Does Scotland Really Have Fairies?

“When the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies.” ~ Sir J. M. Barrie, Scottish journalist, writer, and dramatist (1860-1937)       One autumn afternoon in...

Welcome to the Quietest Place in Scotland

I love cemeteries. Aye, really. Before you think I’m daft or the least bit morbid, here’s why I’m keen on kirkyards, like the one above, viewed through the sixteenth-century remains of Mar’s Wark, built in Stirling by the Earl of Mar. The grounds are green, the air...

What Is a Full Scottish Breakfast?

Every lodging place in Scotland, from five-star hotels to one-star hovels, offers a Full Scottish Breakfast. By “full” the Scots mean “complete,” but I promise you, full is what you’ll feel when you finish the last bite of that tattie scone. You may be surprised at...

Where Can I Find the Best Scottish Music?

A decade before I fell in love with Scotland and her people, I fell in love with her music. The Tannahill Weavers came first, then Capercaillie, followed by a host of fiddlers, pipers, and flute-wielding Scotsmen. I easily have a dozen versions of “Are Ye Sleeping...