How new Covid rules could affect your winter staycation
Wales Following Scotland’s lead, Wales is clamping down on Covid rules from December 26. The biggest impact on holidaymakers is a new limit on group gatherings, of…
Why you shouldn’t dismiss a ski trip to Scotland
Webcam-watching is often a part of the planning process, and the wicked winds, which all too often sweep over the slopes, are more poetic on the page…
How to celebrate Hogmanay in Scotland this year
At midnight the revellers join hands to sing Auld Lang Syne as a spectacular fireworks display explodes from the ramparts of Edinburgh Castle, and this year there…
Why a red jacket is my travel attire of choice
I wear a red jacket for my travel series. You may recognise it. Especially if it’s yours. It could be. I have picked up a few along…
Andrew Cotter: ‘I had this quasi-transcendental experience climbing Mt Fuji’
We’d also do a driving holiday to Europe every few years Half of my mother’s family was from Germany, so one of my earliest memories is of…
Cancel your Christmas parties, Scots urged amid omicron spread
Scots have been told to cancel Christmas parties after festive gatherings were linked to the rapid spread of the omicron variant. Public Health Scotland said on Thursday…
The fascinating history of Scotland’s most debauched island
The debauched days of Kinloch came to a shuddering halt as the Edwardian Era was scythed down by the industrial warfare of the First World War. Peering…
The old Scottish whisky hotel with a tasteful new look
Let me explain. Glenmorangie House is owned and run by the makers of the eponymous single malt whisky, first distilled by local farmers William and Anne Matheson…
Joints, pints and Irish parties: the truth behind The Waterboys’ ‘escape from fame’
Room to Roam is no orthodox trad album. According to Scott, it was an attempt to create The Waterboys’ very own version of The Beatles’ kaleidoscopic opus,…
Why Edinburgh is perfect for a festive break
If your European Christmas market plans have been thrown into disarray, then you might want to consider a trip closer to home – and just a train…
Scottish Ballet: The Nutcracker, review: ‘A revolutionary production of a Christmas classic’
In 1892, when The Nutcracker was first staged, its stylistically globe-trotting Act II was probably the nearest most audience members were ever going to get to a…
Why you should visit Scotland’s forgotten peninsula
I hear of a new bijou tea plantation and more hipster-ish cafés, but any concerns that Cowal is becoming more Shoreditch than rural Scotland are trod underfoot…
Why you should consider Scotland instead of the Alps for a ski holiday this winter
There are many common misconceptions about skiing in Scotland. “It’s not worth the long journey,” and “There’s no snow” were just some of the comments I received…
The 10 ultimate trips in Scotland for a 2022 getaway
On the little island of Raasay off the coast of Skye there is a gravel road spiralling between sea and sky that defies imagination. It was built…
20 last-minute UK getaways for a fabulous Christmas break
Christmas is, of course, a time for giving. And yet… if ever there was a year for tipping the balance of the festive season slightly more towards…
Mary, Queen of Scots ‘unrecognisable to most Britons’ despite recent on-screen depictions
When Saoirse Ronan played Mary Queen of Scots film, she was instantly recognisable to most people who have stepped in a cinema this decade – even with…
Our favourite tiny airports from around the world
Airports are usually the low-point of any holiday, with queues, bad food, clinical strip lighting and, now, reams of documentation to contend with. Even the award-winning supersize…