Scottish Blethers

The days are getting longer (if not warmer!) and colour is appearing in the garden. The dawn chorus wakens us in the morning and eggs are everywhere! It’s Easter - a time of religious observance for some and fun traditions and feasting for others. We look at some of the traditions associated with celebrating Easter in Scotland.

From its heyday in the Victorian era, the fortunes of Dundee declined as traditional industries were lost and employment became hard to find. We look at the post-war years and the efforts that were made to find success in light engineering. While there were many successes these too were doomed to failure and towards the end of the 20th C the city once again found itself on its uppers. However, Dundee is not known as the "City of Discovery" without reason. With typical resilience and optimism the city is rediscovering itself as a cultural centre and tourist destination with its mega-million pound Waterfront Regeneration Project, including the flagship V&A museum.

Over the next two episodes we take a look at the travel destination that is on everyone's lips at the moment - Dundee. Scotland's fourth largest city has not always been on the radar of overseas visitors planning a trip to Scotland but all that is changing as Dundee becomes HOT!

In this first episode we look at how the wealth of Dundee was generated and how that wealth is still visible in some of the grand buildings still standing today. From Royal burgh to Juteopolis we look at the city's development and the impact this has had on its social history. With both of us having roots in Dundee there's plenty of anecdote!

A recent cold spell, a country walk and reports of the largest snowball fight ever to take place in Scotland - all had us looking back to days gone by. We reflect on our school days and how we made our own entertainment in an era before the arrival of social media.

There’s no doubt about it - there are some weird and wonderful place names to be found across Scotland, while the pronunciation of others can leave visitors scratching their heads in puzzlement. In this episode, we discuss how place names are very much linked to the history of our nation.

The people you meet on a walk around Edinburgh.

In this episode we introduce you to some of the characters of the city through the statues that characterise the street architecture of the New Town. From Royalty to politicians, authors , scientists….. even a few beloved four legged friends.

blow the cobwebs away than a good walk. The Blethers are both fond of slipping on our boots and heading out for a wee saunter or a more strenuous hike that will have us peching (panting) with exertion! In this episode we take you on a few of our favourite routes.

Over the 600 years since shepherds hit a stone over sandy links with their crooks, St Andrews has been at the heart of the evolution of the game of golf. Rules were developed here, champions created and equipment advanced. Just like the pilgrims before them, today’s visitors come searching. To walk the hallowed turf, surround themselves with iconic images and pit their skills against one of the ultimate challenges in the game of golf.

In the week that we celebrate the day of Scotland’s Patron Saint, we take a look at the seaside town which bears his name. How it became a pilgrimage route, a centre of religious fervour and then home to the first of our universities, we discuss how this seaside town punches above its weight in terms of global recognition - must be the icecream!

As the guiding season comes to a close, and we swap whisper systems for

microphones, guidebooks for Google, we use the first couple of episodes of our new

series to reflect on the changing face of tourism in Scotland. In Episode 1 we

consider the importance of tourism to the Scottish economy, the devastating impact

of the Covid pandemic, and the bounce back that we’re now experiencing. We

consider the challenges of success and the move towards a greener, more

sustainable tourism sector for the future. As always there will be plenty of stories and

anecdotes from our travels throughout Scotland.