Posts by Kenny Smith
Votes can help secure best outside London status
A Scottish business is looking to reclaim its crown as the Best Restaurant Outside London at the Food and Travel Magazine Reader Awards. Edinburgh’s Wedgwood the Restaurant has been shortlisted for the category for the third year running. Chef Paul Wedgwood’s eponymous capital restaurant originally won the award in 2016 and has been short listed…
Read MoreMovie star’s brother opens the Military Tattoo
Ex-RAF pilot Colin McGregor was the special guest who opened this year’s show at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. He performed the moving poem ‘High Flight’ – a special tribute to the late servicemen and women of the RAF. Colin was joined in the Royal Gallery at Edinburgh Castle by his brother, actor Ewan McGregor,…
Read MoreScotland’s book trail will be a hit with young and old
Scotland has inspired some of the world’s best-loved literary creations – from Peter Rabbit to Peter Pan, Harry Potter to The Howlat. Whether it’s history, landscapes, wildlife or even architecture, for decades authors have used some of the country’s greatest assets to create characters that continue to delight readers of all ages. In recognition of…
Read MoreExtreme weather hits the grouse shooting season
Young people, pensioners and migrant workers will lose out on over 500 days of seasonal work in the Lammermuir Hills this year due to cancelled grouse shooting, a new survey has found. Grouse shooting brings UK and international visitors to the region each year, providing a welcome economic injection to the local villages. However, extremes…
Read MoreYou can now create your own gin at Scots distillery
Visitors to a Scottish gin school can create their own recipe from a selection of botanicals and distil a 70cl bottle of gin to take home. Darnley’s Gin has added a ‘Distil Your Own’ experience to its tour offering, inviting visitors to Darnley’s Gin School to create their own recipe from a selection of botanicals…
Read MoreFringe recognition for a neglected Scots poet
A family story taking the audience back through time will reveal The Secret of the Scottish Songstress this Fringe Festival. The story begins at Gask, transporting the audience back to the drawing room at Gask, on the banks of the Earn, Perthshire. The year is 1847. Baroness Caroline Nairne’s niece, Margaret Stewart, and Edinburgh music…
Read MoreShetland author returns to island for final book
Bestselling crime author Ann Cleeves is visiting Shetland to launch her latest novel – and say a bittersweet farewell to detective Jimmy Perez. Wild Fire is the eighth and final book in the Shetland series, which has been adapted into a hit BBC series. Ann launched her first Perez novel – Raven Black – in…
Read MoreImpressive Gothic mansion with Category A status
An extraordinary Category A Listed Victorian Gothic mansion with outstanding original features is now on the market. Presented for sale by Savills , Dalmoak Castle, near Dumbarton, is a Category A Listed castellated Tudor style Gothic mansion built circa 1866 1869 by the architect Alexander Watt (1827-1890) for John Aiken (1801-1875). The house was…
Read MoreNew plan to boost glamping in Loch Lomond national park
A major drive is underway in Scotland’s first National Park to capitalise on the growth in the popularity of glamping. The prolonged spell of good summer weather has contributed to a bumper tourist season in and around the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, but it has highlighted a shortage of certain types of…
Read MoreCelebrating 40 years of the Beechgrove Garden
For 40 years, the team at the Beechgrove Garden have been advising us on how to keep our gardens in shape. It has been a perennial fixture on the mantlepiece of Scottish life since 1978. To celebrate, BBC Scotland is to screen The Beechgrove Garden Story next Sunday, 19 August. Old video tapes have been…
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