Adventures in English

 I’ve been enjoying watching the Winter Olympics in Beijing. Team GB as the UK team is called hasn’t been that successful in recent winter olympics, we don’t really have the climate or the mountains for many of the sports but there are a few sports we excel in and this year, to my delight we won both a gold and a silver medal in Curling. The women’s team took the gold and the men the silver. You may be thinking so what, but curling is actually a Scottish sport and both the men's and women’s teams are made up of players who were born or live in Scotland and who actually train here too at some of our excellent curling rinks across the country. If you are wondering what curling is, it’s a bit like bowling but on ice, the aim is to slide curling stones down the ice towards a target. Each team has 4 players and has the chance to throw 8 stones. Points are awarded for stones closest to the target. As well as throwing the stone, players can sweep in front of a stone as it travels to influence the direction and distance.  So a bit about the history, the world’s oldest curling stone can be seen at the town of Stirling’s Smith Art Gallery and museum and dates from 1511 so we know curling has been in existence in Scotland since the 16th century. Curling was first played outdoors on frozen rivers and ponds and in those days there was plenty of ice around to play on during the winter it’s not like that today. By 1800 it was the most popular sport in Scotland and as Scots emigrated around the world, curling was taken with them. Scots introduced curling to Canada around 1807 and to the United States in 1830. These days it’s played all over the world and it became an Olympic sport in 1998 and there are now 3 different events, the women’s, the mens and mixed doubles. Most curling stones are made from granite and they weigh around 20kg. The granite either comes from Ailsa Craig, a rocky island off the coast of Ayrshire in Scotland or the Trefor granite quarry in Wales. Kays of Scotland, a curling stone manufacturer makes all the stones from Ailsa Craig granite and supply all the curling stones you see in play at the Olympics. Around 30 people are employed by Kays and the stones are sent out to curling clubs all over the world. Another vital piece of equipment is the curling brush, the original brushes were similar to household brushes, the kind used in your kitchen but these days they are often made from fibreglass to make them lighter to hold with hog hair or horse hair for the brush. A really nice thing about curling is what’s called the spirit of curling or good sportsmanship. Players must never cheer if the other team makes mistakes and you are not supposed to celebrate your own good shots apart from a modest thumbs up or a nod.  If a team sees that they have no chance of winning then they can concede the game and accept defeat.  This is not seen as quitting, it’s seen as good etiquette and an honourable act. It goes without saying that players should shake hands at the beginning and at the end of the match too and wish eachother good curling. In recent times, curling rinks have been offering various have a go curling events for people who have never played and would like to try. I had the chance to try curling a few years ago and I really enjoyed it.  I think it’s a sport that anyone can get involved in and it’s even accessible for wheelchair users.  In addition to various curling rinks around the country Scotland even has a curling hotel,v the North West Castle Hotel in Stranraer the only one in the world, where you can play a game of curling then relax in the restaurant overlooking the rink. Despite having such a strong association with curling, this is only the 2nd time we’ve won the Gold medal at the Olympics.  The first time was in 2002 when it was again the women’s team who surprised everyone by taking gold 

It’s getting close to Christmas and we had some special visitors to our town recently to turn the Christmas lights on. Reindeer!  Reindeer are of course very significant this time of year as it’s Reindeer who famously pull Santa’s sleigh.

Did you know that Scotland has its own herd of reindeer, in fact they are the Uk’s only free-ranging herd of reindeer living mainly in the Cairngorm mountains, close to the town of Aviemore. I’d like to tell you a bit about them today.

Reindeer were actually native to the UK until around the 13th century but they unfortunately died out, becoming extinct for a number of reasons but  probably due to climate change or hunting. They were eventually reintroduced in 1952 thanks to a Swedish man, Mikel Utsi.  Mikel Utsi was born in Karesuando, northern Sweden, into a reindeer-owning Sàmi family and following his marriage and move to the UK, he was actually on his honeymoon in the Cairngorm mountains when he realised how similar the landscape and climate was to his homeland and decided to try to reintroduce Reindeer here.

The Cairngorm mountain range has sub arctic conditions, the only part of the UK to do so and is often subjected to blizzards, snow and ice.  The perfect environment for hardy reindeer.

