highway 9: Aberfeldy - Summer’s Gone 10: Star Wheel Press - Write a Novel 11: The Poems - 10.15 Saturday Night 12: Unkle Bob - Put a Record On 13: Maggie Bell - No Mean City 14: Karen Matheson - Evangeline 15: Linda Hirst/Ivor Cutler - Women of the World 16: Average White Band - Pick Up the Pieces

with Tom Morton

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River Clyde in the heart of Glasgow Photo by Barnabas Csomor CC BY 2.0

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The BAFTA award winning show created by Glenn Chandler for Scottish Television, which started life as a mini-series in 1983, became one of the longest running television dramas in the UK until its final episode in 2010.

Although McManus died in 1994 the show continued with the same name, following the exploits of a small team of detectives working out of Glasgow’ s Maryhill police station solving murders across the city and further afield.

The show, repeats of which are still continuously shown on tv, became famous for the appearance of many Scottish actors who have become major stars, including Robert Carlyle, James Cosmo, Allan Cumming, Ashley Jensen, Douglas Henshall.

Celia Imrie, John Hannah and many others.

The song which launched the show, No Mean City, has since become an iconic theme tune reflecting the good and bad aspects of the city that manages to be both tough and tender.

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Maggie Bell, who sang the track, was herself born in Maryhill before going on to find fame with Stone the Crows rock group. In 1990 she even appeared as a special guest star in an episode of Taggart called ‘Evil Eye’, playing a fortune teller who gets murdered.

Other performers featured in the latest episode of Musical Discoveries include Love and Money, The Big Dish, Roddy Frame, Lavender Lane, Paolo Nutini, Eddi Reader, Karine Polwart, Gerry Rafferty, Aberfeldy, Star Wheel Press, The Poems, Unkle Bob, Karen Matheson, Linda Hirst/Ivor Cutler and the Average White Band.

Maggie Bell and Stone the Crows in Rotterdam 1970 Photo CC0 1.0

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Film

PHOTOS THAT SHAPED SOCIETY

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new documentary tells the story of the magazine that pioneered the use of photojournalism and helped document ordinary life in the first half of the 20th century.

Picture Stories takes a look at the work and legacy of Picture Post, the revolutionary magazine which shaped perceptions of life throughout the British Isles and beyond during and after the Second World War.

Launched in 1938 it was an immediate success selling almost 2million copies within weeks of hitting the news stands.

Proudly liberal and anti-fascist the weekly publication campaigned against the rise of Nazism in Germany and persecution of jews and other minorities through it’s hard-hitting iconic images.

Photo: Getty Images

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Between 1938 and its closure in 1957 the magazine documented ordinary people and their lives. It championed the idea of minimum

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wages, full employment, child allowances, a free national health service and improved eduction to eliminate poverty.

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Bert Hardy’s iconic photo of two young boys on the streets of Glasgow Photo: Getty Images

As the best-selling magazine in Britain during the Second World War, and hugely influential for years after, Picture Post

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revolutionised the picture magazine, showing Britain to the British in a fundamentally new way.

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Photo: Getty Images

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Using the freedom of new camera technology, Picture Post’s photographers portrayed the lives of ordinary people, at home, on the street, unposed - in a way they had never been seen before.

Through its powerful, socially committed picture stories, Picture Post helped to transform post-war Britain, and change the face of British photography.

Some of the most famous photographers of the 20th century were published by the magazine, including Kurt Hutton, Francis Reiss, John Chillingworth, Grace Robertson and Bert Hardy.

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Possibly Hardy’s most famous photograph, and his personal favourite, shows two young boys walking in the streets of the Gorbals in Glasgow. It is an image which has come to represent the essence of reportage photography.

The new documentary from Ship Of Life Films tells the story of this iconic magazine through the work of its photographers, writers and editors. Leading contemporary photographers also reflect on Picture Post’s extraordinary images and influence.

Photo: Getty Images

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Photo: Getty Images

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“Picture Post is arguably the most important magazine in British social history. It was born under the threat of War, and survived and flourished under the intense bombardment of the Blitz. Extraordinarily, during the height of World War II, Picture Post was looking ahead to postWar life and to the possibility of fundamental social reform,” said film director Rob West.

“Picture Post had a huge impact on national awareness of social conditions in Britain and of the need for a comprehensive welfare state and a national health service. It brought cutting-edge photography, and the picture story, to a mass audience. It changed people’s understanding of their own country by showing, vividly, what British life was really like.

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“I wanted to bring the extraordinary story of Picture Post and its photographers to modern audiences. Many of things we take for granted in photography, and our understanding of photographs and picture layout, started with Picture Post. Many of our ideas about British society were forged by Picture Post and its unique group of creators.”

Following the UK theatrical release of the Picture Stories later this month, on the 24th September, the documentary will be released on digital download on 30th September.

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Food & Beverage

Chef in a kilt with… Gordon Howe

ye for a Scotch Pie I

ts origins may have been lost in the mists time but the humble Scotch pie remains a deliciously practical staple of the traditional Scottish menu.

