Book review – Who Built Scotland

You can tell a lot about a country by the quality of its buildings and the stories behind them. Historic Environment Scotland commissioned five popular writers to bring together Who Built Scotland, telling the story of the nation in an off-kilter way. Between them, the authors have picked 25 buildings from across the nation, but…

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MasterChef winner will headline this year’s Taste of Shetland festival

Scotland’s national chef is to headline this year’s Taste of Shetland Festival. Gary Maclean, MasterChef: The Professionals Champion and Scotland’s first ever national chef, will be demonstrating his inspirational culinary skills at this year’s event. The festival takes place from 5-7 October, and Gary – a huge fan of Shetland and a passionate advocate for…

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The Highlands gets set to welcome its first-ever wildlife book festival

The first-ever Easter wildlife book festival is set to take place in the Highlands. Based at a dedicated birdwatching hotel, the Grant Arms Hotel in Grantown-on-Spey, acclaimed wildlife writers will come together to discuss their work with other enthusiasts of the great outdoors. This will be the first event of its kind at the Grant…

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Book review: Scottish Lighthouse Pioneers

Many of Scotland’s coastal lighthouses were created in the 19th century by the Stevenson family, including the famous author Robert Louis Stevenson, and this book celebrates their work in Orkney and Shetland. The noted engineers worked hard to create lighthouses that were adapted  to the needs of their individual climates. Of particular note is the determination to…

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A Shetland writer in the World War 1 trenches

Shetland Library is to host an afternoon talk about Jack Peterson. Jack’s poetry was used in last year’s Shetland Youth production, In the Still of the Night have We Wept, writes Cameron Avery. The talk and readings will be delivered by Dr Mark Smith of Shetland Museum and Archives as part of a joint project…

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Shetland Gin will mark Up Helly Aa 2018

The annual Up Helly Aa celebration in Shetland is just days away, and a new gin is being launched to mark the event. Shetland Distillery Company is launching the new Up Helly Aa gin at the Pop-up Food Market on Monday, 29 January. This year’s Up Helly Aa gin from the Shetland Distillery Company is…

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Fantastic first food festival for Up Helly Aa

Shetland’s first pop-up food market is taking place the day the day before Up Helly Aa. Running on 29 January from 4-, entrance is free and organisers are expecting a few new products to be launched, making it an unmissable event. In attendance will be: Viking Mead, the first brewery of its kind in the…

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All things bright and beautiful at Wasps Christmas market

Forty artists and makers are coming together for the first ever Wasps Christmas market – and marking the 40th anniversary of Scotland’s biggest creative community. It’s a chance to see a rich variety of art, craft and design of many kinds including work by the exceptional silversmith Hamish Dobbie, beautiful glasswork from Cressa McLaren, gorgeous…

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Celebrating porridge with the launch of new Scottish tourist trail

Scotland is famous for many things, with visitors coming from all four corners of the earth to sample our whisky. Whisky trails are familiar to many visitors, but VisitScotland has created another attraction for those looking to sample one of the country’s traditional foods – porridge! VisitScotland has created the Porridge Grand Tour: ideas for…

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New study will examine Brexit’s impact on Highlands and Islands

A study into the impact of Brexit on agriculture, crofting and land use in the Highlands and Islands is to be carried out. The Highland Council, Argyll and Bute, Shetland, Orkney and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, in partnership with RSPB Scotland, have commissioned Andrew Moxey (Pareto Consulting) and Steven Thomson (SRUC) to investigate the implications…

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