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

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What’s in issue 08?

Auld and new, Isle of Mull

Banjo Beale, winner of BBC1's Interior Design Masters 2022, shares his transformative journey from Australia to the Isle of Mull. Alongside his partner, they delved into cheesemaking and community building. Banjo's knack for repurposing materials into unique interiors showcases a sustainable, creative lifestyle deeply connected to the Scottish island's essence.

Morayshire

Picture a land of clear rivers and ancient forests. A place with dolphins in the bay and red squirrels in the trees, where historical towns dot the map and centuries-old distilleries produce world-class whisky. Somewhere to stop, look, listen, and breathe. You’d think such a region would be heaving with tour buses, but despite being a wedge of prime-grade Scottish countryside – with the Moray Firth to the north and the Cairngorms to the south – the Moray Speyside area often gets overlooked. A quick tip: don’t do the same.     

Travellers who make the journey have serious rewards in store. As well as its celebrated whisky, it has a stunner of a coastline, lined with pale sandy beaches, rampant cliffs and characterful little fishing villages, while the mighty River Spey is an attraction in its own right, flowing and frothing its way from the mountains to the coast, where it empties into the sea-life-rich Spey Bay. Elsewhere you’ll find – among many other things – the farmland plains of the Laich of Moray, the peaks and valleys of the northern Cairngorms, and one of the best Dark Sky Parks in the UK.

Here are some amazing place to visit in the area.

Findhorn

This historic fishing village on the Moray Firth is a gem of a traditional settlement with a long, unspoilt stretch of sandy beach, but is these days best known for the eco-village community on its outskirts. The internationally renowned Findhorn Foundation was founded back in the 1960s and has since welcomed tens of thousands of guests with its focus on kindness, joy, and spirituality.

Elgin Cathedral

The cathedral’s historic nickname, the Lantern of the North, says it all. Once a vision of stained glass and intricate stone carvings – so impressive that a former bishop called it “the glory of the kingdom” – the building is now a ruin but retains a genuine air of grandeur, thanks in particular to its soaring west front. It dates back to 1224 and had the misfortune to twice suffer fire damage. A fascinating place to visit for history fans.

Findlater Castle 

Standing a short way along the coast from Cullen, this ruined clifftop castle dates back to at least the 13^th century and still exudes an air of craggy drama. Its grassed-over masonry once witnessed sieges, occupations and the vicissitudes of medieval power-mongering – stirring to imagine today as the sea crashes below.

Bow Fiddle Rock

This geological – and highly photogenic – offshore oddity takes its name from its similarity to the tip of a fiddle bow. If that sounds like an odd comparison to make with a natural sea arch, then the reality is just as eyebrow-raising: a limb of rock slanting steeply out of the waves, looking ready to snap at any moment. An iconic sight along the Moray coastline.

Cardhu Distillery

Scotland is a beautiful country – and one of its most precious natural corners is Speyside. Indeed, the area between Inverness and Aberdeen is renowned for two things – it’s stunning scenery encompassing rolling glens, crystal clear rivers and stretches of greenery, and its whisky. It’s here, amongst the rise of the hills and the lows of the glens that Cardhu, the Speyside home of Johnnie Walker, creates a legendary whisky. Built with the mood of adventure and in the face of incredible danger, Cardhu is Scotland’s whisky story in miniature.

Hopeman East Beach

One village, two beaches. The harbour headland at Hopeman separates its sands into the West Beach and the East Beach: both have their selling points, but the latter is the largest, drawing everyone from surfers and rock-poolers to dolphin-watchers.

Findhorn Pottery

This charming pottery had already been running for 25 years when Belia Biesheuvel moved to the area in 1996, to train as an apprentice potter. Fast forward to today and she’s now the owner (and potter!) of the small business, still renowned for its high quality stoneware.

The Keith & Dufftown Railway

Also known as the Whisky Line, Britain’s most northerly heritage railway winds for 11 miles between Keith and Dufftown (via Drummuir and Auchindachy), climbing through pine forests and skirting a loch. Most of the line was opened back in 1862, seeing service until as recently as 1991. Today you’ll make the journey in period carriages, many of them more than 70 years old, decorated in green and yellow livery.  

How The Corryvreckan Whirlpool Got Its Name

Just off the north tip of Jura, the world’s third largest whirlpool roars in the Gulf of Corryvreckan. This fascinating natural phenomenon has fascinated people for centuries, inspiring myths and legends about where the Corryvreckan Whirlpool comes from and how it got its name. One popular theory tells a tale of love, adventure and tragedy.

Long ago, a young and adventurous Norse prince called Breckan had fallen in love with the daughter of the chieftain of Jura. The only problem was that Breckan’s reputation preceded him. This wasn’t the first girl he had courted and the chieftain didn’t believe it would be his last. There was no way that he was going to let his only daughter sail off with somebody like him.

The girl was in love with Breckan though and she pled with her father day after day. She would never be happy with anybody else and eventually, the chieftain relented. He agreed to let his daughter marry the prince but only if he proved his love for her.