The first 7 reindeer were brought over from Sweden by ship and quarantined at Edinburgh Zoo before being released in the Cairngorm mountains. Over the years the herd has grown substantially and there are now 150 Reindeer, most freely roaming the Cairngorm mountain range. They aren’t wild, every Reindeer has been named and a close eye is kept on them but they are mostly free to go where they want. If you go to the town of Aviemore you can visit the Reindeer Centre and take an organised hill trip up to the mountains to feed the reindeer who may even eat out of your hands!  It’s a wonderful experience to see these animals up close in their own environment.

Some interesting facts about reindeer, they have 2 layers of fur to keep them warm and very wide hooves which are a bit like snow shoes and stop them from sinking into the snow.  Both male and female reindeers can grow antlers and they can easily find food under the snow by using their hooves. They mostly eat grasses, moss shrubs and trees. In winter it’s mostly lichen.

Some of the reindeer have been trained to pull sleighs and they occasionally travel around the country in the run up to Christmas.  As well as visiting the reindeer in their natural habitat you can also adopt one.  For a small fee you can help support the work of the Reindeer Centre, run mostly by volunteers and receive regular updates on how your reindeer and the herd are doing. There are more than a 1000 supporters from all over the world.  I hope you get a chance to visit these magnificent creatures one day. Thanks for listening.

At this time of year I’m always thinking about the seaside. There’s nothing better than a day by the sea, especially a summer’s day. In this episode I want to share some of my favourite Scottish seaside towns. So pack up your buckets and spades and let’s head off.Let’s start with Largs on the Clyde Coast.  This town has lots of happy memories for me as I went there often as a child. From Glasgow it’s a lovely drive down the coast which we sometimes jokingly refer to as the Costa Del Clyde. This town has a lovely promenade along the front with amusements and kids rides in summertime. There’s also a Viking museum - Vikingar where you can learn more about the history of the Vikings in Scotland. If you fancy an ice cream you’ll be spoiled for choice but if you want a treat, head over to the Art Deco building, home to the famous Nardinis. This cafe boasts 32 different flavours of Ice cream and I can highly recommend their ice cream sundaes. It’s not cheap but definitely worth the money.  If you’ve got time you can catch the ferry over to the Isle of Cumbrae, which many people cycle around, there are places to hire bikes or you can take your own. If that sounds too energetic then you can relax on the sandy beaches there and kids will love Crocodile Rock, just as it sounds, this is a rock painted to look like a crocodile. For me one of the best things about Largs is that I feel like I’m on holiday when I’m there, it’s got that kind of chilled out vibe. Another wonderful town is St Andrews. It’s got everything going for it. West Sands beach is around 2 miles long where they filmed the opening scenes of the movie, Chariots of Fire, there’s also East Sands beach which is popular for water sports like surfing and kayaking. St Andrews is also home to Scotland’s oldest university dating from 1413 as well as a castle where you can go down into the underground dungeons and a ruined cathedral dating from the 12 century which was the largest building in Scotland for 7 centuries. Add in great shopping and of course it’s a golfer’s paradise. The Old course at St Andrews links is right in town and is where the game of golf was first played 600 years ago. It’s so easy to walk around this town and there really is something for everyone here which is why it attracts visitors from far and wide. I love the fact it’s so cosmopolitan. We’re back on the west coast for my final favourite seaside town, Oban I think I’ve mentioned before how much I love the islands here.  Well, Oban is known as the gateway to the isles with ferries to islands like Mull, Barra etc. The only difficulty is deciding where to go!  More recently it’s become known as the Seafood capital of Scotland and you’ll find a huge variety of top quality fish and shellfish here including oysters, mussels, langoustines, prawns, scallops, mackerel and haddock to name a few. There are some lovely hotels all along the seafront with great sea views and a lovely esplanade which stretches for miles or you can hang out at the harbour watching the ferries coming and going and fishermen bringing home their catch. You can check out Oban whisky distillery in the centre of town or climb up to McCaig’s Tower, this was meant to be an art gallery but was never completed. Some people say it looks a bit like a miniature colosseum. There are amazing views from here over the water to the Isle of Mull. Even if you don’t plan on visiting an island, there’s lots to see and do around Oban so it’s well worth staying a few days. There isn’t much of a beach in town but the panoramic views and lively atmosphere more than make up for it. What about swimming, you may ask?  Well you can swim in the sea and some people do, especially in the summer but the water is usually freezing so I’m usually content with a paddle and a stroll along the sand. we usually finish off a trip to the seaside with a takeaway fish supper best enjoyed while gazing out to sea! Thanks for listening.