For more than 500 years this tasty delicacy has served to satisfy the appetites of generations of Scots.

Traditionally made with minced mutton, seasoned to taste and encased in a pastry that is both crisp and moist, this simple recipe was designed to be eaten at the table or on the move. It is the ultimate convenience food.

Now that mutton is no longer quite so easy to find the fillings have evolved over the years and

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can range from mined lamb or beef to macaroni or curry, making it one of the most versatile dishes on any menu.

Traditionally it shares some traits to the old pork pie. The meat is quite dry, not in a gravy, and the filling is raw when it goes into the pie shell helping to soften the pastry as it cooks.

But, what really makes scotch pies that little bit more special is the pastry - hard but delicate, strong but thin, dry but moist. The lid is recessed slightly below the rim, ideal for different toppings such as mashed potato, baked beans, black pudding or almost anything your taste buds desire.

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Photos by Gordon Howe

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A small, round, pastry container around seven or eight centimetres in diameter and only four centimetres high the scotch pie was created as a cheap and tasty meal for one.

The events of the Industrial Revolution influenced the rise in popularity of the pie as the crusty snack grew into a culinary icon.

Bakers began turning out pies by their thousands to provide hungry workers who had flocked to the cities with a suitable and inexpensive meal.

Today there are countless variations on the them and every manufacturer has his or own recipe which is often handed down though the generations and kept a closely guarded secret.

Making your own Scotch Pie couldn’t be much easier with this recipe for six pies: Recipe: Prep time: 20 mins.

Chilling time: 4 hrs.

Cooking time: 35 mins.

Total time: 4 hrs 55mins Ingredients: Hot water pastry 450 grams plain (all-purpose) flour 150 ml water 150 grams lard 1 tsp salt Pie Filling 450 grams minced (ground) lamb or mutton 1 tsp salt 1½ tsp ground black pepper 1 tsp ground mace or nutmeg 1/5 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

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Hot water pastry Cut the lard into small cubes, add to a small saucepan with the water and heat slowly until all the lard has melted. Now In a large heatresistant bowl, mix the salt into the flour.

Make a well in the centre of the flour, pour in half of the lard and water. Mix thoroughly then add the remaining lard and water mix. The dough should be quite dry, tip it out onto your worktop then knead it a bit until it comes together.

Making the Pie Shells The pie bases (shells) need to be well-chilled, firmly set and a little dried-out before you can use them. Do not dry the lids out - you can roll and cut the lids just before use. Save enough pastry to make the six lids wrap airtight and refrigerate until you need them .

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You’ll need some kind of rings, tins or ramekins to form your shells. They should ideally be 9-10mm (3½-4 inches) diameter, and 3cm (1¼ inch) tall.

Butter the inside of your formers.

Sprinkle flour on your worktop and roll some dough as thinly as you can, the thinner you can get it the better the finished product.

Sprinkle a generous amount of flour on the pastry disc and lay it into a former, floured side down.

Use some spare dough to press the pastry right down gently into the bottom. Avoid getting any folds or creases in the pastry. Cut off any excess pastry around the top, avoid cutting right up to the rim. Place the shells in the fridge to dry out for about three hours.

After three hours the shells should be firm enough to be removed ready to fill, if not leave until firm.

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Prepare the Filling You need to use the fattiest lamb you can get or your chosen filling.

Mix the meat (or other filling) and seasonings thoroughly by hand, cover and place in the fridge.

Making the Lids Roll out the remaining dough as thinly as you can and use the top of the pie case moulds you used, as a cutter to cut out six discs.

Make a large hole in the centre of each disc to let the steam out.

Assemble the Pies You’ll want to have your oven heated to 160°C (320°F) fan assisted (180°C - 356°F).

Take your meat filling out of the fridge. Divide the meat into equalsized chunks and push one chunk

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into each pie shell. It should be reasonably thin, like a mini beef burger, the filing should come only halfway up the side of the pie shell.

Now moisten the edge of one lid with water at a time, press it down over the filling. Smooth the edge of the lid in against the inside of the shell. Brush the top and sides of the pie with a little milk.

Bake the Pies Put the pies onto a floured baking sheet and bake them for 35-40 minutes.

Traditional toppings (or on the side) mashed potatoes mushy peas or baked beans or gravy.

Serve with chips, Scotch pies are also eaten cold.

Serve immediately alone or with your favourite topping or sides

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Folklore

Folklore Scotland with… Graeme Johncock

airy blessing or a curse T

he glaistig is one of the most interesting creatures of Scottish folklore. They are part of the fairy world, always female and usually haunt the rivers and lochs of the west coast.

Having a local glaistig was often seen as a benefit since they were incredibly protective of both children and cattle.

They would sometimes attach themselves to a family as hereditary protectors like at Dunstaffnage Castle. The Dunstaffnage glaistig was

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nicknamed the Ell-Maid and watched over the Campbells who lived there. She could often be heard giggling when the family were in good fortune or weeping when she sensed a family member approaching death.

