Stories of Scotland

Join Annie and Jenny deep in the Cairngorms, as they climb Ben Avon, but the summit isn’t the goal, instead, they take a detour to an astounding rock formation called Clach Bhan, or in English, the Women’s Stone. This rock formation overlooks the surrounding glens, and has been a place of pilgrimage for hundreds of years. Pregnant women from miles around would undertake an arduous trek to this poi...

Annie and Jenny discover how Skye’s greatest mountains are the remains of an ancient volcano. We unravel rich Scottish folklore about Beinn na Caillich: the Mountain of the Old Woman. We discuss the lore of giant women who battled across the sea with giant boulders. Learn about Saucy Mary, a lost Norwegian Princess and, a fake Norwegian Princess. If you love Skye, this episode is filled with magic...

Jenny and Annie explore the far edge of the Outer Hebrides, St Kilda. We look at the wonders of climbing the stacks of St Kilda, and the seabirds that create a symphony. We see through the eyes of Evelyn Heathcote, as she spends the night in a sea cave with a group of Gaelic psalm-singing St Kildans. We examine the folklore and landscape of this unique and special place. You can support Stories of...

With the 140th Anniversary of the Battle of the Braes, Jenny and Annie set out to try to understand this crucial fight for land reform in Scotland. We look back to March 1882, when crofters of the Braes area of Skye tried to petition Lord MacDonald to let them have common grazing on the hill of Ben Lee. Lord MacDonald refuses this request, condemning the future of this crofting community into furt...

In this episode, Annie and Jenny continue their exploration of the women found in the margins of the Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal. It’s Edinburgh in the early 1900s, and a climbing expedition up the Salisbury Crags is derailed when the public notice that there are women climbing alongside the men. Determined, the women keep climbing, but are forced to the edges of the day. This is the begi...

Slightly frog-throated Annie and Jenny interview Highland author Jennifer Morag Henderson about her new book, Daughters of the North. Daughters of the North explores the life of Jean Gordon, from the Far North of Scotland who lived from 1546 to 1629. We learn of the Far North of Scotland during the reign of Mary Queen of Scots, the industries of Sutherland, and some intrigues of the Early Modern c...

Join Jenny and Annie as they climb uphill on the West Coast of Scotland to explore the beautiful Beinn Sgritheall. We look at legends of the Glenelg brochs, Dun Telve and Dun Troddan, which reveal ancient folklore of giants, feasting women, revenge, and a very bad hair day. We adventure up the beautiful Scottish rural mountain of Beinn Sgritheall, and spend some time thinking about why hillwalking...

Jenny interviews marvellous author Sue Lawrence and we learn about the women, castle and ghost that inspired her new book, The Green Lady. Jenny and Sue discuss Fyvie Castle in the 16th century and question how early modern women could try to gain control of their own lives. Sue, who has written multiple Scottish cookbooks gives us a cheeky variation of a Scottish classic recipe, Cullen skink at t...

Are the Scottish Borders a rebel stronghold? Join Annie and Jenny as they examine the often-overlooked stories of the Border Reivers: the families of raiding, plundering, land-burning, outlaws. Jenny explores her ancestry roots in the Scottish Borders, to discover she comes from a family of bloodthirsty brigands. We look at Border clans, curses and, calamities as we unpick the ballad of Johnnie Ar...

Jenny and Annie learn about the geology of the Scottish Lowlands, and travel as a wee grain of sand through half a billion years of geologic movement, ending up within the River Tweed. In more recent history, we unravel Arthurian legends to explore the story of Merlin, the wizard of the wilds. A real cornucopia of Celtic mythologies and folklore. This episode is sponsored by Scotland Shop. If you...

Join Annie and Jenny as they get in the festive mood and journey back to the Yuletide crimes of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The reformation resulted in the banning of many celebrations, including yuletide festivities. Those caught celebrating were brought before the Kirk Sessions, and this resulted in strangely detailed records of the celebratory practices of the time. Guising and cro...

Annie and Jenny share some lighthearted folklore on the theme of tartans and plaids! Tartan eels, ghosts and fairies: this is a jolly voyage into rich Scottish mythology. This episode is sponsored by Scotland Shop. If you are tempted to check out some of Scotland Shop’s beautiful tartan garments and fabrics, please follow this link to Scotland Shop. https://hubs.ly/H0-0fjl0You can support Stories...

