Category: History

  • Clan Maclean and legend of Lady’s Rock

    Clan Maclean and legend of Lady’s Rock

    There are many abandoned ‘clearance’ villages across the whole of Scotland, hundreds probably.  Yet Arichonan is one that will stay in my memory for a very long time.

  • The Orkney Islands – Neolithic Wonders

    The Orkney Islands – Neolithic Wonders

    Introduction to Orkney The archipelago of the Orkney Islands lies 180 miles off the north coast of the Scottish mainland. It’s made up of 70 islands, and its history goes back thousands of years. The Neolithic era began around 6500 BC with the introduction of farming on Orkney by settlers from mainland Europe (before this…

  • The Jacobites – The Glorious Revolution of 1688

    The Jacobites – The Glorious Revolution of 1688

    The birth of a royal baby boy on the 10th of June 1688 should have brought joy to the three Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland. Instead, the news brought consternation, fear, and despair to those whose hopes for a return to a Protestant monarchy were suddenly dashed. Since the beginning of his reign in…

  • The Highland Clearances – The Riots of Arichonan

    The Highland Clearances – The Riots of Arichonan

    There are many abandoned ‘clearance’ villages across the whole of Scotland, hundreds probably.  Yet Arichonan is one that will stay in my memory for a very long time.