Huntingtower Castle. Living as I do in Perth, my latest historical blog, features a castle just along the road - originally called The Palace of Ruthven, the castle comprised of a single tower house built by Clan Ruthven in the mid 15th century. By the end of that century a second L-Plan tower was [...]
Rob Roy MacGregor, spy, thief, brigand, or poor PR and injustice?
Sir Walter Scott, portrayed Rob Roy as a dashing and chivalrous outlaw. Of course, the truth was a little less glamorous. Robert acquired the name of ‘Roy’ early in life due to his mop of red curly hair. In the early eighteenth century, Rob Roy MacGregor had established a protection racket, charging farmers an [...]
Macleans in Nova Scotia & Carolina
In 1622 and 1628, Sir William Alexander launched four attempts to send colonists to Nova Scotia; all failed for various reasons. A successful occupation of Nova Scotia was finally achieved in 1629. The colony's charter, in law, made Nova Scotia (defined as all land between Newfoundland and New England i.e. The Maritimes) a part [...]
Maclean building brochs again in Scotland
Project 4. Build a broch and tourism centre The reconstruction of a broch would have several benefits - in addition to providing an iconic tourist attraction, it would provide employment from the construction phase through to long after the building has been completed. Drystone dyking workshops would be provided, allowing the public to come [...]
The Battle of Culloden – 16 April 1746
The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. 16 April 1746, The Duke of Cumberland’s defeat of Prince Charles Edward Stuart’s Jacobite Army (his only defeat) - the beginning of the end for the clan system in the highlands of Scotland. Date of the Battle of Culloden: 16th [...]
Jacobite tales, brought together by Paul McLean
Our thanks to Jacobite History, catch them on facebook, a huge source of excellent information. This just a wee collection of stories/truths I have found, I hope you read and take it further yourself! Dalrymple authorised the Glencoe massacre - the story of this man: John Dalrymple, the 1st Earl of Stair. The Dalrymples, [...]
The REAL Macbeth
Macbeth – forget the numpty Shakespeare, this is no Hollywood story The real MacBeth is a far cry from silly Willy’s made up stories, in fact, recently there has been an avenue of thought, that Willy did not even write the plays he supposedly wrote! The truth is a far better read than the [...]
Christmas in The Promised Land
It started in Perth as I picked up the truck from Linzi, I was headed to the Promised Land; Oban. As usual over the past few Christmas’, I collected my 4x4 truck and headed west, like an old salmon, heading back to my birthplace, Connel - that wonderful place on the Scottish west coast. [...]
Peat & Diesel – what, who?
Their story; three Stornoway locals (Innes, Uilly and Boydie) met in a house to have the craic one Saturday night, playing music with just the dog and cat watching. After a few tunes getting thrown across the room Boydie stated muttering a few sentences. As he is a man of few words, attention wasn't [...]
Kidnapped
Robert Louis Stevenson, a famous Scotsman Robert Lewis (later: “Louis”) Balfour Stevenson was born in Edinburgh on 13 November 1850. His father Thomas, belonged to a family of engineers who had built many of the deep sea lighthouses around the rocky coast of Scotland. His mother, Margaret Isabella Balfour, came from a family of [...]