Posts by Peter Ranscombe
Meet the Ardbeg whisky cask that sold for £16m
ARDBEG is donating £1 million to charities on Islay after selling one of its casks for a record £16 million. The sale price, which eclipses all previous cask records, was more than double the £7m that French luxury goods giant Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH) paid in 1997 when it bought the distillery. The whisky…
Read MoreStrathallan pupil serves up US tennis ambition
A PUPIL from Strathallan School in Perthshire is swapping Scotland for Virgina to pursue her tennis career. Katie Bradley is moving to Emory & Henry College to study psychology and join its Wasps tennis team. The 17-year-old pupil from Auchterarder said: “College tennis in North America is on a whole other level – it’s a…
Read MoreBoo bags biggest fags haul in Scotland
SNIFFER dog Boo has set a record for the most illegal cigarettes seized by a trading standards team in Scotland. East Ayrshire Council teamed up with the police to raid three premises in Kilmarnock. Boo sniffed out 447,000 cigarettes, worth an estimated £134,000. Training for Boo, a three-year-old Labrador-German Wirehaired Pointer cross, was funded by…
Read MoreWhisky round-up: Glen Ord, Cail Bruich, Scottish Open, and more
Peter Ranscombe takes a light-hearted romp through the latest whisky news. GLEN Ord distillery at Muir of Ord near Dingwall is today reopening its visitors’ centre for its Singleton brand. Chef Tony Singh was on hand earlier this week to launch the centre, which is part of owner Diageo’s wider £185 million investment in its…
Read MoreSt Leonards School celebrates exam results
PUPILS at St Leonards School in St Andrews are celebrating this week after receiving their International Baccalaureate (IB) results. The independent school set a record average points score of 36, out of a possible 45 points. More than a quarter of its leavers scored 40 points or higher, placing them in the top 7% of…
Read MoreDiana Gabaldon announces Inverness date
OUTLANDER author Diana Gabaldon will speak at an event at Eden Court Theatre in Inverness on 15 October. Tickets for “An Audience with Diana Gabaldon” will go on sale on Monday. Sinead Robertson, chair of local fan group Inverness Outlanders, invited the author to headline the event. “Inverness is the perfect setting for an event…
Read MoreGet the lowdown on Scottish Field’s August issue…
THE August issue of Scottish Field magazine is available now, both in shops and online. Shetland and Orkney take centre-stage this month, with four articles about the Northern Isles. Orkney-based landscape photographer Mark Ferguson shares his favourite island snaps, many of which he took while cycling. Meanwhile, Andrew Appleby – better known as the Harray…
Read MoreWine to Dine – August 2022 – The Shetland Chef
Wine columnist Peter Ranscombe selects five seafood-sociable bottles to swim alongside the recipes from The Shetland Chef. WHAT always sitcks in my mind about dining on Shetland is the quality of its seafood. From crab and lobster to mussels and scallops, it was so exciting to see the range of dishes on offer. With his…
Read MoreSt Andrews gears up for The Open
GOLF’S Open championship returns to its spiritual home in St Andrews next week and the Fife town is gearing up for the tournament’s 150th anniversary. Government agency Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has reopened parts of the graveyard surrounding the ruins of St Andrews cathedral, so tourists can visit the graves of two of golf’s most…
Read MoreSam Heughan gets his honorary doctorate
OUTLANDER actor Sam Heughan today received an honorary doctorate from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) in Glasgow. Heughan graduated from what was then the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama (RSAMD) in 2003 with a bachelor of arts degree in acting. He returned to his alma mater to receive the honour and told…
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