However, glaistigs weren’t always helpful or friendly. In Lochaber, rumours once spread of an angry spirit haunting a river in the shadow of Ben Nevis. Anybody who dared to cross the bridge was risking their life, especially after dark.

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Bridge in Lochaber Photo by Graeme Johncock

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Bridge over the Atlantic Photo by Graeme Johncock

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A local blacksmith called Big Kennedy had heard people were disappearing, but he wasn’t easily scared. As he approached the river one evening, a frail looking woman appeared out of nowhere, begging to share his horse.

Kennedy knew her true nature and agreed, but only if she sat in front rather than behind him.

Strong as an ox, he hoisted her up and before she could play any tricks, wrapped his magic sword belt around her. The glaistig was trapped.

She pleaded with him to let her go but he refused. This was his chance to show the locals who was behind the disappearances and no doubt gain a huge reward for it. The glaistig offered him a herd of the finest cows and success on every hunt but that wasn’t nearly enough for Kennedy.

She added the finest house in all of Lochaber to her bargain.

The blacksmith thought about it and agreed, as long as she could complete the work before the sun came up. Then they would shake hands and be done with it.

Glen Nevis Photo by Graeme Johncock

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The glaistig had to get to work fast. She screamed out into the darkness, calling all manner of fairy creatures to assist her.

Kennedy heard sawing and hammering all through the night as the glaistig’s magic helpers constructed an enormous house.

Before dawn had broken, the blacksmith stoked his new forge and placed an iron in the glowing embers.

creature go back to tormenting the local people or worse, seek her revenge on him. Kennedy pulled the hot iron from the forge and thrust it into the outreached hand instead. She screeched loud enough to shake the freshly built beams. As the glaistig withered away, staining the hillside red, she cursed Kennedy. He would grow old before his time, struck down in his prime.

As the glaistig called a herd of fine cattle into the barn, Kennedy nodded with a smile. She turned to her captor and asked him to shake her hand, then she would be on her way. He couldn’t let this

His sons would all die young so his grand house would not see another generation. It was a high price to pay for a new house and a herd of cows.

Highland Cow Photo by Graeme Johncock

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Argyll cattle in a river Photo by Graeme Johncock

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Collecting

Antique Hunting with… Roo Irvine

ne man and his cat A

nthropomorphism, one of my favourite words and something I am incredibly guilty of, especially as the years flow by. Strangely enough it’s hard to explain the happiness it gives me when I humanise everything - animals, flowers, cars, stuffed toys, buildings, even jewellery!

Perhaps in a world where our faith in humanity is tested on a daily basis anthropomorphism is a way to seek solace in harmless companions.

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And I am not alone. One of the most charming anthropomorphist of the 19th century was Louis Wain, a household name in late Victorian times.

Born in 1860 in London he didn’t have a normal upbringing. Due to his having a cleft lip doctors told his parents not to send him to school until he was 10-years-old.

Even then he spent most of his time playing truant and exploring the city.

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Cats singing by Louis Wain 1925-1939 Photo Wellcome CC BY 4.0

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More by chance than planning he fell into studies at the West London School of Art and ended up teaching there for a while before seeking a fresh career as a freelance artist. He became known for his detailed charming illustrations of animals and country houses but, it was a cat named Peter that gave him fame and created the legend we know today.

Louis Wain at his drawing table 1890

The bachelor party by Louis Wain Photo: Bonhams

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Wain married Emily Richardson at the age of 23 and one evening, they both heard a kitten meowing in the rain and took in a black and white stray that they named Peter.

Before Emily passed away three years later of cancer Peter was her greatest comfort.

Wain drew countless illustration of him, which Emily encouraged Wain to get published, and Peter

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appears in much of the artist’s early work as homage to feline friend that lifted the spirits of his dying wife.

Wain later said of Peter, “To him, properly belongs the foundation of my career, the developments of my initial efforts, and the establishing of my work.”

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In 1886 the first humanised cats appeared in Wain’s work. “A Kitten’s Christmas Party” featured 150 cats depicted playing games, making speeches, sending invitations and ‘doing what humans do’!

The style was hugely popular in Victorian England and was found on greeting cards as well as satirical prints. He even represented Scottish culture, with numerous cats in kilts, as shown best in ‘The Scottish Soldier in Battle - the Black Watch.’

Wain was a huge animal lover, involved in many animal charities, and felt he helped undo the negative preconception that cats had at the time.

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Three cats performing a song and dance act by Louis Wain Photo by Wellcome CC BY 4.0

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Cats in a cycle race in Hyde Park Photo Wellcome Images CC BY 4.0

Cats at the play by Louis Wain PD

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Literary legend H G Wells said of Wain: “He invented a cat style, a cat society, a whole cat world.

English cats that do not look like Louis Wain cats are ashamed of themselves.”

