The Journal of The Scots Heritage Society 

Published May 2006.

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REGULARS

4       Editorial

6       Letters to the Editor

8       SCOTS Q & A - find the answers to those elusive questions.

102   SCOTS Fare – Jamie Thewes

106   SCOTS Music – Steve Byrne 

112   SCOTS Music Reviews - Pete Clark  

114   SCOTS Book Reviews - Seumas MacLeod  

116   Caledonian Calendar

117   Clans and Societies

122   SCOTS SHOWCASE

FEATURES

10  LANDSCAPES OF SCOTLAND

The brilliant Scottish landscape photographer, Sir Malcolm MacGregor of MacGregor, has created a magnificent Limited Edition portfolio of stunning high quality images which capture the lonely beauty of Scotland's wild places.  SCOTS Editor Susan Cromarty reports. 

28 CHARTING SCOTLAND

The world's earliest map makers believed Scotland to be an island populated by tattoed savages located at the very fringes of civilisation.  American businessman John Hyams has been collecting historic maps of Scotland for the past 15 years and now his collection of over 100 maps, charts anbd atlases is being offered for sale.  

34  HIGHLAND LASSIE

The rugged grandeur of Caithness and Sutherland has a starring role in the latest remake of the cinema classic, Lassie.  Iain Gunn spoke with the film's Director Charles Sturridge. 

36  LOCH NESS 

For more than half a century, Katherine Stewart lived and worked on a picturesque hill croft overlooking Loch Ness.  There, she and her husband Sam spent much of their time in careful observation listening to the recollections of the Gaelic speaking Highlanders, recording the Loch's history, and writing about the subtle beauty of one of Scotland's most famous waterways.  

42  CASTLES OF SCOTLAND

Christopher Tabraham continues his features series on the Castles of Scotland.

50  THE EDINBURGH ACADEMY

The Greek exhortation Always Excel is boldly inscribed across the Doric pediment of The Edinburgh Academy's Assembly Hall.  The motto reminds students and staff alike of the lofty ideals which inspired the founding fathers when they resolved to establish the Academy at Inverleith in 1822.  The Edinburgh Academy is today one of the best private schools in Scotland. 

58  MASTERPIECE: THE ART OF ALISON WATT

Alison Watt is one of the most important painters to emerge from Scotland in the last decade.  Currently Painter in Residence at the National Gallery in London, she spoke with Bruce Stannard.

64  SHETLAND'S ARK 

Shetland is home to some of Scotland's rarest and most endangered domesticated native animals.  Their survival, in the most remote of the British Isles, is in large measure due to the unending patience and care shown by a truly remarkable couple, Tommy and Mary Isbister.

70  COMING HOME TO COLL

The islands of the Inner Hebrides exert and almost magical influence on the hearts and minds of natives and visitors alike.  Artist and writer Mairi Hedderwick knows this better than most.  fallen under the romantic spell of the Isle of Coll nearly 50 years ago, she has just returned to settle down for a third and final time.   

78   THE DROVER PROJECT

In the 17th and 18th centuries cattle and later sheep represented practically the only cash crop produced in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.  It was to realise this wealth that "the ancient art and science of droving" assumed such importance.  The role of the Highland drovers is to be recognised in an imaginative memorial to be based in Dingwall, Ross and Cromarty. 

88  DUNTRUNE

Duntrune Castle stands in splendid isolation on its own rocky peninsular commanding what was, in the Middle Ages, an important sea route from the Outer Hebrides to the Central Highlands via Loch Awe.  Duntrune is one of the smallest castles in Scotland, but it is also one of the most colourful.