The North Coast 500 is often referred to as Scotland’s equivalent to America’s route 66!  It’s a 500 mile round trip from our northernmost city, Inverness and takes you to the far north of Scotland and through the Northern highlands. It was created in 2014 by the North Highland Initiative, a non-profit organization as a way of boosting economic growth across the region. The NC500 is not a single road or highway like Route 66  but instead is a series of existing roads that form a loop. It's become a major tourism success story in Scotland with tens of thousands of people having already driven the route.  The Scenery includes rugged coastline, beaches,farmland, rivers, forests, lochs, and mountains. You’ll also see local wildlife such as deer, squirrels, birds of prey, seabirds, and sea life such as dolphins, whales and seals. There are plenty of sheep and highland cows as well as things to see and do along the way like castles, heritage sites, museums, spectacular beaches, whisky distilleries, breweries and much more. Spend at least 5 days on the route to give yourself time to enjoy the scenery and attractions along the way but you can do it in a few days.  The best time is in the summer months when attractions are open and roads are unlikely to be closed You can go in either direction, but if you are new to driving in Scotland then I recommend going anticlockwise and heading up to John O Groats first as the roads in this direction are easier to navigate and it means you are keeping some of the best scenery and worst driving conditions till last. The route will go past some spectacular coastal scenery, At John O Groats you can take photos next to the famous signpost with signs showing distances to various destinations or take a detour over to the Orkney Isles.  Heading round the coast will bring you to Thurso, our Northernmost town where there’s a great whisky distillery called Wolfburn, pretty good whisky. You come into areas deserted during the Highland clearances when tenants were forced off their land, many Scottish crofters emigrated to Canada and the United States. Make a stop in Durness to see the Smoo caves and indulge in some chocolate at Cocoa Mountain. It’s pretty windy round here but you’ll be hard pushed to find fresher air. You’ll be spoilt for choice scenery wise and  finally you’ll reach the town of Ullapool, gateway to the Outer Hebrides and a wonderful wee town with some great seafood restaurants. From Ullapool down to Applecross is where the driving gets a bit trickier with single track roads and some sharp bends, blind summits and the rest. There are plenty of opportunities to get off the beaten track, instagrammable photo opportunities at every turn and the views will truly take your breath away. So now for some driving etiquette, the roads in this part of Scotland can be quite narrow and winding so keep your speed down as you never know what will be around the corner!  There may be sheep or cows or even deer on the roads, a tractor or a cyclist.  Some parts of the NC 500 will be single track roads which means only 1 car can pass at a time the side of the road you will find passing places, usually marked by a black and white sign where you can pull over to let the car coming in the opposite direction pass by. The custom is that if you see a car approaching, you pull into the next passing place on your side of the road. If someone is coming uphill, you give them priority and passing places can also be used to let traffic overtake you especially if you are driving slowly to enjoy the scenery. If someone flashes their headlights at you, they are usually indicating that you can go first, and 1 final thing, it is customary to thank the other drivers for letting you pass by raising your hand Passing places are not parking places so don’t stop there to take photos, this could quickly block the road and the locals will be far from impressed. 