Sadly, the demise of Louis Wain was due to a mere change in tastes. As his illustrations and anthropomorphic cats fell out

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of fashion the artist spiralled downwards. With a mother and numerous sisters to support financially his art was his livelihood. Without the demand from consumers he struggled to cope. It is heart breaking to think the very cats that brought him, and the world, so much joy, were cast aside long enough to break Louis Wain’s heart.

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I bought a Louis Wain print many years ago, not because I knew of him but because I fell in love with the joyful little black cat holding up a Home Sweet Home sign. Its eager-to-please, hopeful expression, child-like stance and welcoming message made me buy it.

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I am fiercely proud to share an anthropomorphic mind set with a talent such as Louis Wain. I can never meet or get to know him but I feel that if by some miracle we did meet then we would probably talk cats into the wee hours of the morning.

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“A Vestry Meeting” by Louis Wain 1892 is unusual as it depicts bulldogs, rather than cats.

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Music

Return of live music with

Highland Festival

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nverness’s Eden Court has welcomed the restoration of live audiences in Scotland, with performances from some of the finest traditional acts on offer being showcased on BBC ALBA this autumn.

Under Canvas signifies the return of a long-awaited platform for some of biggest names in Scottish traditional music to be playing in front of live audiences, and BBC ALBA has brought those performances to even more fans eager to see their favourite acts performing again.

Iona Fyfe

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Some of those who took to the Under Canvas marquee that will be showcased on BBC ALBA include Gaelic folk singer Mischa Macpherson, pipe maker and musical pioneer Malin Lewis in Malin makes Music, contemporary folk quintet Eabhal, Brian Ó hEadhra & Fionnag NicChoinnich, Josie Duncan, The Canny Band, Iona Fyfe and

supergroup McKerron-Brechin-Ó hEadhra.

Malin Lewis, from Plockton in the West Highlands, is a former student of Plockton Music School.

With a style which spans genres, but rooted in the pipe traditions of the west coast, Malin is an upcoming star of the traditional scene.

McKerron Brechin Ó hEadhra

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Mischa Mcpherson

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Presenter Ellen MacDonald

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Highlights from Under Canvas on BBC ALBA are being presented by renowned Gaelic singer Ellen MacDonald, who is well known for her performances with the band Dàimh. She is also one of three female singers with the traditional band Sian.

“Live music is so integral to Gaelic culture, so it’s just brilliant to see it’s return after such a long period of uncertainty. The Scottish traditional music community showed it’s resilience over the past year, and so to be a part of bringing these musicians and live audiences back together is a real honour,” said Ellen.

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Sally Simpson and Malin Lewis

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Under Canvas marks a considerable milestone for the Scottish music and events industry after a year of uncertainty, with Eden Court and programme curators Fèis Rois hoping that the festival is the beginning of music’s return to normality.

“Organising a festival like Under Canvas this year has been challenging, but it’s worth the effort to see live performances once again,” said Seona McClintock, Producer, Gaelic and Traditional Arts at Eden Court.

Under Canvas will be on BBC ALBA at 9pm on Saturday 4 September, and available on the BBC iPlayer for 30 days afterwards.

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Luc McNally

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Bookmarker

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new book captures the people and places at the heart of Scotland’s industrial landscape in the post-war decades through the photographs and reflections of one of Scotland’s foremost heritage experts.

John R Hume, who retired as chief inspector of historic buildings

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in 1999, has been an avid photographer all his life with a particular love and understanding for Scotland’s industrial buildings and communities. Many of the images focus on Glasgow and the west of Scotland, the heartlands of mining, foundries and construction but there are mills, river ferries and distilleries captured from further afield.

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Polmaise Colliery, Fallin, Stirlingshire, 1974 Photo © HES. Reproduced courtesy of John R Hume

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Tate & Lyle Sugar Refinery, Greenock, Renfrewshire, 1975 Photo © HES. Reproduced courtesy of John R Hume

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The photographs often record everyday moments in now lost endeavour and capture the trust and camaraderie of people often involved in dangerous and dirty work. Sartorially, they also reveal that the flares and long hair associated with the young Billy Connolly were far from unusual in the docksides of 1970s Glasgow.

A Life of Industry: The Photography of John R Hume published by Historic Environment Scotland has been written by Daniel Gray, based on a series of conversations with Prof Hume, now in his 80s. It tracks Hume’s life through his passion for cities, mechanics and engineering which he recorded in obsessive detail in photograph and drawing.

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Time card machine, Mill No. 3, Ferguslie Mills, Paisley, Renfrewshire, 1984 Photo © HES. Reproduced courtesy of John R Hume

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Tannery, Musselburgh, East Lothian, 1978 Photo © HES. Reproduced courtesy of John R Hume

The 1960s and 70s in particular were pivotal times in Scotland, when familiar businesses were lost to modernisation. The staff of the Vindanda Laundry in Kirkintilloch pose in 1971 with their irons, the year that the advent of household

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washing machines spelt the end of the business.

Later photos show the destruction of iconic buildings being pushed aside in the name of progress and motorways.

