Step inside June’s issue of Scottish Field…

THE beautiful south of Scotland is in focus in the latest issue of Scottish Field magazine, which is on sale now, both in shops and online. Our writers have been busy sharing stories from the Borders and Dumfries & Galloway. They include the spectacular story of Graeme Parker, a genial Wigtownshire hoof trimmer turned social…

Read More

Picts DNA sheds light on Scotland’s history

A GENETIC study of the Picts has shed fresh light on one of Scotland’s most mysterious peoples. Researchers from the University of Aberdeen and Liverpool John Moores University studied genes from Pictish-era cemeteries at Lundin Links in Fife and Balintore in Easter Ross. Dr Linus Girdland Flink, a lecturer at the University of Aberdeen, said:…

Read More

Futtle makes beer with organic Scottish hops

FIFE brewery Futtle is launching a beer tomorrow that was made using organic Scottish hops. The hops were grown in the kitchen garden at the Rufflets Hotel in St Andrews. Head gardner Logie Cassells harvested the hops on 21 September and they were used to brew a beer that day. Lucy Hine, brewer and co-founder…

Read More

Scottish Field’s Rosie Morton returns with Landward

LANDWARD, the rural affairs television programme, returns to BBC Scotland tonight, with Scottish Field writer Rosie Morton among this series’ presenters. Morton joined the show as last summer and travelled the length and breadth of our nation, sharing the stories of people who live and work in the countryside and on the coast. The programme,…

Read More

First Haggis World Championship launched

PERTH will host the first Haggis World Championship on 14 May. Entries for the competition, which is organised by the Scottish Craft Butchers (SCB) trade body, will close on 5 May. The hunt for the world’s best traditional haggis will see restaurant chefs compete with local butchers and haggis manufacturers for the coveted title. SCB…

Read More

Fife kids get ‘Fish in the Classroom’

PUPILS in Fife have been learning about the River Leven thanks to a project called “Fish in the Classroom”. The children have been looking after brown trout eggs in school until they hatch and develop before releasing the baby fish into their local river, the Leven. Coaltown of Balgonie, Coaltown of Wemyss, and East Wemyss…

Read More

Company Bakery wins Scottish Bread Championships

THE Scottish Bread Championships crowned a New York rye sourdough made by Company Bakery in Edinburgh as “supreme champion”. A beremeal boule made by Anne Keenan – better known as “The Culinary Kiwi Bird” – from Insch in Aberdeenshire was selected as the “reserve champion”. The contest received a record number of entries, with three…

Read More

East coast eyes 50% cruise boost

THE number of cruise ships visiting Dundee, Fife, and Leith is due to soar by 50% this year. Capital Cruising, the tourism arm of harbour operator Forth Ports, said 150 ships are due to dock at its east coast moorings this year, up from 100 last year. The ships will dock at Dundee, Leith, and…

Read More

Dry January – is it worth it?

Drinks blogger James Robertson looks at the options for “Dry January”. SOME of us do “Sober October”, some of us do “I Cannae Remember December”, and some are now two weeks into “Dry January”. I have not been successful in achieving Dry January by the way, but hats off to my wife who has stoically…

Read More

Restaurant Andrew Fairlie tops UK list

DINERS have selected Restaurant Andrew Fairlie at The Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire as the best in the UK. The restaurant topped Harden’s “Top 100 Best UK Restaurants” list, which was based on 30,000 reports from 3,000 diners. Leith trio The Kitchin, Restaurant Martin Wishart, and The Little Chartroom reached fifth, 14th, and 31st respectively. In…

Read More