I’d like to tell you about one of our most famous dishes here in the UK, you’ve probably heard of it.  Fish and Chips. Basically this is battered fish, deep fried and served with fried potatoes.  I think this dish is popular all over the UK but I’d like to tell you the best way to enjoy it here in Scotland and a little about it’s history too. So let’s start with its origin, is it actually from Scotland or England? Well, there are conflicting reports so we can’t be sure, but it is believed that chips or fries as they are known in the United States date from 17th century France or Belgium.  The story goes that when rivers froze over in the winter time and nothing could be caught, enterprising housewives cut potatoes into fishy shapes and fried them as an alternative to fish. As for fried fish, it’s said that this was first introduced to the UK by Jewish refugees from Portugal and Spain.  We will never be certain who first thought to put the two together, some say it was a man called John Lees who sold fish and chips from a wooden hut in Lancashire in the North of England but others say the first fish and chip shop was opened in East London by Joseph Malin around 1860. So where was the first fish and chip shop in Scotland? Well the city of Dundee claims this honour, and apparently the first shop was run by a Belgian immigrant in the 1870s.  So that’s how it started but many would say it was the Italian community in Scotland that played a major role in popularising Fish and Chips. Many Italian immigrants opened fish and chip shops in Scotland from the 1890s onwards and to this day many fish and chip shops, especially around Glasgow, have Italian origins or are owned by Italian Scots. So what’s the best way to enjoy this national dish?  Well, most towns will have a fish and chip shop which we call a chippy.  Most of these chippys are takeaway This is the traditional way to enjoy the dish. but some do have limited seating areas. Lots of restaurants and pubs will have fish and chips on the menu but I’d highly recommend going to a chippy for a more authentic experience. Next you’ll need to know what to ask for.  We never ask for fish and chips in a chippy.  Fish with chips is called a fish supper,  if you would like fish on its own, this is called a single fish. Chippy fish is almost always battered haddock or cod.  If you want breadcrumbs instead this is a special fish. Now, when your order is ready, you’ll be asked “Salt and vinegar?”  If you are in the west of Scotland, if you are in Edinburgh though, it’s likely you’ll be asked “salt and sauce? The sauce is a mix of vinegar and brown sauce there.  It’s entirely up to you what you’d like to have. I’m not personally a fan of vinegar or sauce but many people are. You could also ask for ketchup if you wish and another sauce that’s often available is tartare. It’s also good to have a wedge of lemon for squeezing onto your fish. Your order will then be wrapped up in paper or placed in a box which seems to be more popular now.  These days if it’s wrapped in paper,  it’s plain paper, but when I was  child it was actually old newspaper they wrapped the food in! It’s then slapped down on the counter for you to takeaway, there’s another accompaniment you may wish to try: mushy peas, perhaps a bit of an acquired taste but extremely popular, so go on, be brave! So what to drink with your order?  I wonder if you’ve heard of Irn Bru?  That’s our famous homegrown soft drink, it’s bright orange in colour and goes amazingly well with a fish supper. I nearly always have this and you should definitely try it.  I’ll probably talk about this drink in more detail in a future episode. The best place to enjoy a chippy is by the seaside, and for us it’s the perfect way to end a day out, if the weather’s good we’ll sit at the seafront......  Thanks for listening.

Hi, it’s Jenni here with today’s episode which is all about accents, dialects and languages.  Do you know how many languages we have here in Scotland?  There are actually 4 official languages, the main language of course is English but we also have Gaelic, Scots and British sign language. In addition to that more than 170 languages are spoken in homes across Scotland which goes to show just how multicultural we’ve become here. So a little background on Gaelic and Scots, Gaelic is an ancient Celtic language spoken mostly in the highlands and islands though the number of speakers across Scotland is increasing.  Many road signs in Scotland are in both  English and Gaelic, there are Gaelic medium schools and a dedicated Gaelic tv channel too. Many students ask me if I can speak Gaelic but the answer I’m afraid is no, I’m a lowland Scot so I haven’t had much exposure to the language and only know a few words.The Scots language is dominant in the lowlands and is quite closely related to English. For years there were fierce debates about whether it was a language or a dialect, however, today the UK government recognises Scots as a regional language. Within the Scots language though there are several regional variations like Doric which is spoken in the North East of Scotland. I’ll talk about that a bit later on. Another thing students often tell me is that they worry about understanding people in Scotland,I’m often asked if it’s difficult to understand people here.  There’s no easy answer to this as accents vary across the country.  Take my hometown as an example: the city of  Glasgow and home to the Glaswegian accent Have a look on You Tube and you’ll find plenty of examples.  It’s regarded as quite a strong accent and in fact recent research has shown that the Glaswegian accent is the 2nd hardest accent in the UK for Amazon’s Alexa to understand. Clearly more training is required, on the other hand, it’s also been voted as one of the sexiest accents so you’ll need to make your own mind up about that! In case you’re interested, the hardest accent for Alexa to understand is actually the accent of Cardiff, Capital of Wales. Another fairly strong accent in Scotland is Doric, spoken in the North East.I came across Doric for the first time when I went to university there. At first I couldn’t understand what people were saying at all but I gradually got used to it. They tend to put the f sound at the beginning of wh words so for example, Fit like? Which is what like?  Which means how are you?  I really like the sounds of Doric and those who speak it are justifiably proud of their dialect.There’s even a Doric festival.! Not all accents in Scotland are strong though, take Inverness as an example, it’s often described as one of the clearest accents in the UK. While there’s nothing wrong with having a strong accent, I’ve got my mum to thank for ensuring I can switch from Glaswegian to what I suppose we can call standard Scottish English. While I was growing up she would encourage me to speak in a standard way. Maybe she knew I’d end up becoming an English teacher!  For example in Scotland we often say aye instead of yes but my mum would correct me, very annoying at the time but she was right and it means I haven’t had too many problems being understood wherever I’ve gone in the world. There have been plenty of times over the years when I’ve misunderstood someone because of an accent I’m not familiar with but one of the worst times was when I was working in Canada as a hotel receptionist.  We had a number of guests of various We had a number of guests of various nationalities staying with us including a group of German and Irish guests.  One day a lady approached me at the front desk and asked me a question. I thought she was speaking to me in German and politely told her that I was sorry but I didn’t speak any German....

