Have you ever wondered why Clan Cameron have a motto along the lines of: "Sons of hounds, come hither and get flesh"?

Maybe not, but I'm going to tell you the story behind it anyway! In the 16th century, Ewen Mor chief of The Camerons was on his way to meet the Earl of Atholl to discuss the disputed boundary between Cameron lands in Lochaber and Atholl's territory in Perthshire man to man.

You might think that Orkney has only ancient history to share from the amount of coverage of Skara Brae or the standing stones.

Clearly, the Italian Chapel is a bit more modern, but why is it here in Scotland's northern isles and why does it look so odd? The story goes back to World War II, when Orkney was the main Royal Navy base.

Causeways needed built between smaller islands to protect the harbour at Scapa Flow from U-Boat attacks and as luck would have it, thousands of Italian soldiers had just been captured in North Africa.

This terrifyingly beautiful weapon is the Great Sword of Dunvegan, an important relic to Clan MacLeod, kept safe in the belly of Dunvegan Castle.

It's over 500 years old, probably from the late 15thC and made for the Uilleam Dubh, otherwise known as William 'Long Sword' MacLeod. William was the 7th Chief of the MacLeods of Harris and Dunvegan, leading the clan from his home on Skye, but travelling far and wide.

He led raids in Orkney, attended councils in Islay and eventually died in Mull.

This is the grave of Roderick Mackenzie, a Jacobite hero with a story that should be better known!

Not long after Culloden, Cumberland sent the head of Bonnie Prince Charlie to London and called off the hunt for the Young Pretender.

Unfortunately for him, it was the wrong head. It was actually poor Roderick, the son of an Edinburgh goldsmith who looked identical to Charles. Thanks to the similarity, he became the prince's body double, personal guard and close friend.

In Scotland, today isn't New Years Eve, it's Hogmanay!

But why do we call it Hogmanay? What does it mean?

Some think it goes back to the Old Norse word Hoggo-nott or Anglo-Saxon Haleg-monath, meaning Holy Month. Others put it down to a French term Aguillanneuf!

🧵 In truth, we have absolutely no idea about Hogmanay's roots, but we know it's been called that for over 400 years.

These days, it's just another of our many New Year traditions, which vary around the country.

Some might be redding their house today, sweeping out the old year!

Time for a Scottish Christmas story...

It was a bitterly cold Christmas Eve in Dumfries & Galloway and a shepherd decided there was more fun to be had at a Yuletide party, leaving his young helper alone on the hills to guard the flock.

🧵 He gave strict instructions to gather them in by dusk to protect from wolves or storms. As the light failed, the wee boy hiked around the heather, rounding up all the ewes.

All but one of them.

At 104 metres in diameter, once with 60 stones but now just 27, the Ring of Brodgar is the largest stone circle in Scotland!

Archaeologists will tell you these were erected around 4500 years ago, but we know the truth. These stones were once alive as the Giants of Orkney!

🧵 During the day, they were forced to hide from the light of the sun, which would instantly turn them to stone, but when night fell, the islands shook with the sound of their thumping footsteps.

While they might have been clumsy, aggressive beasts, they still loved to dance!

With a new series of Shetland starting last night, it's time to give you a wee bit of history about the famous Lerwick home of Jimmy Perez in the show.

In real life, it's known as "The Lodberrie" and gives us a glimpse back in time to 18th century Lerwick. Lodberries were a series of buildings just like this, a warehouse on the seafront, sometimes with a little pier.

It allowed merchants to transfer goods straight from the boat directly inside, saving the trouble of landing in a harbour and paying somebody to cart everything along

This quiet, wee church still says prayers for a Queen of Scots almost 700 years after she died.

In 1327, Elizabeth de Burgh, wife of Robert the Bruce, died while staying at Cullen Castle after falling from her horse. Before moving her body to Dunfermline Abbey, her entrails were buried here at Cullen Auld Kirk.

King Robert was beside himself with grief and while he couldn't bring his queen back, he could have masses said for her soul.

Today is Robert the Bruce's 750th Birthday!

His story is long, but I'll try and condense it into a short thread!

When Scotland was left without a monarch, reeling in chaos and suffering under the thumb of King Edward of England, Bruce stepped up. He had the best claim to the Scottish throne as a descendant of David I, but not everybody supported him.

In 1306, during a meeting with John Comyn in Greyfriars Monastery in Dumfries, Bruce stabbed his rival at the altar.

Today is the anniversary of the Glencoe Massacre, an atrocity that still stirs emotion over 330 years later.

