Historic Scotland

#DidYouKnow? Anyone visiting #ElginCathedral today (17 June) will be following in the footsteps of some notorious wild, wykked helandmen... #OTD in 1390, Alexander Stewart (aka the 1st Earl of Buchan, aka The Wolf of Badenoch) arrived in #Elgin to destroy the cathedral - and 18 residences of the ...

Nestled on the serene, remote island of Iona, Iona Abbey is a beacon of spirituality and cultural significance.Intricately linked to St Columba, the abbeys spiritual presence is recognised worldwide. Its influence has transcended centuries, shaping Scotland's spiritual and cultural landscape.Whil...

Tantallon is not just any castle; it's one of the most significant castles in the British Isles.As the last of the great curtain-walled castles built in Scotland, Tantallon stands as a testament to 14th-century Scottish architecture. The two-storey hall block and the adjacent Douglas Tower offer ...

From the air, you can really get a sense of the impact the sea has on the majestic Skara Brae. Famously uncovered by a storm, the weather is an ever-present influence.It wasn't until 1850 when a storm damaged a series of sand dunes at the south end of the Bay of Skaill in Orkney, the existence of...

Ahead of the weekend, do you fancy jumping into a time machine with us? We've only jumped back a few decades. Here we are on Cramond beach in 1970 to join a dedicated group of #volunteers tackling a beach clean. Sadly, the issue of beach litter hasn't disappeared. In fact, it's getting worse! T...

Midway between Kelso and Galashiels, looking glorious in the spring sunshine, is one of the iconic symbols of the Scottish Borders; the 15th century Smailholm Tower.'Standing stark and upright like a warden' amidst the rolling landscape of the Merse, Smailholm can be seen from many miles away, an...

Is this breathtaking view Scotland's best kept secret? An artificial loch people regularly get lost trying to find, seen from a castle built at an unknown date, for unknown reasons.Welcome (if you can get there) to the enigma that is Morton Castle. Set amidst the hills of Nithsdale in Dumfries an...

1546 was a momentous year in Scotland, when big and bloody things took place in, outside and even underneath St Andrews Castle. It all began in East Lothian, however, when a Protestant Preacher named George Wishart was arrested on the orders of the Catholic Archbishop of St Andrews, Cardinal Davi...

In the far north-west of the mainland of Orkney is the parish of Birsay, and a short distance offshore you'll find a very special tidal island; the Brough of Birsay. Reachable only on foot at low tide via a causeway (be sure and check the tide times), when the sea returns the Brough becomes a tru...

If you don't take this photo, did you even go to Urquhart Castle?The famous view of its 16th century tower with Loch Ness stretching off to the north-east is a picture postcard scene, in any weather (even with a photobombing helicopter) Urquhart is one of the great Scottish castles, and an incred...

As a vast natural anchorage, the sheltered waters of Scapa Flow are one of the most important bodies of water in the British Isles, and have been since the time of the Vikings. But for a couple of hundred years, the defence of this vital harbour was left to a pair of round stone towers, sitting b...

All brochs are unique, but one of them is more unique than others. Of the dozen in our care, only one has never been excavated. The magnificent, and remote, Dun Dornagil.Located in the far northwest of Scotland, in Sutherland, the remains of Dun Dornagil sit like a pulled tooth, brooding over the...