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The book is grouped into five sections. Bricks and Threads focuses on traditional and sometimes homespun industries such as brick making, brewing and distilling, or water mills.

Giants features the mammoth heavy powerhouses smoking since the Industrial Revolution – steel

and ironworks, collieries and shipyards.

In Motion showcases the importance of movement and transport to this Scotland, whether in the construction of vehicles or the carriage of goods and people, from canals to motorways.

Cranes, road trailer and locomotive, Govan Goods Station, Glasgow, 1966 Photo © HES. Reproduced courtesy of John R Hume

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Ring spinning machine, Mill No.1, Ferguslie Mills, Paisley, Renfrewshire, 1984 Photo © HES. Reproduced courtesy of John R Hume

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MV Orcadia, Papa Westray, Orkney, 1976 Photo © HES. Reproduced courtesy of John R Hume

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Urban Life is a charismatic survey of cityscapes and towns, of lives among chimneys, shops, bars and graffiti.

Coming Future takes us towards decrepitude and demolition, an old world gone and a new one just begun, steam trains exiting stage left while tower blocks stretch for the clouds.

Many of the photographs reflect Prof Hume’s particular interests: ferries, railways, bridges with spreads devoted to industrial chimneys long gone and automobiles of the day juxtaposed in front of older industrial buildings.

The harsh physical demands of heavy industry are evident in the images of steelworks, collieries and shipyards.

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“I still feel it’s important to preserve something of the physicality of what went before and I’m following in a long tradition – people want to keep relics of the distant past; prehistory or early history. But if we want to keep things from then, we should also keep things from the more recent past. Things which are beautiful themselves, or embody an enormous amount of human thought,” said Professor Hume.

Author Daniel Gray mentions many of the structures that owe their continued existence to the dedication of Prof Hume. They include Queensberry House, now part of the Scottish Parliament complex; the Crinan Canal rejuvenation; Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central stations and the Finnieston Crane among many, many others.

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Blair Foundry, Hurlford, 1971 Photo © HES. Reproduced courtesy of John R Hume

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Thomson & Stewart Iron Foundry, Aberdeen, 1971 Photo © HES. Reproduced courtesy of John R Hume

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“This book was built from fortnightly meetings where John and I would sit and view hundreds of his images on a small screen and I listened, learned and laughed,” said Daniel.

“I hope I’ve captured John’s warm nature, enthusiasm, recall and great storytelling in its pages.

Through deeds and pictures, John has given us a nearcomprehensive representation of industrial Scotland and I only hope that this book inspires many others to seek out his archive, which are a monumental contribution to Scotland.”

Photo © HES. Reproduced courtesy of John R Hume

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UCBS Bakery, McNeil Street, Glasgow, 1967 Photo © HES. Reproduced courtesy of John R Hume

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The book includes personal reflections as it follows Prof Hume’s life through his Glasgow childhood to his entry into academia. He spent 20 years at the University of Strathclyde lecturing on Economic and Industrial History, before being employed as the principal inspector of ancient monuments, and then of historic buildings, for Historic Scotland (now Historic Environment Scotland). He was chief inspector of historic buildings when he retired in 1999.

He holds honorary professorships at both the University of Glasgow and the University of St Andrews, and he continues to serve as patron of the Glasgow City Heritage Trust, and as a member of the panel of judges for the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame.

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Horse lorry, Fruitmarket, Glasgow, 1965 Photo © HES. Reproduced courtesy of John R Hume

BUY BOOK

It is no exaggeration to call Prof Hume Scotland’s leading industrial heritage expert and recorder.

From box brownie to digital SLR he has uniquely captured a picture of industrial strength and change that still impacts on Scotland today.

A Life of Industry: The Photography of John R Hume is available from all good booksellers and from Amazon.

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Outdoors

ncovering Scotland’s forgotten byways H

undreds of hidden trails throughout Scotland have been revealed in what has been described as the “best-ever map” of the nation’s paths.

map shows almost 42,000 miles of paths – from traffic-free city routes to high mountain trails – including many that are not shown on Ordnance Survey maps of Scotland.

The previously concealed trails have been made visible to the public for the first time by the walking charity Ramblers Scotland following a major nationwide project.

Since 2019 Ramblers Scotland’s volunteers have completed around 1,500 path surveys, adding almost 450 unmapped paths that total more than 85 miles in length.

The Scottish Paths Map pulls together data from numerous sources, including trails recorded and audited over the last year by more than 100 volunteers.The

Now, everyone can discover these hidden paths and plan fun days out using the interactive Scottish Paths Map at ramblers.org.uk/ mappingscotlandspaths.

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Ramblers on a path at Tynninghame, East Lothian Photos: Ramblers Scotland

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Ramblers Scotland group on a woodland path

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There is huge capacity for the map to expand in future, so Ramblers Scotland is also urging walkers to volunteer to help audit its data and record hidden paths in their owns areas.

“Scotland has amazing landscapes and world-class access rights, yet sadly many people still lack confidence about where to walk – so mapped paths are key to creating a healthier, happier nation,” said Brendan Paddy, director of Ramblers Scotland.

