Hi 👋

We’re delighted to be back with a new ‘Hidden Scotland Weekly’. We really hope that you enjoy reading.

As always we welcome you to provide feedback, you can find this at the bottom of the email.

Have a great Sunday!

The Best of Edinburgh: A Hidden Scotland Guide - Now Live

Introducing Hidden Scotland’s guide to Edinburgh, a city unlike any other. Scotland’s capital fits all manner of descriptions – time capsule, trendsetter, visitor magnet, festival heartland – but above all it simply is what it is: a place apart. Topped by a fortress and stuffed with big sights and mazy stories, it successfully straddles the last millennium and a half by somehow being both locked in the past and fixated on the future.

Half a million souls call the city home year-round, but many times that number descend on its streets at different points in the calendar. From the rainbow-feathered cornucopia of the summer Fringe to the massed merry-making of Hogmanay – not to mention a whole galaxy of other concerts, exhibitions, parades and parties – this is somewhere that routinely feels like the place to be.

In this guide, you’ll find a hand-picked assortment of different diversions to explore. The range is broad, encompassing monuments, cafés, theatres, galleries, walking routes, gift-buying tips, guided tours, and whisky tastings, along with restaurants, picture houses, pubs, and bookshops. Some attractions are well known, while others are hidden gems. It’s our hope that you enjoy discovering them.

The Glencoe Massacre

There are few places in Scotland as photographed as the Three Sisters of Glencoe. Some visitors may have no idea of the tragedy that unfolded nearby. Others are told a story that is caught somewhere between truth and legend. The real events of February 1692 however, need no embellishment.

After suppressing the Jacobite rising of 1689, King William and the Scottish Government were in a tough place. They had won the war, but discontent was still grumbling on. Rather than risk more fighting, the government offered amnesty to any clan whose chief swore an oath of allegiance before 1^st January 1692.

Many clan chiefs refused to abandon their cause so easily. Word was sent to the deposed King James asking for his permission and secretly hoping for the promise of another rising. The deadline was creeping close but eventually on 28th December, James’ order was shared for the chiefs to go ahead and take the oath.

So it was that MacIain, chief of the MacDonalds of Glencoe appeared in Fort William on the 30^th December. The only problem was that the governor didn’t have the authority to accept his oath. Instead, the clan chief had to travel another 60 miles to Inveraray in the depths of winter. The oath was made a few days late but with an explanatory letter from the governor. The MacDonalds believed they were safe.

Not everybody in the Scottish Government was happy to just let these Highland clans off the hook. They were determined to make an example of somebody. Others had missed the same deadline as MacIain, but they had powerful allies and could fend for themselves. The MacDonalds of Glencoe were isolated and an easy target.

When two companies of government soldiers arrived seeking shelter in Glencoe, it was no reason to suspect anything. This kind of arrangement was common, and the soldiers took their billeted places in MacDonald homes. For two weeks the troops were fed, watered and entertained by their hosts with neither group suspecting the real reason of their visit.

On the night of 12^th February, the orders arrived. The soldiers were to rise before dawn and massacre every man, woman and child in their bed. 800 more men were going to block both ends of Glencoe, burning every home before meeting in the middle. Some of the billeted soldiers couldn’t face the orders and there are stories of whispered clues that the glen was no longer safe.

When the shooting began, MacIain was the first to be killed. The gunshots alerted anybody not already aware of the danger and panic spread through Glencoe. Around 30 people were murdered before they could escape into the darkness. The weather was poor and even more died of exposure while fleeing in the snow. The troops appointed to block the glen were delayed otherwise things could have been much worse.

It wasn’t the scale of the Glencoe Massacre that shocked people around the country. It was the betrayal after breaking bread with their victims that has caused this event to live on for over 300 years. The government might have made their example but they only succeeded in sowing the seeds of future risings.

Words by Graeme Johncock 

Aberdeen & Aberdeenshire

First, the city. When attention turns to urban Scotland, Glasgow and Edinburgh tend to swagger forwards into the spotlight, but that reckons without the magnetism of Aberdeen. The Granite City, so nicknamed for the glistening, locally quarried stone that defines much of its grandest architecture, is the country’s third largest city and a place very much of its own making. It remains one of the wealthier spots in the UK (it was once dubbed the oil capital of Europe), and historically owes as much to offshore bounty as it does to granite – although there’s far more to the city than its strategic North Sea location.

