The modern Scotsman, it appears, is becoming more image conscious. If they are not doing yoga dressed in kilts, as seen by more than 20 million people on social media, they are just as likely to be undergoing beauty treatments, massaging oil on their carefully cultivated facial hair or even powdering much more than their nose

John Gow was not a particularly successful buccaneer. His career lasted only a matter of months and his story would probably have faded into the shadows of history had it not been fpr Daniel Defoe and Sir Walter Scott. Now Orkney's first rum distillery has officialy launched a new spirit with the infamous island pirate providing inspiration for the brand.

An ambitious project has been launched to revive the fortunes of the last paddle steamer to be built in Britain and return her to the waters of Scotland's most romantic loch - Loch Lomond. TV and film star Bill Patterson has joined forces with Celtic Music legends Phil Cunningham and Aly Bain in a new short film about the paddle steamer Maid of the Loch.

Imagine relaxing by an open peat fire, sipping single-malt whisky after a sumptuous meal before retiring to a luxury bed in a 247-year-old hotel by the side of a spectacular Scottish loch. Tucked away amid the spectacular landscape of Argyll overlooking the waters of Loch Fyne and mountains of the Arrochar Alps The George Hotel, Inveraray is just over 40 miles from Glasgow and less than 500 miles from London, but a world away from the stresses and strains of city life.

Situated off the beaten track among lush fields of wheat, barley, potatoes and oil seed rape lies an area of Scotland all too often overlooked by visitors. The Howe o' Mearns and the picturesque landscape with its historic communities that surrounds it, is a forgotten gem on the tourism map as visitors speed past on the A9 between Dundee and Aberdeen

For more than half a century renowned photographer Douglas Corrance has created a unique and timeless pictorial record of Scotland and its people. Now, he has taken some of these images and produced a stunning new art-quality book showcasing life in the Scottish capital in all its glory

Ever since the first vikings ran ashore in the late 8th century their presence has continued to permeate Scottish history and culture. Now, some 1300 years later, the designs and craftwork they brought to these shores have been recreated by an entrepreneurial Viking enthusiast and exported to a world-wide audience

A unique cache of almost priceless Viking artefacts found by an amateur treasure hunter which could shed light on Scottish history has been saved for the nation. Known as the Galloway Hoard the collection of more than 100 gold and silver objects has been described as one of the most significant Viking discoveries ever made in Scotland.

A hand-carved stone sculpture featuring the ship that contained some of the first Scottish settlers to Canada has been presented to the Canadian government as a symbol of enduring friendship.

The "greatfu prayer" of thousands of Canadian Scots has been answered. For the first time in almost 50 years the great chieftain o the puddin' race is once again welcome on its shores. Scotland is to start exporting haggis to Canada for the first time in 46 years after leading haggis producer Macsween of Edinburgh developed a new recipe that meets Canadian regulations

Thousands of Californian Scots and their friends gathered to celebrate a heritage that has survived hundreds of years and thousands of miles. The 15th annual Seaside Highland Games in Ventura, California truly lived up to its reputation as "The Premier Scottish Festival on the Pacific Coast"

It is a mystery which has puzzled police and amateur sleuths for more than a century. A murder most foul that one of the country's most celebrated detectives described it as so brutal it might have been "committed by a maniac or a foreigner". The unsolved case of Jean Milne who was stabbed repeatedly and bludgeoned to death with a poker, was one of the most infamous murder cases in Scotland at the turn of the 20th century