“I hope people will use our Scottish Paths Map to plan walks, find new routes and unearth previously-unknown paths on their doorstep.

“While this is the best-ever map of Scotland’s paths, we believe that it can be still be improved – so I’d encourage people to volunteer to help us audit data and identify thousands more hidden paths across Scotland.”

Paths are marked in purple on the map until audited by volunteers – when they turn green. Many more paths are expected to be audited in the coming months and years, enabling the public to access useful details such as a path’s surfacing, condition, waymarking and any obstacles.

Previously hidden path in Fife

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Ahead of today’s launch, Ramblers Scotland president Lucy Wallace has been voluntarily helping test the technology and audit paths on her home island of Arran.

paths will create better walking links between communities, opportunities for fun days out and space for people to boost their health outdoors.

Lucy, who is a mountain leader and wildlife guide, said: “This is such an exciting project as it brings together existing mapping with new data gathered by volunteers on the ground.

The map can be used on desktop or mobile devices, wherever there is a signal. Rather than replacing traditional maps – it is instead designed to help people plan journeys, highlight gaps and promote paths and routes.

“As it grows it will be a superuseful planning tool with publicly available information about important things like path condition and obstacles such as gates or stiles.”

Ramblers Scotland believes that shining a light on these hidden

The map will be regularly updated with volunteers’ new paths and audit information and in future the charity intends to make its entire Scottish Paths Map dataset downloadable for free in various popular formats.

Scottish Paths Map excluding Shetland

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Ramblers Scotland president Lucy Wallace checking a path on Arran

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Film

hit that deserves to run O

ne of the best comedy dramas to come out of Scotland in recent years is to get its premier showing on PBS this month.

Guilt, starring Mark Bonar, Jamie Sives, Ruth Bradley, Moyo Akande and host of other highly talented performers was a massive hit when it was shown in the UK. As the old saying goes: “It’s not the crime, it’s the cover-up” that cause most of the trouble the show follows the misadventures of brothers Max and Jake as they try to from hide their guilt fatal hit and run accident with an elderly pedestrian during an inebriated drive home from a wedding.

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Jamie Sives and Mark Bonar star in Guilt

Mark Bonnar (Unforgotten) and Jamie Sives (To the Ends of the Earth) star as Max and Jake in the darkly absorbing tale of rascality and deceit which is due to be broadcast in four parts with back-to-back episodes on MASTERPIECE, Sundays, September 5 and 12 at 9/8c on PBS. Guilt costars Ruth Bradley (Pursuit) as Angie, the niece and closest relative of the hitand-run victim, named Walter.

Arriving in Edinburgh from her home in Chicago, Angie meets Max and Jake at Walter’s wake,

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where they have come to retrieve incriminating evidence. Angie and Jake hit it off, which complicates Max’s plan to escape justice.

Also appearing are Emun Elliott (The Paradise) as Kenny, Max’s alcoholic private detective; Sian Brooke (Sherlock) as Claire, Max’s suspicious wife; Moyo Akandé (The Hurricane Heist) as Claire’s more-than-gym buddy, Tina; Ellie Haddington (Foyle’s War) as Walter’s pathologically vigilant neighbor, Sheila; and Bill Paterson (Wives and Daughters) as Roy, a sinister mob boss in Edinburgh.

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Hit-and-run perpetrators usually leave the body at the scene, but Max and Jake carry Walter’s corpse to his house nearby and set him up in an easy chair. There, they find a letter revealing that Walter had terminal cancer. “He was dying slowly. We just made it quick,” says Max with relief. “He’d probably thank us.”

Since Max is a high-powered attorney and savvy in the ways of police and coroners, he takes charge of the cover-up. Jake was actually behind the wheel of Max’s car during the accident, but he was stoned and uninsured, while Max was swilling champagne in the passenger seat. It’s hardly the image of a respectable lawyer.

For his part, Jake is a classic slacker, running a marginal used record shop with enough time on his hands to write custom liner notes for the albums.

Although the brothers are no longer close, they are now coconspirators in a crime that grows in severity as they dig a deeper and deeper pit of evasions and desperate stratagems.

Meanwhile, lovelorn Jake and funloving Angie are falling in love.

Max’s wife, Claire, is uncovering the depth of her husband’s lies.

Private eye Kenny, hired by Max to botch the investigation, has decided to go sober and get to the bottom of the case. Sheila cryptically blurts out, “I saw.” And Roy says to a sweat-drenched Max, nearing the end of his rope: “For many years, myself and the people that work for me have committed significant amounts of extreme violence. Of course, that’s all in the past. I’m a businessman now. A businessman who in the past has committed significant amounts of extreme violence.”

WATCH TRAILER

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Shopping

oors open at first femalecentric bookshop

By Helen Lloyd are Birds Books, the online club founded on a simple principle that books should be fun to read, has opened the country’s first female-centric bookshop in the heart of Edinburgh.

