Historic Scotland Podcast

With Ian Mchardy, Malcolm Maclean, and Cat Dunn. The ancient standing stone circle of Calanais, a site that inspires reflection, may seem an unlikely place to mention Britain’s imperial legacy. But as Cat Dunn explains, it is one of many heritage sites with connections to slavery and colonial histories revisited by recent research. What links Calanais with the history of Empire, how do these uncom...

With Ali Davey and Marlene Macleod. Sarah sits by a glowing fire in one of Scotland’s most remote crofts to immerse herself in Hebridean life and hospitality. Within the blackhouse’s thick stone walls and thatched roof, kept wind and watertight though the sharing of traditional skills down the generations, she discovers a story of community, resilience and a Gaelic tradition of storytelling and mu...

With Lynsey Haworth, Stefan Sagrott, Judith Rowett, and Zoe Samuels-Lyons. Sarah travels to the fairytale castle of Caerlaverock in Dumfries and Galloway. Here, she learns how a series of remarkable archaeological finds – from leather goods and basketry to fragments of Islamic glass – reveal how this seemingly remote medieval castle was once part of a vibrant network of international trade and cul...

With Regional Collections Manager, Jill van Millingen and volunteer John Simpson. On a rocky craig in the Scottish Borders stands Smailholm Tower, a medieval stronghold in a landscape with a strong tradition of balladry – poems capturing the lives and legends of the area. Collections Manager Jill and volunteer guide John explain how this brooding place fired the imagination of a young Walter Scott...

With Ian Shearer from Friends of Kinneil, Mark Watson Industrial Heritage from Historic Scotland, and Paul Rolands from Roving Manager Lothian & East from Historic Scotland. In this episode, we step back to a time of frustration and triumph in the workshop of Scottish inventor and engineer James Watt at Kinneil House. What experiments took place here, what were Watt’s most important innovation...

With Joshua Graham Engagement Visitor at Urquhart Castle, Charlie Hockin Sales Executive at The Loch Ness Centre, and Moira Unwin Marketing Manager at The Loch Ness Centre. Sarah heads north to the shores of Loch Ness and the dramatic ruins of Urquhart Castle in Scotland’s Great Glen to discover how legend and history co-exist at one of our most famous heritage sites. As the castle’s guides reveal...

With Senior Cultural Resources Advisor Rachel Pickering, Professor Jon Henderson and Ranger and Visitor Services Manager Martin Gray. From the heights of Holyrood Park, we explore thousands of years of history in Holyrood Park – from Iron Age hillforts to royal hunting grounds – meet the archaeologists who are reshaping our understanding of the park’s past and reflect on the challenges of managing...

With Properties Historian Dr Morvern French and Professor Julian Goodare. In the first episode of series two, Sarah travels to East Lothian to discover a dark chapter in Dirleton Castle’s history. As witch trials in Scotland escalated during the 16th and 17th centuries, Dirleton and the wider region became embroiled in false accusations, interrogations and executions – with women being disproporti...

Welcome to the Historic Scotland Podcast, a journey through some of Scotland's most iconic sites and their enchanting stories. Join your host, Scottish actor and storyteller Sarah MacGillivray as she goes behind-the-scenes to reveal untold histories and intriguing traces of our nation’s past. Discover Dirleton Castle’s role in Scotland’s witch trials, untangle history from legend on the shores of...