Help wanted to save rare Scottish bumblebees

People taking their holidays in northwest Scotland this summer are being asked to help identify some of the last locations of one of the UK’s rarest bumblebees. It forms part of a new bid by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust to pull the insect back from the brink of extinction. The conservation charity wants people to…

Read More

Killer instinct can make the raven hard to love

Intelligent, loyal and fun-loving, the raven also has a dark, dangerous and deadly side that has won it few friends. Watch a pair of ravens on a windy day, sky diving with all the majesty and skill of the Red Arrows, and it is hard not to fall totally under their spell. In sunlight, the…

Read More

Ready for orcas to pass through Scottish waters

Sealife lovers are set to descend on Scotland, as the annual Orca Watch is just days away. The staff of the Sea Watch Foundation is waiting in anticipation to start conducting watches and collect records of the orcas passing through the Pentland Firth. Three other sightings of orcas have already been reported around Caithness in…

Read More

Peter Mullan’s Orphans find a new ‘home’

Scottish movie classic Orphans – released 20 years ago this month – is being celebrated by BBC Scotland. The recently launched channel is screening the film, directed by Peter Mullan and hailed internationally as a darkly comic masterpiece, on Saturday 11 May. Preceding the movie screening will be a specially commissioned new documentary Orphans Reunited,…

Read More

10 Scots who went off on voyages of discovery

The natural curiosity and bravery of the Scottish people has initiated many a dangerous expedition. Here, we turn the spotlight on ten of Scotland’s best explorers. 1. Mungo Park (1771-1806) Park was 23 when he volunteered to explore the course of the River Niger. Before setting off, the Selkirk-born former ship’s doctor learnt the local…

Read More

The Scots otter who won’t take to wild water

A Scottish otter who has failed to be reintroduced to the wild is to become a television star. In the penultimate episode of BBC Scotland’s series Born to be Wild, the Scottish SPCA Animal Rescue Centre receives an unusual case; an otter from the very north of Shetland who’s already failed twice to be successfully…

Read More

It’s far from unlucky 13 at The Wee Restaurant

A Scots restaurant opened by a husband and wife it celebrating its 13th year in business. In 2006, husband and wife Craig and Vikki Wood opened The Wee Restaurant in North Queensferry offering simple good food and fine wine in the picturesque Fife village. Located under the Forth Rail Bridge, the 40-cover restaurant serves dishes…

Read More

Five top bloggers who celebrate Scotland

Although Scotland isn’t the largest of countries, there is an abundance of places to see and things to do – which can be overwhelming for first time visitors. Even for residents of Scotland, there are so many trails, cities and places to discover – so with the help of travel bloggers who have done it…

Read More

Scotland’s picture perfect islands star in new book

Scotland is known throughout the world for its natural beauty, with its islands – great and small – attracting international interest. These have now been captured in a visual odyssey of adventure and exploration, in one of the world’s most alluring natural environments Award-winning, globally travelled landscape photographer Allan Wright demonstrates his unique ability to…

Read More

See Scotland as you’ve never seen it before

We all enjoy seeing Scotland from a different angle – and it will be easy to do that from our living rooms. Wednesday, 17 April, sees the return of the hit series Scotland from the Sky where presenter Jamie Crawford explores the country from above, using stunningly beautiful aerial images to uncover fascinating stories from…

Read More