May is whisky month in Scotland, an entire month dedicated  to celebrating all things whisky related and next Saturday the 15th of May is World Whisky Day so, in this episode I’m going to talk about three of my favourite whisky distilleries.  In a country full of whisky distilleries, there are actually more than 130 here,  it was quite a challenge to choose just three but here goes. The first distillery I’d like to tell you about is also Scotland’s oldest working distillery, dating back to 1775. It’s Glenturret Distillery in Perthshire.  I love the history here and the very friendly staff. The distillery is now owned by a Frenchluxury lifestyle company so some changes are being made which include a fancy restaurant and there’s also a great visitor centre with a  gift shop where you can bottle your own whisky and find a range of good quality Scottish gifts as well as a lovely cafe with comfortable seats and great coffee. Keep a look out for the distillery cats called perhaps a little unimaginatively, Glen and Turret.  Or even better, get your photo taken next to the statue of a World record breaker cat,  Touser the Mouser, a distillery cat who is said to have caught 28,899 mice during a 24 year reign! Apparently she lived so long as she had a wee dram of whisky added to her milk every night,  Pretty amazing, wouldn’t you say?Moving on,The island of Islay, also known as the  whisky island is the location of another favourite distillery of mine, Laphroaig has got to be one of my all time favourite whisky distilleries and it’s a favourite for many reasons. First of all,   There’s a lovely welcoming and relaxing atmosphere here. It’s also right next to the sea with the waves lapping at the distillery buildings. Inside there’s a free exhibition explaining a bit about the history including the fact that Laphroaig was the first distillery to be owned and run by a woman in the 20th century, Bessie Williamson. Bessie had visited Islay on holiday from Glasgow but ended up applying for a job as a shorthand typist at Laphroaig, she never returned to Glasgow eventually taking over the business in 1954. There are of course distillery tours you can go on and they have a wonderful loyalty programme where you can  become a friend of Laphroaig by buying a bottle which entitles you to a square foot of land across  the road from the distillery. You can print out your certificate showing the co-ordinates of your square foot, choose your country’s flag, borrow a pair of wellies and head off to claim your land.  After all that exertion, you can relax in the comfortable lounge while enjoying the view-  pure bliss! Don’t forget to claim your rental payment too– a miniature bottle of Laphroaig!Finally,I’d like to tell you about one of Scotland’s newer distilleries, Annandale in Dumfrieshire It opened in 2014 and the first ever whisky was released in November 2017.  Although it’s quite new, it has actually been the site of whisky production for many years and was a Johnny Walker distillery from 1886 until 1918.  It has been carefully restored and is well worth a visit. There’s even a special tour occasionally available where you can be taken around by the owner himself, David Thomson as well as the regular distillery tours.  We love the coffee shop with it’s beautiful wood interior and kids will love the Belted Galloway highchairs, The Belted Galloway is a famous black and white cow in this area,  there’s also a great gift shop specialising in “Made in Scotland”produce.So that’s it, my three favourite distilleries. As you can see whisky production has a long and interesting history so I hope that  you get the chance to visit one of our fascinating distilleries one day.  That’s all for this week, thanks for listening, see you next time.