After the 1689 Jacobite rising, an official government pardon was offered to any clan who swore an oath to King William by the 1st of January 1692. Many clan chiefs waited for permission from the exiled King James. By the time that arrived, it was only a few days to the deadline.

MacIain, chief of the MacDonalds of Glencoe, arrived in Fort William just in time, to discover that the governor wasn’t authorised to accept

Time for a wander through my favourite 5 wee wanders from 2023!

I really enjoy putting these together and showing you all how to get the most out of a trip to one specific part of Scotland.

First up - The Isle of Kerrera just a short ferry ride from Oban. 2 - Orkney's ancient monuments, not as far on the ferry from the North coast as you would think!

It might not look like much, but Soutra Aisle is all that remains of Scotland’s largest Medieval hospital.

This burial vault for the Pringle family was built out of the ruins and without it, there would be no sign this enormous institution had ever existed.

The Holy Trinity at Soutra was founded at some point before 1164 when it was mentioned as already functioning by King Malcolm IV.

It was granted huge swathes of fertile land to support it financially and the hospital flourished.

This is St Rule's tower in the grounds of St Andrews Cathedral and it dates all the way back to the 11th century, older than the cathedral building itself.

If you manage to climb all the 156 steps to the top, then you might find more than just a beautiful view... The tower was once part of a large church built to house St Andrew's relics, you can just see a V-shape in the stonework where a roof once stood.

It's named after St Rule (also known as St Regulus), the man legend says sailed with Andrew's bones to the end of the earth - Fife.

You might think you've never met any Norse giants, but if you've visited Scotland in Summer, then you almost definitely have!

This particular giant was exiled from Norway for being a terror, coming down from the icy mountains to bite off heads and drink villager's blood! It's not like exile bothered him, he just waded through the sea towards Scotland. The giant slowly moved southwest from Caithness, spreading chaos and misery as he went.

Refugees fled before the monster, screaming warnings that it was after blood.

It's feeling a lot darker and stormier in Scotland just now, the perfect for supernatural stories like this from Shetland!

Ertie, a young fisherman from Fetlar, had no fear of the waves. One stormy day, a tall, dark stranger approached him with a mischievous smile on his face. Ertie immediately knew this was a Finnman. Shape-shifting creatures who lived amongst the waves.

The Finnman had a wager for Ertie. Since he thought he was such a great fisherman and wasn't afraid of a little storm, he bet that he couldn't catch a single fish before Yule.

Not every folk story comes from isolated glens or lonely lochs. One of the strangest tales I know comes from Leith, just a short hop from the centre of Edinburgh!

It's about a creature called the Shelleycoat, a rare beast that haunts waterways and bogs. The name comes from its seashell encrusted coat, which clatters with an ominous rattle as it prowls around looking for prey.

The Shellycoat that stalked the dockyards of Leith was said to live in a large, shell coated boulder that lay by the river.

We haven't had many stories of brutality and woe lately...so this should make up for that.

Nestled between Loch Earn and Ben Vorlich lies the beautiful Ardvorlich House. This 18thC adaptation of a much older building is home to the Stewarts of Ardvorlich.

Ardvorlich was right in the middle of one of the most lawless areas of Scotland.

This was somewhere that you didn't travel without plenty of protection and while John Drummond was the man tasked with keeping law and order, he was fighting a losing battle.

This beauty of a castle is Loch an Eilein, literally Loch of the Island.

Now, lots of lochs have islands, but not all of them are entirely taken up by a stronghold once home to the Wolf of Badenoch! You'll find Loch an Eilein Castle just a short walk through the woods at Rothiemurchus, in the heart of the Cairngorms.

The actual island would have been slightly bigger in the Wolf's day, allegedly connected by an underwater causeway now lost after the water level was raised.

If you've ever seen the film Whisky Galore, then hopefully you already know it's based on a true story!

A story of community, opportunity, ingenuity and of course whisky.

In Feb 1941, during harsh wartime rationing, the islanders of Eriskay received a welcome gift from the sea. A ship called the SS Politician was grounded while carrying over a quarter of a million bottles of whisky!

As the ship struggled with gale force winds, it hit rocks, ruptured its fuel tanks and the crew had to be rescued onto the island.

By the time Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his standard at Glenfinnan, the first shots of the 1745 Jacobite rising had already been fired, right here at Highbridge.

The ruined pillars of the old bridge loom over the River Spean like a monument to one of my favourite stories. It was part of the Military Road network, built to try and control the Highlands.

These allowed soldiers to march quickly through rough terrain, but it also meant that they were very predictable.