Scotland's History

This is the history of the Burns Supper in Scotland, and beyond, and the traditions that go with it.

The body of a young boy washed up on the shore at Tayport in Fife in 1971. He has never been identified. This is his story.

Maggie Dickson went to the gallows in Edinburgh. This is the story of how she survived.

At Cowden in Clackmannanshire, Ella Christie established a Japanese Garden in the early 20th century which can still be seen today.

An arm was found on the foreshore at Torry, Aberdeen in December 1945. Identified as Betty Hadden, no-one had been charged with her murder and the case remains unsolved.

Major Thomas Weir and his sister were accused of sorcery in 17th century Edinburgh. Both were arrested and tried in 1670 and it is said strange noises can still be heard near to where their house once stood.

This is the story of Dr Edward William Pritchard who poisoned his mother-in-law and his wife in Victorian Glasgow.

In this second podcast in the Highland Folk Tales series, I re-tell the stories of Heather Ale, The Ardgay Ghost, The Golden Bridge at Dornoch, the Goblin of Rangag, The Golspie Ghost and the Lairg Minister.

In this first podcast of Scottish folk tales from the Highlands, I re-tell the stories of the Wick Fairies, the Duncansby Seal Killer, the Ghost of Ardvreck, Meg, John and the Fairies, the Sailor Ghost of Oldshoremore, the Kylesku Ghost and the Lairg Kelpie.

Robert Burns was born in a small cottage in Alloway in Ayrshire on 25th January 1759, becoming a prolific poet and songwriter whose work remains an important part of Scotland's heritage. Five years after his death in 1796, friends gathered and ate haggis and drank whisky in his honour. This developed into the Burns Supper, held on Burns Night, 25th January every year not just in Scotland but worldwide. This is the story behind the event.