Today’s Aberdeen is a place of street art festivals, on-trend restaurants and high-class museums, with a glut of impressive buildings and the not inconsiderable presence of a vast and often stunning coastline on its doorstep. And so to the wild and timeless charms of the surrounding region. Aberdeenshire is full of fine, fertile countryside, bordered by the aforementioned scenic shoreline on one side and the rampant contours of the Cairngorms on the other. The presence within its borders of Royal Deeside, meanwhile – the river-threaded, forest-swathed region that so captivated Queen Victoria – adds another alluring flavour.  

The Aberdeenshire map is a busy one, dotted with craggy castles, coastal villages, hulking hills, and a whole host of places worthy of your time. Whether you’re here on an outdoor mission, a city break, a family holiday or a cultural getaway, you’ll find somewhere that has one boot planted in the traditions of the past and the other fixed firmly in the present.

Here are 5 places worth visiting in the area

Braemar

Huddled among hills on the banks of the Dee, the village of Braemar has a chilly claim to fame – The Times recently described it as Britain’s highest and coldest parish – but there’s much to enjoy here, from its 17th-century castle to the longstanding Braemar Gathering, a Highland games jamboree, which takes place here each September.

Rattray Head Lighthouse

Standing off the North Sea cliffs between Peterhead and Fraserburgh is this simple but oh-so-sturdy lighthouse, built in 1895 from 20,000 cubic feet of granite blocks. During World War II it survived a machine-gun attack and an attempted bombing, and its wave-bashed base, topped by a neat pale tower, remains a landmark along the coast.

Craigievar Castle

Did this rosy-pink, multi-turreted citadel serve as inspiration for Walt Disney’s Cinderella Castle? That’s the claim, but regardless of its veracity, this towering castle remains a truly impressive visitor attraction, with rich collections of art, armour and weaponry.

Stonehaven

The harbour town of Stonehaven lies just 15 miles south of Aberdeen and has grown over the centuries from a modest fishing village into a bona fide beach resort, complete with an Olympic-sized open-air pool, a lively cultural calendar, and some excellent seafood options. If it’s open, call in at the Tolbooth Museum, set in an old storehouse on the waterfront.

Pennan

Looking out across the wide seas of the Moray Firth, and reached via a narrow road that worms its way down the cliffside, is the seaside village of Pennan. It found fame after appearing on screen in the 1980s BAFTA-winning comedy classic Local Hero, directed by Bill Forsyth.

Some interesting facts

• Aberdeenshire strongman Donald Dinnie won thousands of sporting contests around the world, becoming known as “The Greatest Athlete of the 19th century.”

• Since 1845, St Cyrus Church has given dowries to the tallest, shortest, oldest and youngest brides each year as stipulated in the will of John Orr.

• Every Hogmanay, the people of Stonehaven celebrate with dozens of locals swinging fireballs down the main street before launching them into the harbour.

• The coldest ever UK temperature of -27.2C was recorded at Braemar in 1982.

• Bram Stoker gained inspiration for Dracula while staying in Cruden Bay. At the centre of the ruined New Slains Castle stands a unique octagonal room, just as described in the novel.

• Aberdeen is known as the Granite City and Marischal College is the second-largest granite building in the world.

• The earliest surviving form of written Gaelic in Scotland is found within the 10th-century Book of Deer, most likely written at a religious community preceding Deer Abbey.

• Aberdeenshire is the only region that contains recumbent stone circles. They are unique in that one enormous stone, usually larger than the others, lies horizontally on the ground and is flanked by two pillars.

• The 13th century Brig of Balgownie is believed to be Scotland’s oldest bridge. It’s said to be cursed to fall the day that an only son on a horse which is an only foal crosses it.

• During World War II, Haddo House was used as a maternity hospital seeing 1259 “Haddo Babies” born there.

• Aberdeenshire is known as Castle Country, with more per acre than anywhere else in the British Isles.

Ainster House - Anstruther

“We believe nothing is more powerful than beautifully crafted spaces” is a statement made by Glasgow based interior design and architecture company Scarinish Studio. A truer word couldn’t be spoken about Ainster House – a design-led luxury self-catering holiday home belonging to Creative Director Ross McNally which he runs alongside wife Lindsay.

Ainster House is located in Anstruther, a charming fishing town in the East Neuk of Fife, and is housed within a C-listed building that dates back to the 18th century, once serving as a Smuggler’s Tavern. Designed to accommodate up to 8 guests, the family-friendly home spans three floors, each thoughtfully arranged to provide ample space for relaxation. The property boasts stunning views of the nearby beach, Dreel river, and harbour, especially enjoyable from its two outdoor terraces.

Book your stay

Follow them on Instagram

Isle of Skye Highland Cow - Taken by Simon Hird