This week, Scotland will be going to the polls, it’s election time and we will be heading to the polling station, that’s the place where we vote, to cast our vote for candidates and political parties to represent us in the Scottish Parliament. I want to tell you a little about how our government works.  You may be wondering what I’m talking about, after all Scotland is part of the United Kingdom so is there a different parliament? Well, since 1999 we have had our own Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. The head of the government is our First Minister and the Scottish parliament is where issues relating to Scotland are discussed and laws are made.  I think the system in the UK is kind of complicated but I’ll try to explain how it works.  Before I get into that I should say that Scotland had its own parliament from the 13th century till 1707 when the act of Union came into force and Scotland became part of the United Kingdom. So from that time until 1999 we did not have a parliament in Scotland at all. Well, the key concept is devolution, devolution is about transferring power from central government to local or regional governments. So in the UK, as you may know, we have the House of Commons in London which is the Central Government, often referred to as Westminster but we also have regional governments, called devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Different areas are handled by the devolved governments, for example, The Scottish Government, often referred to as Holyrood, can make laws regarding various matters concerning Scotland including education, health and transport.  These are called devolved matters. So for example, during the pandemic we and the other nations within the UK  have had slightly different rules on COVID restrictions and this is because health is a devolved issue. The Westminster parliament handles UK wide issues, issues affecting all 4 nations, such as Foreign policy, international trade, immigration and defence and these are called reserved matters.  Devolved administrations may have their own views on these but they cannot make their own laws regarding them at present. At Westminster we each have 1 elected representative we can raise issues with depending on which area we live in, these elected officials are called Members of Parliament or MPs for short.  So if I have for example an international trade related query, I can meet with my MP as this is a matter reserved for Westminster. However, if I have a query related to Education then I would meet with my MSP  because this is a devolved matter.  The difference is that where I have only 1 MP there are actually 8 MSPs I can raise my issue with! That’s because the voting system is a bit different here.  When we go to vote this week, we cast 2 votes.  1 is for a constituency MSP and the other vote is usually for a political party.  Constituency means local area and in Scotland we have 73 constituency MSPs  Votes are counted and the candidate with the highest number of votes within that constituency becomes the constituency MSP.  This is called the first past the post system. However the 2nd vote is for a party and this is calculated in a slightly different way, depending on the number of votes received, each party is allocated regional seats within a larger area.  This is a proportional system,this results in everyone in Scotland having access to 1 constituency MSP and 7 regional MSPs and you can choose who to go and speak to but if you do want to raise an issue it means you can be quite strategic about it, you can either raise it with the party you feel most closely aligned to or you can raise it with the party that cares most about that particular issue. Or you can hedge your bets and do both! A definite advantage if you wish to have your voice heard on an issue.  Thanks for listening, see you next time.

I think I first became interested in borders during my first trip abroad when we spent an enjoyable summer holiday crisscrossing the borders between Holland, France and Belgium. I was only 9 years old but I can clearly remember my excitement at crossing a border into the unknown. Fast forward to the present and I’m still fascinated by borders, taking any opportunity to cross one if I can. In this episode I’d like to talk about two very different border towns, on the border between England and Scotland.  You may be surprised to hear there is a marked border between 2 nations in the same country, there’s no checkpoint or anything like that but thanks to what’s usually a large sign or a flag, we always know where we are. Perhaps one of the reasons I like borders so much is because border towns are usually a bit different from others, sometimes they are a bit eccentric or quirky like Hay on Wye in Wales where one of the local residents actually declared himself king and the town independent in the 1970s, you can check this on Google if you don’t believe me!  Or perhaps they have their own identity quite distinctive from either side of the border they are on. Whichever way you look at it, border towns are interesting places, well worth spending a bit of time in and often with a fascinating story to tell. The first place I’d like to tell you about is Gretna Green, it’s the first town in Scotland or the last town in Scotland if you are heading south on the west coast. It has a population of around 2,700 but every year about 5000 weddings take place there.  It’s been a popular place for weddings since the 18th century thanks to a difference in the marriage laws between Scotland and England.  The 1754 Marriages Act prevented couples who were under the age of 21 in England and Wales getting married unless they had their parent’s permission. In Scotland this law did not apply so people began crossing the border so they could legally get married without needing permission. So Gretna Green became a very popular place for couples to elope to or in other words, to run away to get married, maybe even against their families wishes. Most weddings were conducted by blacksmiths and still today you can get married at the blacksmiths shop with services performed over a blacksmiths anvil. Is it romantic or tacky?  Opinion is divided but still today the wedding industry is thriving and people come from all over the world to get married at Gretna Green. Over on the East coast, just 2 and a half miles across the border into England lies the town of Berwick Upon Tweed.  This highly contested town was fought over by both sides for    many many years and in fact changed hands more than 13 times, finally becoming part of England in 1482.  What was so important about the town?  Well it was very important, trading with France and Belgium and one of the largest ports in the UK at one time. So extremely important economically for Scotland. Berwick Upon Tweed has always remained close to Scotland, the Berwick Rangers football club even today,  plays in a Scottish football league and in the town you’ll find a Scottish church, street names and Scottish banks. The river Tweed which flows through the town is also a Scottish river.  However, these days a third identity has emerged, that of Berwicker. Some people from the town no longer see themselves as Scottish or English but as Berwickers or natives of Berwick. With research showing that 25% of residents identify themselves as Scottish, 25% as English but 50% as Berwickers first and foremost. So maybe whether Berwick is part of Scotland or England doesn’t really matter. It’s a melting pot of both identities and most importantly, it’s an incredibly beautiful town to visit with a long and interesting history So if you do visit Scotland, make a stop at one of our border towns and delve into some of our most fascinating history.