Do you want to know the secrets of the bees? So do we! In this bonus episode, Jenny and Annie speak to author Diana Gabaldon known for her bestselling Outlander series of novels. We are celebrating the highly-anticipated release of Go Tell the Bees That I am Gone on November 23rd 2021. Diana discusses her interest and research into Scottish heritage, culture, and folklore. This episode is sponsore...

In this bonus episode, Jenny and Annie speak to Scottish actor Graham McTavish. Graham has had an incredibly successful acting career and is well-known for many of his roles including Outlander, the Hobbit films, Castlevania, and the forthcoming Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon. While working on Outlander, Graham became good friends with Sam Heughan and together they have created the T...

In this episode, Annie and Jenny tell some truly terrifying tales from the Borders of Scotland. We’ve all heard something go bump in the night that’s made the hairs on our neck stand on end, and while sometimes it’s as innocent as an open window in the attic, other times it can be as dastardly as the devil. These spooky tales from the archives explore the rolling moors of the Borders, haunted towe...

Join Annie and Jenny as they go back to the witch panics of Early Modern Scotland. We examine the witch trial of Elizabeth Bathgate from Eyemouth, and look at what witchcraft trials reveal about superstitions and paranoia of times past. This episode is sponsored by Scotland Shop. If you are tempted to check out some of Scotland Shop’s beautiful tartan garments and fabrics, please follow this link...

Join Annie and Jenny on a trip to the Cèilidh house, as they discuss the magic of this old tradition. We blether about some old cèilidh lore, exploring how cèilidhs keep communities connected. We look at how the cèilidh house sometimes develops its own lore of ghosts, magic and wonder. Stories of Scotland is an award-winning Scottish history podcast, proudly recorded in the Highlands. We research...

Content warning: Discussion of death and funerals. Join Annie and Jenny as they explore the curious Highland beliefs of the second sight. In this second part on the glorious mountain of Schiehallion, we learn about the time Robert the Bruce sought sanctuary at Schiehallion, a piper tempted by the fairy hill, and the superstitions of second sight in Rannoch. Be captured by the fairies in this encha...

Annie and Jenny hike up Schiehallion, one of Scotland’s most famous peaks. This astounding mountain is home to world changing history. This episode includes an oral history with a squeaky rocking chair. Located in the heart of Scotland, Schiehallion was the site of an intricate experiment that weighed the world. It’s unique conical shape drew astronomers, physicists, mathematicians and geologists...

Jenny and Annie learn about the MacMhuirich bardic family and the significance of bards in the Gaelic dominium. This tremendously fun episode takes us back to Medieval Ireland, to look at the time when the seeds of the MacMhuirich dynasty were sown in Scotland. We recite some English translates of MacMhuirich poetry and look at the stories behind their compositions. References: Robert Crawford, Cl...

Jenny and Annie continue looking at Highland clan culture, exploring the sluagh-ghairm. Sluagh-ghairm is Gaelic and translates to ‘battle cry’ but it has multi-layered meanings. Sluagh-ghairm is also where we get the English word ‘slogan’ used in advertising. A Highland clan would choose a sluagh-ghairm to showcase their bravery, values, or very often as the gathering place for the fighting men. J...

Annie and Jenny start to explore the relationship between Highland clans and land. We begin by discussing the Gaelic concept of Dùthchas, learning more about how clans divided up their territories. We then move to the legend of Diarmuid Ua Duibhne and Gràinne. We look at the connection between Ireland and Scotland, and how legends shape our clan identities. Look out for these Gaelic phrases-Dualch...

Annie and Jenny explore spunkie-haunted bogs, the natural phenomenon that has long been regarded in Scottish folklore as a forewarning symbol of danger. In the Highlands, we call them Spunkies, but you may know them as the Will o the Wisps! These are thought to be caused by the spontaneous ignition of gas that has been produced by rotting marsh vegetation however folklore associated will o the wis...

Join Annie and Jenny on a Wild Prince Chase as they follow the path of Bonnie Prince Charlie after the Battle of Culloden. We meet the wonderful and romanticised Flora MacDonald, the young islander at the heart of a scheme to support Bonnie Prince Charlie’s escape. We read from a letter from Charles Edward Stuart sent on 28th April 1646, and use accounts of his escape from The Lyon in Mourning by...

Jenny and Annie consider the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden and the brutalities committed by the Duke of Cumberland and the British Government forces on the people of the Highlands after 1746. We look into the events recorded in The Lyon in mourning; Jacobite Memoirs by Robert Forbes. Trigger Warning: this episode contains discussion of murder, violence, and rape. Stories of Scotland is a mul...