Breckan was set a seemingly impossible task. He had to anchor his ship off the coast of Jura, directly in the whirlpool, for three whole days and nights. If he survived, then they would be free to marry. Just accepting the challenge would take courage but carrying it out would take a level of skill and determination that few men possessed.

The King’s offer was accepted without hesitation, but Breckan asked for time to prepare. He sailed back to Norway and asked a wise woman how he could possibly endure the raging torrents of the whirlpool. She told him to make three ropes to tie his anchor to. One of wool, one of hemp and one made from the hair of the pure, innocent maidens. Breckan was well loved and the maidens of Norway willingly donated their locks to make a length of rope long enough for his task.

He sailed back to Jura where the chieftain’s daughter added her own hair to his rope. Taking up his position in the sea north of the island, Breckan anchored his ship and waited as the water began to move. On the first day, the woollen rope split but he was prepared for that and the vessel held strong. On the second day the hemp gave up, but Breckan still wasn’t worried. He trusted in the innocence and purity of the maiden’s hair.

An enormous storm blew on the third day and the water of the whirlpool span faster than ever before. It took all of Breckan’s strength just to stop himself being swept overboard but as long as the rope held, he would complete the challenge. Just when his task was almost over, a single strand of hair in the rope snapped and the entire line unravelled.

Breckan was dragged to his doom, swallowed by the raging water. When the news reached Norway, the wise woman was shocked that the rope could have failed. It seemed that somebody who had contributed hadn’t been quite as pure as she had claimed. From then on, the churning waves off the north tip of Jura were known as Corryvreckan, Gaelic for the Cauldron of Breckan.

Words by Graeme Johncock

Around Scotland with Graeme Johncock

Graeme Johncock, the travel blogger and storyteller behind Scotland's Stories, is now bringing his adventures to us in a weekly column. He will journal about his explorations around Scotland, sharing fascinating stories and highlighting unique places to visit. Accompanied by his dog Molly, Graeme continues to uncover and share the rich history and beauty of Scotland.

From exploring the southwest last week, this next week’s journey took me to the northeast of Scotland. Wedged between Inverness and Aberdeenshire, the region of Moray is far too often overlooked by tourists and Scots alike.

The biggest draw to Moray is the Speyside whisky region and there’s no shortage of distilleries for visitors to choose from. I was heading to one of the oldest to uncover stories from Glenlivet as it celebrates its 200th birthday.

Like many farmers in the area back then, George Smith was boosting his income thanks to illicit whisky distillation. His spirit might not have been legal, but it had such a reputation that King George IV asked for it specifically during his 1822 visit to Edinburgh.

It must have made an impression since the next year the cost of a distilling licence suddenly dropped to a level that convinced George to go legit in 1824. That made him pretty unpopular with the other farmers and the Glenlivet founder was forced to carry a pair of pistols with him at all times!

There’s more to Moray than just whisky though and if you like old ruins as much as I do then you’re spoiled for choice. First, I took Molly the Labrador to walk the historic cobbled road to Duffus Castle. This 13^th-century stone castle replaced an older wooden fortification built by a man called Freskin – the ancestor of the clan Murray and Sutherland.

It's a scenic spot, but it doesn’t quite compare to the ruins of Elgin Cathedral. Once known as the Lantern of the North, it’s almost as impressive now as when it was first built exactly 800 years ago. The cathedral didn’t have the easiest of lives and one of the most famous episodes in its history is also one of its darkest.

In 1390, Alexander Stewart, better known as the Wolf of Badenoch, descended on Elgin to burn the centre of the Bishop of Moray’s power. You can still see reddened stone where the fire raged, all in revenge for the bishop meddling in Alexander’s marriage!

Fast forward 400 years and the grand Elgin Cathedral was now in ruins, although not entirely empty. A poor woman called Marjorie had made her home in one of the few surviving rooms. To make her story even sadder, she was raising her baby boy there, using an old stone sink as a crib.

That boy had an incredible life, being given a pauper’s place at the local school and going on to become Major General Andrew Anderson. He made a fortune in his career and left a large part of it to the town of Elgin. Anderson founded an institute to house and educate 50 local children, making sure they all had the same opportunity he had been given!

Written by Graeme Johncock

Competition update:

🥁 Drumroll, please! Congratulations to Jamie Teasdale, the winner of our Witchery Competition! We’ll be in touch soon with all the exciting details. And stay tuned – more thrilling competitions are brewing!

Crail - Taken by Simon Hird

Did you know we published our first book this year?

Our first ever guidebook is still available from our online shop here, and also some shops including, Toppings and co, Waterstones, WHSmith, Lifestory, Tartan Blanket Co, The Blue Magpie, Typewronger Books, Meander, Royal Botanic Gardens, Beech & Birch and from our shop at Milton of Crathes in Banchory.

If you would like to email us about any suggestions or feedback please email [email protected] with the subject feedback. Thanks!