I love adventures as you might have guessed from the name of this podcast so try to seek them out whenever I can. I have travelled to many different countries and experienced lots of things but one of my most enjoyable adventures happened right here in Scotland when I walked the West Highland Way. In  this episode I’d like to tell you about this famous walk. The West Highland Way is a very famous long distance walking trail that starts near my city, Glasgow. This walking trail goes all the way from the lowlands to the West Highland town of Fort William.  It is 96 miles (154km) long and takes around a week or so to walk although some people actually run it in around 35 hours!  Every year around 40,000 walkers of all ages, come from far and wide to complete the walk, many people love it so much they do it several times during their lifetime and this year the walk is proudly celebrating its 40th anniversary. The walk starts in the small town of Milngavie and the first section is relatively flat, taking you past small villages and rather conveniently, close to the Glengoyne whisky distillery where you can enjoy a dram of whisky and a tour of production! By day 2 you are in Loch Lomond national park, and the first hill climb, Conic hill provides breathtaking views. The walk continues along the banks of the loch, that’s our Scottish word for lake and this is one of my favourite parts of the whole walk as it’s fairly gentle and it’s always nice to be beside the water. Towards the northern part of the loch you can enjoy a wonderful waterfall and step back in time by stopping off for a drink at the Drovers Inn, an 18th century hotel and restaurant with an atmosphere like no other. Leaving the loch behind the scenery changes as you get closer to the mountains.  It’s another 28 miles to the next shop so this is one of the most remote parts of the walk with only dramatic scenery, other walkers and wildlife to keep you company. Finally, the welcoming lights of the Kings house hotel come into view and you’ve reached Glencoe where parts of James Bond’s Skyfall was filmed.  This remote hotel is another memorable moment of the walk for me, a truly wonderful location facing one of our most photographed and distinctive mountains, Buachaille Etive Mor. The final 2 days are the toughest of the whole walk, There’s more climbing to do from here as the walk climbs up to 550m before gradually descending again. During the final day of walking you can see the  UK’s highest mountain, Ben Nevis before arriving into the centre of the town of Fort William and the finish line. The scenery throughout is spectacular and ever changing as along the way you journey across mountains, past lochs (lakes) through glens, into forests and past waterfalls. It is a truly unforgettable trip but hard work! Along the way there are places to stay, campsites, hostels and hotels.  Some parts of the walk are quite busy and you can enjoy the company of other walkers but often you are alone and can enjoy the views and atmosphere in peace.  You can either carry your rucksack yourself or make use of a baggage delivery service which will drop off your bags at your next overnight stay.  I made good use of this service and it made a big difference not having to carry a heavy pack all day long. However, there are some annoyances, during the summer there can be a big problem with midges!  These insects are like mini mosquitoes and during some parts of the walk you have to wear protective netting over your face as there are so many of them all eager to bite you.  I've even seen people running to try to escape from them!  They don’t like windy weather but are especially active at dawn and dusk.  A good insect repellent will help to keep them at bay.  Getting to the finish felt like such an accomplishment and I can honestly say it's one of the best things I've ever done.