The fascinating story of historic Dumfries House

Dumfries House holds a very special place in Scottish history. When the foundation stone was laid in 1754, it became the first home to be designed by John, Robert and James Adams, the architects whose practice became arguably the most famous in the UK. The house hit the headlines in 2007 when Prince Charles, the…

Read More

Pupils booked up for an exciting train journey

Pupils at a Scots school received a visit from the authors of an exciting new book. Prior to schools closing with the coronavirus pandemic, more than 150 East Lothian school children listened to bestselling and award-winning author Maya Leonard and her co-author Sam Sedgeman talk about their brand new book, Adventures on Trains: The Highland…

Read More

The life and crimes of author Craig Robertson

Crime writer Craig Robertson confesses to a fondness for cemeteries and his local 19th-century pub, as well as taking plenty of inspiration from his home town of Stirling. I could probably be accused of being a bit of a fraud in one aspect of my writing. All but one of my books are set in…

Read More

Romance, politics intrigue and crime in Edinburgh

Edinburgh, Yuletide 1743, and Redcoat officer Robert Catto would rather be anywhere else on earth than Scotland. Seconded back from the wars in Europe to captain the city’s Town Guard, he fears his covert mission to assess the strength of the Jacobite threat will force him to confront the past he tries so hard to…

Read More

Authors Live celebrates with 10th birthday bash

Poet Michael Rosen returned to BBC Scotland to help celebrate 10 years of the popular children’s reading project, Authors Live. Hosted by BBC Scotland in partnership with Scottish Book Trust, Authors Live – which sees well known writers give readings and advice to school pupils – has now delivered 79 author broadcasts to more than…

Read More

Hagrid returns to school for World Book Day

Pupils and staff at Glenalmond College in Perthshire really entered into the spirit of World Book Day, even welcoming Harry Potter character Hagrid to the school. Robbie Coltrane, who played Professor Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter films, attended Glenalmond as a boy. However, this week it was the statuesque Mark Nichols, Glenalmond’s head of…

Read More

Big names for this year’s Doune The Rabbit Hole festival

US hip-hop instigators Public Enemy (Radio) while award-winning, Mercury Music Prize nominated, award-winning performance poet, rapper, novelist and playwright Kate Tempest are coming to the Doune the Rabbit Hole festival. This is the only chance for festival fans to see both headliners in Scotland this summer. The headline acts join iconic Glasgow indie band Belle…

Read More

Annual £1500 Wigtown Poetry Prize invites entries

The annual £1500 international Wigtown Poetry Prize – which celebrates Scotland’s three indigenous languages – is now open for entries. As Scotland’s international poetry prize it promotes and nurtures work in English, Scots and Scottish Gaelic, attracting entries from as far afield as the USA, Canada, Australia, Ecuador and China. Founded in 2005, Wigtown Poetry…

Read More

LOVE Gorgie Farm opens its doors

LOVE Gorgie Farm, formerly Gorgie City Farm, opened its doors on Saturday with a huge celebration and range of family-friendly activities. Edinburgh’s Depute Lord Provost, Cllr Joan Griffiths, joined with a number of local celebrities including radio presenter Grant Stott, Hearts CEO Ann Budge and Hibs footballer Ryan Porteous, as well as Edinburgh and Scotland…

Read More

Explore Scotland’s inspirational literary locations

Sir Walter Scott, JM Barrie, Irvine Welsh and JK Rowling are among a few of the greatest writers influenced by Scotland’s beautiful landscapes. The mysterious closes of Edinburgh, the untouched wilderness of Dumfries & Galloway and the romantic Shetland coastlines have all painted literature for generations. From page to place, come to Scotland and discover the locations where the stories of famous characters Peter Pan,…

Read More