The December 2019 edition of Scottish Field is out now

The December 2019 edition of Scottish Field is now available.

In this packed 208 pages, we get into the festive spirit as we do Christmas in style with a feast in the lavish surroundings of Duns Castle.

Editor Richard Bath said: ‘Being a simple soul, as soon as I start to think about Christmas – and with all the advertising around the event, even two months in advance, it’s impossible to ignore the impending arrival of festivities – my tummy starts to rumble.

‘For a huge proportion of us, this time of year is dominated by either preparing food and drink, or by polishing off the festive victuals. For me, the looming festivities provide a wonderful opportunity to consort with the culinary gifted as we put together our annual Christmas food shoot.

‘This year we headed off to the spectacular Duns Castle in the Borders, where the delightful Pip Wallen-Priestly – a chef who specialises in shooting parties for the rich and famous, catering for everyone from celebrities to royalty – prepared a quintessentially Scottish Christmas menu for us.

‘To get into the spirit of the occasion, the Scottish Field editorial team donned our glad rags for the accompanying photoshoot.

‘There are many joys to our line of work, but being on the receiving end of Pip’s food in such splendid surroundings ranks at the top end of the benefits in kind. And what food it was. Starting with sugar-cured trout, moving through venison and then partridge with pears, before rounding off with an apple and ginger pudding, this was sumptuous comfort food that is sure to get an outing on Christmas Day in my house.’

It’s not all about the festive season, however, as we cast our eye on Stirling and the Trossachs.

Scotland’s favourite tennis coach, Judy Murray tells all to Scottish Field.

We take part in some wonderous wanderings around Stirlingshire and The Trossachs, and discover what life is like on a canal boat in the shadow of the Kelpies.

We discover how three Scottish brothers set off to row the Atlantic in the adventure of a lifetime – see our exclusive video below.

We also turn the clock back to learn the tale of how civil servant John Cairncross became a spy, and discover how the last remaining crofters on Harris inspired Zoë Savitz’s images.

Stuart Kelly profiles the King of Tartan Noir, Ian Rankinm and we discover how the Scottish Bat Officer is helping to change perceptions of this unique mammal.

We also travel south, to the Logan Botanic Garden, a tropical paradise in Galloway.

With our regular columnists, we discover how a boys’ boat trip around the Greek islands takes a poetic turn for Alexander McCall Smith, Alan Cochrane celebrates a big birthday in style, Blair Bowman feels the buzz around the capital’s new whisky culture, Guy Grieve gets misty eyed over a mare, and Fiona Armstrong discovers that there’s more to pigeons than meets the eye.

We also feature 22 pages of fashion and interiors – so there’s no excuse for not having inspiration for presents or revamping your home!

The December 2019 edition of Scottish Field is available now, priced £4.75.

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