Posts Tagged ‘farming’
Killer instinct can make the raven hard to love
Intelligent, loyal and fun-loving, the raven also has a dark, dangerous and deadly side that has won it few friends. Watch a pair of ravens on a windy day, sky diving with all the majesty and skill of the Red Arrows, and it is hard not to fall totally under their spell. In sunlight, the…
Read MoreOpening Scotland’s gardens to the general public
Discover two remarkable gardens under the Scotland’s Gardens Scheme this Sunday – and help a great cause. Braevallich Farm, by Loch Awe, Argyll, is opening this Sunday for charity under Scotland’s Garden Scheme. The scheme benefits over 250 charities each year, many are small, local and close to the hearts of the garden owners. The…
Read MoreNothing to grouse about when saving rare species
Exemplary countryside management at the Glenlivet Estate means declining species, such as the black grouse, are thriving. As dawn crept into my room in Tomintoul, a blackbird proclaimed it was time to rise even if the ice lacing the window indicated that winter still had a grip. Tomintoul is the highest village in the Highlands…
Read MoreWorking on the land is all in a day’s work
An increasing number of women are making their mark by successfully taking on roles in the countryside that were traditionally occupied by men. Scottish Field highlighted just some of them in a feature in 2014. ALI GORDON, 47, SHEPHERDESS, ST ABB’S HEAD, BERWICKSHIRE I came from a farming background myself; my parents bought the farm…
Read MorePaying tribute to Scotland’s fairs and shows
Archie Hume of A Hume Country Clothing pays tribute to Scotland’s country shows and fairs. Scottish summertime doesn’t come with many guarantees, certainly not any that relate to the weather. As the joke goes ‘I love summer in Scotland. Last year it was on a Wednesday.’ To top it off, the things you can rely…
Read MoreDistiller’s amazing charity gesture – in perpetuity
A Scots family distiller has announced that it will be donating £1 per bottle for all on-going sales to Motor Neurone Disease, in perpetuity. Arbikie Distillery, which is based on Scotland’s scenic east coast by Lunan Bay is owned and run by the Stirling brothers, who named their award-winning AK’s Gin after their father, Alex…
Read MoreFrom table tennis to rabbit farming to ultramarathon
If I were to tell you a story about a man who was a professional table tennis player but gave it all up and moved to a remote Scottish island to become a rabbit farmer; who was then inspired to start running by watching TV, battled cancer and became one of the world’s most successful…
Read MoreGreat stories from all over Scotland return in Landward
The great outdoors comes to your living room, with the new series of Landward next week. Landward returns for a new series, celebrating Scotland’s countryside and wildlife, its food and drink sectors and investigating the stories behind the headlines in the rural economy. Presenters Dougie Vipond, Arlene Stuart, Euan McIlwraith and Anne Lundon will travel…
Read MoreIs the badger really public enemy number one?
Attacked on all sides, and the victim of government-sponsored culls as well as unimaginable brutality at the hands of criminal gangs, the badger faces a difficult future. It’s a sunny afternoon in a bramble thicket deep in Perthshire woodland. A robin appears and cocks his head in our direction, turning over the newly disturbed leaf…
Read MoreChanging state of rural Scotland put in sharp focus
After 20 years as a soldier, author Jamie Blackett arrives home in Dumfries and Galloway ready to settle into rural life with his young family. However, he finds the countryside he grew up in is very much changed and must now learn to adapt to the new order. Blackett reflects back to his childhood, offering…
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