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From Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Malibu Rising to Torrey Peters’ Detransition, Baby, Rachel promises there is a story, author and genre for every kind of reader, searching for every kind of world.

In a bold move that sees the club demonstrate a level of resilience and innovation in a time of retail uncertainty, founder Rachel Wood is inviting bibliophiles down the rabbit hole and into Stockbridge’s newest page-turning hotspot.

Not only packed with the best stories the shop’s shelves will also see a collection of other musthave gifts and novel memorabilia.

From Rare Birds’ new candles scented to pair perfectly with a customer’s current read, and graphic print totes emblazoned with the store’s logo, to small batch chocolate and stationery from women-led businesses there’s a lot to choose from.

Readers can now visit the Rare Birds Shop to immerse themselves in a world of literary favourites, must-have modern classics and the cream of the crop of newly published masterpieces.

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Rachel Woods, Rare Birds Book Club

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“We’ve always been deeply interested in women’s writing and we can’t wait to bring what we do online to life in our very own space,” said Rachel.

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“We dreamed of a really welcoming space where we could showcase a huge variety of women’s writing across all genres and create a space where booklovers could meet and socialise and that’s what I hope the space will be.”

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Shoppers will be able to choose from a range of female authored fiction and non-fiction books, as well as create Rare Birds’ signature personalised bundles, which are made up of three personal picks from the store’s world of stories.

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In the months to come, Rare Birds Book Shop will also be home to a number of in-store events, including author readings, book clubs and intimate shopping evenings.

The club was launched by Rachel four years ago as a subscription service dedicated to celebrating women’s fiction and helping readers break out of their reading ruts.

Centred upon contemporary women’s fiction, Rare Birds Book Club selects only the very best pacey, interesting stories with gripping plotlines, amazing heroines, happyish endings, and – when the occasion calls for it – totally smouldering love interests.

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Events

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Championships has returned to Kelty, Fife.

But, after a break of four years the Scottish Coal Carrying

Launched in 1995, the annual event was created by Michael Boyle and is one of only two Coal Races in the world. His aim was to create an enduring link between the modern-day village and its’ rich coal mining heritage.

t’s a link with the past fewer people can remember as the years go by. The days of old King Coal, when homes were warmed by open fires and burly men carried sacks of the black stuff from house to house.

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Winner of men’s race, Wallace Nelson from Kinross Photo by Colin Hattersley

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Winner of women’s race Caroline Lech from Carnoch (right) and Ashley Jarvis (left) Photo by Colin Hattersley

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Lack of sponsorship between 2016 and 2019 and the impact of COVID-19 in 2020 forced its cancellation. This year however saw the full restoration of the event, thanks to sponsorship from National Pride UK Community Interest Company (CIC).

The men’s race requires participants to carry a 50-kilo bag of coal and the ladies’ race requires a 25-kilo bag of coal to be carried over 1000 metres through the village of Kelty.

Children carry a 15-kilo bag of coal.

This year the men’s race was won

by Wallace Nelson in 4.56 minutes while Caroline Lech took the top slot in the Ladies’ challenge with a time of 5.02 minutes. Rebeca Prowse from Broxburn won the girls race and Cohan Hunter from Kelty the boys.

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The test of strength and endurance was acknowledged by the Scottish Parliament in 2013, when the Parliament “recognised the Scottish Coal Carrying Championships that are held each year in Kelty, Fife to be the National Championships and stated the belief that the race was indeed the link to the rich coal mining heritage of the village”.

“A big congratulations to not just the winners, who certainly hit a rich seam of form on the day, but to all those who took part in making this such a marvellous event,” said Michael Boyle, founder and race organiser.

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Winner of girls race, Rebecca Prowse from Broxburn Photo by Colin Hattersley

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Mascots Climbing the hill Photo by Colin Hattersley

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History

pellbinding toil and trouble A

new student-led online exhibition exploring 200 years of suspicions and actions that fuelled the myths associated with witchcraft today has opened in Aberdeen.

Toil & Trouble: Witchcraft in Scotland will examine the dark history of witchcraft in the country, particularly from the 16th to 18th centuries.

The newly launched online exhibition has been curated by MLitt Museum Studies students at

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the University of Aberdeen.

Drawing on the University’s rich collections, it will take virtual visitors on a journey of discovery examining aspects of early modern Scotland in an attempt to bring understanding to why witchcraft accusations were so rife at this time.

Caitlin Jamison, who worked on the interpretation for the exhibition, loved the process of delving into the mysteries of witchcraft is Scotland.

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Caitlin Jamison

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Depiction of the Devil giving magic puppets to witches (PD)

“In writing the content for this online exhibition, my classmates and I have tried to shape how people understand this important topic. Magic, medicine and religion collide in a way that still has resonance today, which makes it so fascinating to explore,” she said.

Objects ranging from a 17th century handbook for hunting a witch written by a king to devices used to punish the accused to more innocuous items thought to bring good luck will be used to consider the broader aspects of the subject, which has long fascinated the public imagination.

