Stories of Scotland

Over the Sea to Skye: Bonnie Prince Charlie's Escape

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 Bishop Forbes. Also, we quote from Flora MacDonald which was taken in Apple Cross Bay on July 12th 1746 on the UK National Archives website. Stories of Scotland is a multi-award-winning Scottish history podcast, proudly recorded in Inverness in the Highlands. We research our heritage and mythology podcast using archives, books, museum objects, and oral histories from across Scotland.

Culloden Aftermath: Slaughter in the Highlands

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 multi-award-winning Scottish history podcast, proudly recorded in Inverness in the Highlands. We research our heritage and mythology podcast using archives, books, museum objects, and oral histories from across Scotland.

Battle of Culloden

In the first episode of a new series, Jenny and Annie have a look at the Battle of Culloden, and the background politics that lead up to it. One of the most mythologised conflicts of all time, we try to piece together why so many raised their weapons to fight for Bonnie Prince Charlie. Now managed by the National Trust, Culloden Battlefield is of huge significance to Scottish history.Stories of Scotland is a multi-award-winning Scottish history podcast, proudly recorded in Inverness in the Highlands. We research our heritage and mythology podcast using archives, books, museum objects, and oral histories from across Scotland. You can support Stories of Scotland on Patreon! www.patreon.com/storiesofscotland

Queer as Folktales Part 3: The Laird o the Loch

Young fisher Mairi will do anything to return the sealskin to her almost-beloved selkie. The only problem is a few terrifying monsters stand in the way. In this final episode of a three-part miniseries, Annie and Jenny of Stories of Scotland Podcast retell classic Scottish mythology with a queer twist. Join Mairi on her journey into love & lore.Funded by the Edwin Morgan Trust Second Life Award, Queer as Folktales is a lighthearted look at how traditional folklore can be reimagined to incorporate the LGBT+ community of the Scottish Highlands and Islands.Listen to episodes in order for the tale to make sense.

Queer as Folktales Part 2: Ceilidh in the Fae Broch

On the advice of an old fisher, young fisher Mairi and her old terrier make a journey across the Pentland Firth from Orkney to Caithness. Their destination is the land of the fairies, inside Bruan Broch. But how can they enter the supernatural underworld? And will they escape?In this second episode of a three-part miniseries, Annie and Jenny of Stories of Scotland Podcast retell classic Scottish mythology with a queer twist. Join Mairi on her journey into love & lore.Funded by the Edwin Morgan Trust Second Life Award, Queer as Folktales is a lighthearted look at how traditional folklore can be reimagined to incorporate the LGBT+ community of the Scottish Highlands and Islands.Listen to episodes in order for the tale to make sense.

Queer as Folktales Part 1: Sough o the Sea

An unnaturally strong storm rolls over Orkney on Spring Tide. In the morning a young fisher and her old terrier stumble across a washed-up seal, or is it a washed-up woman? Or could it be both?In this first episode of a three-part miniseries, Annie and Jenny of Stories of Scotland Podcast retell classic Scottish mythology with a queer twist. Join Mairi on her journey into love & lore.Funded by the Edwin Morgan Trust Second Life Award, Queer as Folktales is a lighthearted look at how traditional folklore can be reimagined to incorporate the diverse LGBT+ community of the Scottish Highlands and Islands.Listen to subsequent episodes in order for the tale to make sense.

A Hilarious History of the Haggis

In this episode, Jenny MacHaggis and Annie MacNeep explore the rich history of mythologies, legends and recipes of Scotland’s national dish: the haggis.
We look at the ingredients in a Victorian haggis and blether about what folklore of the wild haggis tell us about Scottish identity. What is the old legend of how the haggis freed Scotland? Is that haggis related to the bagpipe?
We’ve used the Scottish Poetry Library to find Address to a Haggis by Robert Burns. The Victorian Haggis Recipe came from the Dumfries Herald of 1864 and the haggis legends came from the Montrose Standard of 1925 and a selection of other Scottish local newspapers. You can listen to a haggis making oral history on Tobar an Dualchais here: www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/106790 or a haggisy song here: www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/48899 .
Stories of Scotland is a multi-award winning Scottish history podcast, proudly recorded in Inverness in the Highlands. We research our heritage and mythology podcast using archives, books, museum objects, and oral histories from across Scotland.
You can support Stories of Scotland on Patreon! www.patreon.com/storiesofscotland

Northern Lights & the Battle of Flodden

Jenny and Annie take a dance across the mythologies of the northern lights of Scotland. Upon finding their Scots legends of the aurora borealis, they end up rather unexpectedly in the Battle of Flodden: a battle said to have been written in the sky.
For this episode, we used the books: Rock-bound: a Story of the Shetland Isles by Jessie Margaret Edmondston Saxby published in 1877 and Fatal Rivalry, Flodden 1513 by George Goodwin published in 2013. We read extracted from the Fife Herald published on 3rd May 1838, the poem of Flodden by W E Ayton from Harper's new monthly magazine volume 28, and the song Northern Lights of Old Aberdeen by Mary Webb.
We also retold this oral history from George Peterson: www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/77252
Stories of Scotland is a multi-award winning Scottish history podcast, proudly recorded in Inverness in the Highlands. We research our heritage and mythology podcast using archives, books, museum objects, and oral histories from across Scotland.
You can support Stories of Scotland on Patreon! www.patreon.com/storiesofscotland

Christmas Special: Highland Yule Traditions

In this episode, Annie and Jenny take a festive Yuletide jaunt around Christmas time traditions in Scotland. We take a look at the almost completely lost highland tradition of the Clach an Groait stone, the world famous Orkney Ba tournament, and an old lady and her festive pig. This time of year is dark and cold, but these historic tales will warm your toes by the peat fire with kindness and generosity.
For the wheelbarrow Christmas theiving and Clach an Groait lore, we read the Inverness Courier from 1843. For the Christmas pig oral history, listen here: www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/178
Stories of Scotland is a multi-award winning Scottish history podcast, proudly recorded in Inverness in the Highlands. We research our heritage and mythology podcast using archives, books, museum objects, and oral histories from across Scotland. 
You can support Stories of Scotland on Patreon!www.patreon.com/storiesofscotland

Scottish Lighthouse Mysteries

The Scottish coastline is dotted with magnificent lighthouses. These bright beacons of safety have protected sea vessels for centuries, guiding them through the rough and rocky waters that surround the country. In this episode we take a look at Robert Stevenson and his lighthouse building dynasty, with a focus on Bell Rock Lighthouse, one of the greatest engineering feats of the 19th century. We also explore the mystery of the Flannan Isles Lighthouse disappearances, where three lighthouse keepers mysteriously vanished one dark and stormy night. Stories of Scotland is a multi-award winning Scottish history podcast, proudly recorded in Inverness in the Highlands. We research our heritage and mythology podcast using archives, books, museum objects, and oral histories from across Scotland. You can support Stories of Scotland on Patreon!www.patreon.com/storiesofscotlandThe Kate Shaw oral history can be found on Tobar an Dualchais: http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/54464A great source of lighthouse history is the Northern Lighthouse Board website: www.nlb.org.ukWe quote the Caledonian Mercury on Saturday 25 August 1810 to describe Bell Rock lighthouse. We read a section of the ballad of Inchcape Rock by Robert Southey published in 1820.Flannan Isle lore can be found in a description of the Western Islands of Scotland: https://archive.org/details/descriptionofwes00mart/The final poem is by David James MacKenzie and was published 1883 in Good Words for February.