Douglas MacQueen's blog

On this day 31st January 1953 the coasts of northern Europe were facing one of the worst gales in living memory. It was on the morning of this day that a car ferry, The Princess Victoria, set out from Stranraer (Scottish Gaelic: An t-Sròn Reamhar) on the south-west coast of Scotland at 07.45 AM on a journey to Larne (Irish: Latharna) in the north-east of Ireland.

Shetland is an island group that lies to the north-east of Scotland. The islands are some 50 miles (80 km) to the northeast of Orkney and 170 miles (280 km) southeast of the Faroe Islands forming part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. In Lerwick, the capital of Scotland's Shetland Islands, a fire festival named Up Helly Aa is held every last Tuesday in January. Other smaller such festivals are also held on other parts of the Shetland Islands.

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) (Scottish Gaelic: Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba), is the agency that oversees over 300 sites of national importance. They include Scotland’s most noted Neolithic structures, castles, abbeys, and ruins. Now, for the first time, HES has issued red warnings for almost a fifth of its sites placing amber, high risk warnings against another 70%. 

Burning the clavie is an ancient Scottish custom. It is held on 11th January, which is the old Scottish New Year (Hogmanay) by the Julian Calendar. The event is still observed at Burghead (Scottish Gaelic: Am Broch), a fishing village on the Moray Firth (An Cuan Moireach). The clavie is a half-cask filled with wood shavings and tar, which is then  set alight. The flaming clavie is carried through the village and finally to a headland upon which stands the ruins of an altar, called the Doorie.

Museum of the  Moon is a seven-metre circumference art installation. Created by artist Luke Jerram, an installation artist, who creates sculptures, large installations and live arts projects, the moon is a stunning 1:500,000 scale replica. NASA provided the high resolution images for the sphere.

South Ronaldsay is one of the Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland. On January 12 1918 during awful weather conditions and a snowstorm, HMS Opal and Narborough ran aground off South Ronaldsay. Just one man survived and 188 sailors lost their lives in the tragedy. Some of the Opal’s crew were washed overboard, others were trapped in cabins and compartments unable to escape before the ship broke in two. The survivor, Gunner AB William Sissons, was from that ship. He managed to swim ashore and tried to scale the cliff and reach safety, but was to exhausted.

Inchinnan (Scottish Gaelic: Innis Fhionghain) is a village in Renfrewshire (Siorrachd Rinn Friù), in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is an area steeped in history and the name of the village is derived from a combination of the Gaelic word 'Innis', which an island or low-lying land near a river and the name of the 9th century Saint Inan.

Loch Carron (Scottish Gaelic: "Loch Carrann") is a sea loch in western Ross in the Scottish Highlands. It has now been discovered that it is home to an extensive bed of flame shells. Much larger than a similar feature in Loch Alsh (Loch Aillse) which been previously thought the biggest. Flame shells are a small, scallop-like species, which has numerous neon orange tentacles that emerge between the creatures' two shells. They group together on the sea bed and their nests create a living reef that supports numerous other species.

There is something special about living on an island, particularly one where the population density is kept under control. That's also the case in Scotland where a new study has shown that islanders have the best quality of life. Orkney, Shetland and the Outer Hebrides came in the top three respectively in a Bank of Scotland survey. A number of factors contributed to the result including including health, low pollution levels, employment, low crime rates, nature and wildlife, low population density and the beauty of the location.

A discovery of a second 4,000-year-old Bronze Age grave in Drumnadrochit is adding to already increasing evidence that this area of Scotland was a site of significant ceremonial importance in prehistoric times. The latest grave contained a decorated Beaker pot which archaeologists believe may have held an offering to the person who was buried in the cist (ancient coffin or burial chamber).