The impact of gendered violence and oppression, the perceived difference between magic and medicine and the role of the church and religion will be

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introduced through the curation.

“People often have preconceived notions of haggard women on broomsticks or hexing their neighbours. There is so much more depth to the topic than that,” said Lisette Turner, part of the Design and Marketing curatorial team behind the exhibition.

“We wanted to change that visual representation and focus more on the naturalistic side of the craft and how often it was that ‘common’ women found themselves in trouble when thought to have toiled in anything seen as unholy.”

Toil & Trouble: Witchcraft in Scotland is available online at www.abdn.ac.uk/toil-andtrouble

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Property

Highland havens full of history L

ocated in a delightful setting in the sought-after Mull of Kintyre, Brecklate is a fully renovated farmhouse with a range of outbuildings, enjoying an elevated position with uninterrupted views over the surrounding countryside.

Built in 1866 by the Duke of Argyll Brecklate, which translates as ‘speckled hillside’ in Gaelic, is the ancestral home of the Ralston family, many of whom emigrated as far afield as Canada and New Zealand. The former farm creamery, a room within the stone byre and now used as an office, dates from 1880.

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Brecklate for sale for offers over £475.000

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Having been extensively renovated and re-configured by the current owners, the farmhouse offers stylish, spacious and practical family living with four or five bedrooms. The architectdesigned open plan kitchendining-living-area provides a delightful, practical space to relax and entertain and the original farm stables has been converted into a ground floor bedroom with a delightful galleried mezzanine.

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Adjoining Brecklate to the rear is a substantial former stone byre.

The building is now used as a garage, boot room and kennel with the option to create stables in one of the other outbuildings if required.

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“The sale of Brecklate presents a fantastic opportunity for a family looking for a lifestyle property.

This delightful farmhouse has extensive grounds including two areas of lawn, an orchard, polytunnel, two pretty treelined burns running through the grounds, a chicken run and two grazing paddocks,” said Nicky Archibald, of the selling agents Galbraith who are asking for offers over £475,000.

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“The property’s charming past is still evident throughout, with remnants of the water wheel and an old iron sluice gate set into the hillside burn. The Duke of Argyll’s builders also clearly had a sense of humour all those years ago, having placed a carved stone heart with a face, on one of the original livestock shed walls.

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“In recent years, Brecklate has operated as a successful Bed & Breakfast. With two bedrooms and a sitting room that can be used and accessed independently, the property is ideally suited for use in this way offering an attractive business opportunity.”

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Close to Campbeltown, Brecklate is ideally situated to enjoy the great outdoors, with the internationally renowned Machrihanish Golf Course nearby, stunning walking and cycling routes, bird watching and a local riding school offering trekking adventures. On the edge of the town is a large marina with berths for visiting yachts and a chandlery, and the area is home to several whisky distilleries including the famous Springbank Distillery.

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Just as romantic and with its own fascinating history, but for a lot less money, a cottage in one of Scotland’s most dramatic and beautiful landscapes is now on the market for offers over £250,000.

Shepherd’s Cottage in Sutherland enjoys a spectacular and wild setting with far-reaching views of rugged mountainous landscapes and the River Runie, offering the ideal location to get away from it all and enjoy an outdoor lifestyle.

The surrounding countryside provides a habitat for many rare and protected species of flora and fauna.

The cottage is directly off the A835, part of the popular NC500 tourist route.

“Shepherd’s Cottage is a traditional Highland cottage in a beautiful location. The property requires full renovation and offers the opportunity, subject to the necessary consents, to upgrade into a modern country home or potentially to rebuild entirely,” said selling agent Claire Macdonald of Galbraith.

“Given the beauty of the setting and its prime location on the route of the NC500, there is clear potential to develop a tourism business or simply to create your own private sanctuary in one of Scotland’s most celebrated settings.”

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Shepherd’s Cottage for sale for offers over £250,000

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Shepherd’s Cottage has one reception room and two bedrooms. The plot extends to about 14.68 acres, comprising primarily rough grazing land with some naturally regenerating woodland, and is gently undulating with some rocky outcrops. There is a timber barn and a traditional stone barn with tin roof.

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Ullapool, about 10 miles away, has good amenities including a supermarket, primary and secondary schools, popular restaurants and cafés. The city of Inverness is approximately an hour and half by car and offers all the facilities of a modern city including an airport, train station and many high street shops.

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September 2021 This month’s Discover Scotland multimedia magazine has been brought to you by: Sponsors Loch Lomond Seaplanes Glenturret Distillery Lochter Activity Centre Turin Castle Argyll Walks

Thank you to all our donors, supporters, patrons and sponsors without whose help producing Discover Scotland and distributing it for free to a global audience would be much more difficult.

If you would like more information on how to help us fly the flag for Scotland and all things Scottish

Find out Here Photo by VisitScotland / Discover Clackmannanshire / Damian Shields Views of the Wallace Monument as seen from Dumyat at the western end of the main range of the Ochil hills

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