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This week’s Hidden Scotland Weekly brings together folklore, archaeology, castles, and a hotel experience that’s anything but ordinary.

We’re starting with a final chance to win a 3-night stay for six at Glen Dye Cabins and Cottages. North Lodge is tucked deep in the Aberdeenshire wilderness, with its own River Cabin, wood-fired hot tub, and private access to Glen Dye’s forest sauna and BYOB pub. The competition closes tomorrow.

Then it’s off to the Borders for the tale of Michael Scott and the White Snake. Was he a wizard, a scholar, or just a weary traveller who stumbled across power in the strangest way? Graeme Johncock shares the story of how one old woman, a serpent, and a bubbling pot of stew changed the course of his life.

We’re also travelling to Orkney, uncovering standing stones, ancient cairns, and the story of Skara Brae on a one-day itinerary through Neolithic history. There’s a stop at Julia’s Café in Stromness, a crawl into Unstan Cairn, and a glimpse of Viking graffiti deep inside Maeshowe.

Back on the mainland, we’re marking the date that work began to rebuild Eilean Donan Castle in 1913. What had once been a ruin became one of Scotland’s most photographed strongholds, thanks to one man’s vision and two decades of labour.

Plus, Lucy Gillmore checks in to Edinburgh’s House of Gods for cocktails, copper tubs, and a ‘Treat Me Like I’m Famous’ stay filled with velvet, vintage glamour, and a few unexpected touches.

And as always, this week’s quiz is waiting, with questions that take you from John o’ Groats to Dracula’s castle.

Thanks for reading, and for being part of the Hidden Scotland community.

Last Chance to enter - Win a 3-Night Stay for 6 at Glen Dye Cabins & Cottages North Lodge & River Cabin

Tucked deep in the Aberdeenshire wilderness, North Lodge is a beautifully restored 1890s home on the River Dye. It comes with your own private River Cabin, a wood-fired hot tub, Big Green Egg BBQ, and access to Glen Dye’s sauna, BYOB pub, and more.

Sleeps 6. Outdoor adventures and lazy riverside days await.

To enter visit https://go.hiddenscotland.com/win

Michael Scott & The White Snake

Michael Scott was a legendary Borders wizard, said to have cleaved the Eildon Hill into three. He wasn’t born with his gifts though. In his younger days he was just an ordinary man until one life changing experience.

One day he was making the long journey north to Edinburgh with two of his friends. Just as they crested a hill, a loud hiss came from behind. A great white serpent was snaking up towards them, ready to attack. Just as the creature sprang forward, Michael struck down twice with his walking staff.

Shaken but relieved, they left the snake in three pieces on the hill and carried on their way. Before long it was getting dark and the friends spotted a cottage where they could rest for the night. An old lady answered, agreeing to let them stay for a small fee. Before long, the travellers were retelling their earlier encounter.

Their host was incredibly interested in the white serpent. She told the group of friends that it was no ordinary beast, people thought it had been defeated once before. If the head crawls to the nearest stream, then it will become whole again and hunt Michael down for revenge. The only way to stop it would be to go out into the darkness and bring the middle section back to her.

Michael’s friends wanted nothing to do with it, so he put on his cloak and headed out alone. Eventually he made it to the hill where they had faced the snake and true enough, the head had disappeared. He ran as fast as he could back to the old lady’s cottage with the middle section in his hand.

She was waiting at the door with a look of excitement on her face. Michael was a little confused when she took the serpent’s body and dropped it into a pot over the fireplace. The old lady explained it was the only way to destroy it and anyway, she wouldn’t turn down a free meal.

With a shrug, Michael settled down in a chair to warm himself by the fire. His host asked him to keep an eye on things and let her know when the meal was cooked. Under no circumstances was he to interfere with the pot.

Before long, the smell of the meat cooking made Michael’s stomach growl. He decided that he would just dip his finger into the juices for a quick taste. As soon as the liquid touched his lips, Michael dropped the lid of the pot to the floor. He could feel power he had never thought existed. Simply by wishing it, his hunger had gone and his tired legs were recovered.

The old woman ran through and as soon as she saw the wonder in Michael’s eyes, she knew what had happened. She conceded he deserved the power since he had defeated the white snake. Michael never forgot about that old lady though. She would never want for anything ever again thanks to the power of Michael Scott the Borders Wizard.

Reach the story online here.

Words by Graeme Johncock

On This Day in 1913: The Rebuilding of Eilean Donan Castle

Eilean Donan Castle, once a ruin on its island at Dornie, began its remarkable rebuilding in 1913. What followed was a revival that turned it into Scotland’s most iconic stronghold.

There are few castles in Scotland more instantly recognisable than Eilean Donan. Perched on its little tidal island where three lochs meet, it looks timeless, a place you expect has always been there. But for almost two centuries it was nothing more than a ruin, a broken silhouette on the water, until one man decided to change that.

