Douglas MacQueen's blog

On Tuesday night (29th January) the 2019 festival of Up Helly Aa saw the skies of Lerwick in Shetland lit up with burning torches during Up Helly Aa. The event included a procession of about 1000 guizers celebrating their Norse heritage. There is a Guizer Jarl (Chief Guizer) who leads a Jarl Squad, which is one of the many Guizer squads participating in the event. Dressed in Viking clothing and marching through the town with battle axes and torches, they dragged with them a ceremonial Viking longboat. Thousands of spectators lined the route on Tuesday night.

Perth City Hall in the Scottish city of Perth (Scottish Gaelic: Peairt) is now to be converted into a new heritage and arts attraction. The B-listed building, constructed in 1911, had lain empty for 14 years. It had been under threat of demolition for some time. An outcome which according to campaigners would have been an  ‘act of civic vandalism’. Now funding has been secured to turn Perth City Hall into a major new museum attraction. Architect Mecanoo have been identified as the preferred designer for the redevelopment.

William Wallace was a hero of Scotland and a true patriot. He struck fear into the the tyrannical, evil, cruel and invading English King Edward I.  Standing on the hill of Abbey Craig overlooking Stirling in Scotland is The National Wallace Monument. Designed by the Edinburgh-born Glasgow architect J. T. Rochead (28 March 1814 – 7 April 1878) it was built between 1861 and 1869.  It is one of more than 20 Wallace Monuments which are located throughout Scotland. The National Wallace Monument is a 220 ft (67-metre) sandstone tower, built in the Victorian Gothic style.

Robert Burns was born in the scottish village of  Alloway (Scottish Gaelic Allmhaigh) on January 25, 1759. The eldest of the seven children of  William Burnes (1721–1784), a tenant farmer from Dunnottar in the Mearns, and Agnes Broun (1732–1820), the daughter of a Kirkoswald tenant farmer. His parents ensured that their son received a relatively good education.  He died at the age of 37 on 21 July 1796 and his Mausoleum is at St Michael’s churchyard in Dumfries (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Phris). Throughout his life he was a practising poet and wrote many poems, lyrics and other pieces.

Wick (Scottish Gaelic: Inbhir Ùige) is a town in Caithness (Gallaibh), in the far north of Scotland. In common with other parts of the country, many in the town stayed awake to welcome in the New Year.  One being Charlie Williamson, who had gone out of the door of his house after the bells sounded at midnight. It was then that he saw a strange light overhead. He is convinced he spotted a UFO and apparently he wasn’t the only one to witness the phenomenon.   “It was like a very large circle with lights.

The village of Kilmartin (Scottish Gaelic: Cille Mhàrtainn) is in Argyll and Bute (Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd) in the west of Scotland. It is located in Kilmartin Glen, an area noted for having the most important concentration of Neolithic and Bronze Age remains in mainland Scotland. Kilmartin Glen can quite rightly claim to be one of the world’s most significant archaeological landscapes. Standing stones, stone circles, remarkable carved rock art, cairns, castles and forts, all spanning a period of over 5,000 years. 

Benbecula (Scottish Gaelic: Beinn nam Fadhla) is an island of the Outer Hebrides (Na h-Eileanan Siar) off the west coast of Scotland. Lionacleit in Benbecula is one of more than 20 recorded sites of ancient woodland that once grew in the islands. Archaeologists have now found evidence of early human activity at a submerged prehistoric forest at Lionacleit. The Scottish Coastal Archaeology and the Problem of Erosion (SCAPE) Trust, a charity that works out of the University of St Andrews, was alerted to the remains by a local resident, Ann Corrrance Monk.

A new £5m Natural and Cultural Heritage Fund, led by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has been announced for the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. It is hoped that investing in the environment and culture of the Highlands and Islands can bring significant economic benefits for rural communities.

Stonehaven (Scottish Gaelic: Cala na Creige) is coastal town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It had grew around an Iron Age fishing village and lies in the shelter of Stonehaven Bay. It is an area of historical significance with evidence of prehistoric  structures at Fetteresso Castle, Neolithic pottery found after excavations in the Spurryhillock area and a number of Iron Age ring cairns. Ring cairns are mysterious structure, thought to have been used for a number reasons, including for ceremonial purposes and having an astronomic function purpose.

Stonehaven (Scottish Gaelic: Cala na Creige) is coastal town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It had grew around an Iron Age fishing village and lies in the shelter of Stonehaven Bay. It is an area of historical significance with evidence of prehistoric  structures at Fetteresso Castle, Neolithic pottery found after excavations in the Spurryhillock area and a number of Iron Age ring cairns. Ring cairns are mysterious structure, thought to have been used for a number reasons, including for ceremonial purposes and having an astronomic function purpose.