Love Scotland: Stories of Scotland's History and Nature

We’re rolling out the red carpet for this episode from the archives, first released in 2022. With Hollywood’s eyes on this weekend’s Academy Awards, take a dive into this cinematic history of Scotland’s relationship with the silver screen.

What was the first film to earn Scotland a place on the movie-making map? Which horror cult classic was shot in Dumfries and Galloway? And what famous Scottish film was filmed in LA because producers felt Scotland wasn’t Scottish enough?

Jackie is joined in the studio by film and TV critic Siobhan Synnot and NTS Film Manager Anna Rathban as they delve into some of the nation’s most influential movies, including the Harry Potter series, the James Bond classic Skyfall and Marvel’s Avengers franchise. Plus, Anna gives an insight into her behind-the-scenes access on major film sets.

To find out more about Trust properties and sites that have appeared on the silver screen, click here.

Next week, we revisit another 2022 episode, featuring a man who shot to success thanks to his leading role on a Scottish TV smash hit.

New episodes of Love Scotland will return later in 2024.

This week, we’re going all the way back to Roman times – an an episode first released in 2023 – to find out about the Antonine wall and why Scotland was ‘Rome’s Afghanistan’.

What led to the speedy evacuation of the Antonine wall, which was once garrisoned by thousands of Roman soldiers? What was Rome’s relationship with the lands beyond the wall really like? And just how did a small, stubborn nation see of a continental superpower?

To find out, Jackie visited the nation-spanning wall herself and then met Dr John Reid, author of The Eagle and the Bear: A New History of Roman Scotland, to get a deeper insight into this fractious period of history and its long-lasting legacy.

Next week, as the Oscars get under way in LA, we revisit Scotland’s relationship with the silver screen.

New episodes of Love Scotland will return later in 2024.

This week, we’re returning to one of our most popular episodes, which was first released in May 2022.

Jackie was joined by Dr Ciaran Jones, the lead researcher and author of a report on the links between NTS properties and the witch trials of the 16th-18th centuries.

Why did Scotland try to execute five times as many so-called witches as the rest of the Europe? What fuelled 4,000 people, the vast majority of them women, to be accused of witchcraft? Why were wires inserted into suspected witches? And what was it that finally drew this dark chapter of Scottish history to an end?

This episode looks at the dark past of witch trials – a story that may sound like it belongs in the history books – and the relevance they have to the way we live – and let live – today.

Next week, we go further back in time to find out more about the Roman invasion of Scotland.

New episodes of Love Scotland will return later in 2024.

Production is underway on the next full series of Love Scotland, but in the meantime, we’re diving into the archives to highlight five of the top episodes of all time.

This week, we’re returning to two episodes that – when combined – offer a full look at the Massacre of Glencoe. Some 332 years ago this week, around 30 members of Clan MacDonald were killed by Scottish government forces, many while they slept.

This tragic and bloodthirsty event was significant in Jacobean history and has had a long-lasting legacy.

To find out more, Jackie is joined by Derek Alexander, NTS Head of Archaeology, and Scott McCombie, senior ranger. To find out more about Glencoe, click here. 

Next week, we revisit another dark chapter in Scottish history: the witch trials.

New episodes of Love Scotland will return later in 2024.

As another series of Love Scotland draws to a close, Jackie gathers two companions to discuss the “song that everybody sings”: Auld Lang Syne. With lyrics penned by Robert Burns in 1788, but origins dating back further, it is now a global anthem of friendship, celebration, yearning and nostalgia. 

Mairi Campbell, a Scottish musician whose version of the song appeared in the Sex and the City film and who has since created a show inspired by Auld Lang Syne, is the first of Jackie’s two guests. Also joining the conversation is Professor Gerard Carruthers, Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Francis Hutcheson Chair of Scottish Literature at the University of Glasgow. 

With just a few weeks to go until people sing Auld Lang Syne on Hogmanay, Mairi and Gerard reveal their personal connections to the song and its words, how it came to international significance, and how it has evolved since its very early origins. 

To find out more about Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, click here.

Seals and other winter wildlife at St Abb’s Head

This week, Jackie makes a return to St Abb’s Head in the Scottish Borders, just months after she last visited to investigate the summer’s avian flu outbreak. In the winter, many of the seabirds may have disappeared – but there are still a lot to be found.

Joined once again by Head Ranger Ciaran Hatsell, Jackie spends some time getting to know the seal pups on the beach, two years after the population was devastated by Storm Arwen. She also finds out what has happened at St Abb’s Head since the flu outbreak, and how the seals signal the wider health of the local ecosystem.

Weather warning report by Alex Deakin courtesy of the Met Office.

To find out more about St Abb’s Head National Nature Reserve, click here.

While Charles Rennie Mackintosh has become a singular icon in Scottish art, his legacy is so almighty that in many accounts, the achievements and contributions of his wife, Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh, are often overlooked.

Described by Charles as being “more than half – she is three quarters – of all I’ve done”, Margaret’s artwork, and her place in the Glasgow art scene, deserve their own glory. In particular, Margaret’s involvement in the designing of the National Trust for Scotland’s property, the Hill House, gives us a key insight into her own unique artistic style and the importance of her contributions to Scottish architecture. 

This week, Jackie speaks to expert Robyne Calvert about Margaret’s life and legacy. 

To find out more about the Hill House, click here.

The National Trust for Scotland cares for a dozen Scottish castles, all of which have unique histories and origins. 

In this week’s episode, Jackie sits down with author Janet Brennan-Inglis, who also chairs the Trust’s Galloway group, to discuss some of these buildings and their influence on Scotland’s story. 

Janet also guides Jackie through the tale of MacGibbon and Ross, two architects who, in the 1880s, completed a comprehensive study of Scotland’s built heritage.

For more information on the Trust’s castles, and to get visitor information, click here.

For more information on Janet’s book, A Passion for Castles, click here.

The Case of Osgood Mackenzie

 This week, Jackie’s turning her attention to Inverewe Garden in the northwest highlands. A tropical oasis bolstered by the nearby gulfstream, it is a true jewel for lovers of all things floral.

However, its creator Osgood Mackenzie, the author of A Hundred Years in the Highlands, was left in the shade by a family court case that attracted much attention in the newspapers of the day. His wife, meanwhile, has been all but written out from history. The story of this period of Osgood’s life has been dramatised in a new play, which was performed at Inverewe this year. Rob Mackean, the playwright, joins Jackie to pick through the history of the garden and its one-time owner, whose life was as colourful as his flowers.

To find out more about Inverewe Garden, click here.

This week, Jackie is at Kellie Castle and Garden to find out about the Lorimers – a family of artists and creatives who once called the castle home. Led by James Lorimer, who first rented Kellie Castle in 1878, the family also included Sir Robert Lorimer, the architect behind many iconic structures including the Scottish National War Memorial, painter John Henry Lorimer and sculptor Hew Lorimer. Their story not only touches on some of the great artistic movements of the last 150 years, but also on Scotland’s story too. 

Kellie Castle itself was facing its downfall before the Lorimers arrived to pour time, money and love into its walls. Jackie discovers exactly what happened when the family moved there, with the help of property manager Caroline Hirst.

To find out more about Kellie Castle and Garden, visit the website.

To find out more about the Your Scotland campaign, please click here.