On 23 August 1913, the first stones were laid in its rebuilding. John MacRae-Gilstrap, who had bought the island a couple of years earlier, wanted to see his family’s ancestral seat rise again. What began that summer was no easy patch-up job but a full reimagining. The ruins were stripped back, new stone brought in from Loch Longside, and slowly, painstakingly, the walls grew. Horses dragged loads to the shore, boats ferried them across, and masons worked year after year to give the castle its shape once more.

The work paused during the First World War but picked up again in the 1920s, and by 1932 the castle was officially opened. The result was not a perfect replica of the medieval stronghold that once stood here but something more romantic - towers, turrets, a bridge that swept across the water to meet it. Some historians still grumble about its accuracy, but for most visitors that hardly matters. What they see is the image of Scotland they carried in their mind before they arrived.

Today Eilean Donan is one of the most photographed places in the country. Tour buses pause on the road from Inverness to Skye, couples wander across the bridge, and photographers set up their tripods for the perfect shot at dawn. The rebuilding that began on that August day more than a century ago gave Scotland not just a castle but an icon.

House of Gods Hotel Review

“Just throw the TV out of the window,” my boyfriend suggested. I was trying to come up with a suitably outrageous ‘Rockstar Request’ for a night at Edinburgh’s House of Gods hotel and drawing a blank. My inner Diva was on strike. A bath full of champagne? What a waste – and cold. Maybe I could bathe in asses milk like Cleopatra? See above. Google wasn’t much help. A concierge, I read, was asked to find two camels for one guest, another reported a guest requesting 20lbs of ice in the bathtub for their penguins, a third an ostrich-egg incubator. I was pretty sure Edinburgh Zoo wouldn’t be happy to help.

It was the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards who first threw a TV out of the window. Didn’t one rock band ask for something weird like all the brown M&Ms removed? Yes, Google confirmed, Van Halen. What does Bruce Springsteen ask for, I wondered? Chicken soup, heavy on the broth, good beer (no Budweiser). That’s more my kind of rock’n’roll.

The Rockstar Request is the latest wonderfully bonkers initiative from this playful mini chain which claims ‘ordinary is the enemy’. The idea was inspired by a guest who had asked for a pineapple named Norman to greet them on arrival. Why? Who knows. The hotel, of course, obliged and the idea grew shoots. The new campaign ‘Rockstars Request’ invites people to send in their wildest, weirdest, most wonderful room requests, the most imaginative going to a public vote on House of Gods’ social channels, the winner receiving a ‘Treat Me’ stay, ‘a night of pure, unapologetic excess.’

Just off the Royal Mile on Cowgate in Edinburgh’s Old Town, the House of Gods is less a hotel, more a lavish cocktail bar with rooms. You check in at the bar with a glass of Prosecco, before being shown to your room – or cabin. It feels like you’re wheeling your suitcase down a train corridor between carriages and that’s the idea. The décor is inspired by the opulence of the Orient Express. The cabin bedrooms are compact – go with the train compartment theme. The beds are built in, the marble wet rooms on the snug side, but they are decked out in sumptuous fabrics. Upgrade to the classic rooms and suites and you’ll be bedding down in a decadent four-poster.

My suite was fabulous. With a dark polished parquet floor, walls clad in burgundy velvet and wood panelling, vintage tasselled lamps and brass monkeys, a freestanding copper tub and four-poster bed decked out in rich brocades and sprinkled with golden petals and balloons, it felt more boudoir than bedroom. Press this button, my butler explained, for Prosecco – or milk and cookies after 9pm. If you need anything, WhatsApp us.

But where was the TV? Hidden in a full-length mirror and safely secured to the wall. So much for rock’n’roll behaviour. Then again, there was no window, just a full-length panel of frosted glass. What time would I like my in-room cocktails?

The ‘Treat Me Like I’m Famous’ package is pure indulgence. There was a bottle of Prosecco in an ice bucket, a box of artisan chocolates – and for breakfast a hamper with Mimosas is delivered to your room. There was just time for a quick soak in the tub before a knock at the door announced the arrival of Adam and his cocktail kit. The Millionaires’ cocktail is not on the regular bar menu but reserved exclusively for ‘the famous’.

Adam set up his table and began to mix butterfly pea-infused Lind & Lime gin, white port, champagne syrup, fresh lemon and a dash of foamer; the result a vibrant purple and utterly delicious concoction, the perfect aperitif.

I might have failed in the rockstar stakes, but I was enjoying the celebrity treatment. Just as I was getting ready to go out for dinner, I spotted a small hamper. More treats? Two cans of chicken soup, a bottle of Super Dry Asahi beer and a Bavarian style unfiltered Hefeweizen – and a bowl of M&Ms, brown ones taken out. Not many hotels make you laugh out loud.

