Judged against other countries with inhabited islands, Scotland’s ferry service is among the best in the world, something its critics rarely acknowledge. The fleet is younger, the service more frequent, and customer satisfaction is high at 88%. In one important measure, though, Scotland’s ferries are different: they are exceptionally cheap. Is that a good thing? Should we be … [Read more...] about Are Scotland’s ferries too cheap?
Highlands and Islands
Lives of the massacred MacDonalds of Glen Coe
Archaeology excels in giving insights into the everyday lives of people in the past. It is only very occasionally that we get those spine-tingling moments when we can connect the artefacts and structures we excavate to very specific people and events – such as the massacre of Glen Coe. One of Scotland’s most iconic landscapes, Glen Coe is famous for its dramatic mountains and … [Read more...] about Lives of the massacred MacDonalds of Glen Coe
Saving Loch Torridon
After a dook in the sea in the west Highlands last week, a neighbour led me over to her car to show me a water-filled jar with a chunk of something that looked a bit like coral in the bottom. She lifted it up to the light and turned it around. “Can you see? It is covered with filamentous algae’. Sue … [Read more...] about Saving Loch Torridon
Remote? The Highlands? Get awa’
“It’s so remote - you are really in the middle of nowhere here” guests often remark when they come to visit us in Wester Ross, where my partner Rob lives. We smile - through gritted teeth - and correct their ignorance - at length. Remote from what? The word implies we are far from the centre of the known world. It calls to mind an ancient map with written at the edge the legend … [Read more...] about Remote? The Highlands? Get awa’
Highland homes for whom?
A dozen white painted cottages strung along the seafront harbour in the hamlet of Diabaig look out on a postcard-perfect West Highland vista - but there are few inhabitants to enjoy the view. Ten of them are second homes, several occupied for just a few nights per year. One has been visited only once in five years. Neighbours boarded up the door after a storm but the owners … [Read more...] about Highland homes for whom?