Rooms start at £99 and Treat Me Like I'm Famous is an additional £119

Lucy Gillmore is a freelance journalist who left a newspaper travel desk for the Highlands’ hills. Dipping into Scotland’s ever-evolving food, drink and accommodation scene she will be bringing us the latest news stories, dates for the diary and shining a light on local food heroes in a regular column. You can follow her on @lucygillmore

A Day Uncovering Neolithic Orkney

If you’re interested in ancient history, there’s nowhere quite like Orkney. This archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland is packed with so many well-preserved neolithic sites that it’s earned UNESCO World Heritage status. These are more than just rocks too, they’re packed with stories that make them come alive and you can get round lots of them in just one day!

Skara Brae

Undoubtedly the busiest attraction in Orkney, I’d always recommend visiting Skara Brae first thing to try and avoid some crowds. This 5,000-year-old village lay buried under sand and turf until it miraculously appeared after a storm in 1850. Strange looking stacked stones were revealed and as archaeologists got to work, they discovered something very special.

A series of perfectly preserved homes, connected by corridors, complete with Neolithic furniture. Stone beds, hearths, water-containers and even stone cupboards emerged inside the buildings. We don’t know why these ancient people suddenly abandoned Skara Brae, whether they chose to leave or were forced out by a sudden sandstorm, but it gets your imagination going!

Ring of Brodgar
10 minute drive

Heading inland, it’s not long until you reach the Ring of Brodgar, a dramatic circle of standing stones set in a natural amphitheatre between the loch of Harray and Stenness. Dating back to around 2600BC, it may have been built by the same people who lived in Skara Brae!

It’s thought there were once 60 stones, but even with “just” 36 left standing, it’s one of the most impressive stone circles in Scotland. There are stones from other locations in Orkney included, so maybe this was part of a ceremonial site that including the entire archipelago. We don’t know for sure what it’s use was, so everybody is welcome to their theory.

Local folklore claims that these were once giants, turned to stone after getting so carried away dancing to a tune played by a giant fiddler that they didn’t notice the sun coming up. Don’t miss the Comet Stone, a short distance from the main circle, said to be the fiddle player!

Standing Stones of Stenness
3 minute drive

Just across a causeway, you'll find the Standing Stones of Stenness, believed to be the oldest stone circle anywhere in Britain. It adds more weight to the theory that whatever culture raised these monumental structures began here in Orkney, before spreading along the length and breadth of the British Isles.

There was once a large stone with a hole called “Odin’s Stone” and local people would clasp their hands through it to pledge their love before they were married. Sadly, it was destroyed by an angry farmer called Captain Mackay who had recently moved to Orkney and hated people walking in his field! 

He smashed the Odin’s Stone but was thankfully stopped by a furious crowd before he could do too much more damage.

Lunch at Julia’s Café Bistro
10 minute drive

Take a trip to Stromness for a delicious lunch at Julia’s Café Bistro. I always try and pick up some local seafood when I’m there, but if that’s not your taste, then you can’t go wrong with anything that uses Orkney cheese!

Either eat in, or takeaway and enjoy a scenic picnic spot around Stromness itself. Orkney’s second largest settlement is a pretty wee harbour town with old stone buildings that make you feel like you’ve stepped back in time!

Unstan Cairn
10 minute drive

Speaking of stepping back in time, as well as standing stones and millenia-old villages, Orkney is packed with ancient cairns. At Unstan Cairn, you can step, or more like crawl, inside a 5000-year-old chambered tomb near the edge of the Loch of Stenness.

It’s not the largest or most impressive around these islands, but it’s free, easily accessible and much quieter than the more popular Neolithic sites. It's a stalled cairn, with partial internal walls that once separated different piles of bones. Exactly how they were used is still a mystery, but it’s one worth exploring.

Maeshowe Chambered Cairn
5 minute drive

No Neolithic itinerary is complete without a visit to Maeshowe, one of Europe’s most impressive burial monuments. This is somewhere that you need to visit as part of a guided tour from Historic Scotland, with parking only at their visitor centre a short bus ride away. 

One you’re inside, you’ll see it’s well worth making that effort. Enormous 3-tonne stones line a low entrance passageway and if you visit around mid-winter, the setting sun will shine straight along this to illuminate the interior of the tomb. Chambers are built off the main central area, all beautifully built resting places for Orcadian ancestors.

The site is also famous for its Viking runes, graffiti left behind by a group of Scandinavians who broke in the roof to shelter from a storm around a thousand years ago. It’s the largest collection of Norse graffiti outside Scandinavia, full of crude jokes and odd boasting, showing that people haven’t ever changed very much!

To read more of Graeme’s itinerary please click here.

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