Category Archives: Scotland
Play Parkdean Holidays’ Home or Away Quiz to Win a Free Holiday
Parkdean Holidays, the UK’s number one holiday park operator, has just launched a fun “Home or Away” interactive quiz that features a selection of scenic photographs of beautiful holiday destinations around the world. All you have to do is identify … Continue reading
Cirque du Soleil Dralion UK Dates Announced (OneTravel)
Cirque du Soleil has announced that its signature production of Dralion will play four dates at the London O2 Arena from the 4th to the 8th of June. Dralion, which celebrates its 15th Anniversary, next year, last played to London … Continue reading
Christmas Festivities and More in Edinburgh (CheapOair)
Things are getting hot up north this winter with seasonal celebrations already underway in the great Scottish capital of Edinburgh. Here’s the scoop on how to make the most of a Yuletide visit to one of Europe’s most fun and … Continue reading
Whisky Wonderland – 2013 Jura Whisky Festival (City AM)
Waaaaaay back at the end of May I travelled up to the remote island of Jura to check out its annual Whisky Festival. This year’s event was even more worthy of red letters on the Jura calendar than usual, as the occasion marked 50th anniversary of the island’s distillery. Continue reading
Celebrate Halloween in Edinburgh (CheapOair)
Where better to spend a night of spooky merrymaking than in Edinburgh – purportedly the most haunted city in not just Scotland or the UK but the whole of Europe. From ghost stories to frightfully fun parties, here’s a roundup of some this great city’s best Halloween events and activities. Continue reading
Edfringe by @KemeyLafond
Here’s a participant’s perspective – with photos! – of this year’s Fringe from designer (and tikchris contributor) Kemey Lafond who shares insight from her first time working at Edinburgh’s world famous performing arts festival. Continue reading
Teroforma Whisky Stones + Jura Festival Edition 2013
Giving my Teroforma Whisky Stones a test run with a damn fine single malt and loving every last sip! Continue reading
Theatre Sneak Preview: Sincerely, Mr Toad
Keith Jack (Any Dream Will Do Finalist, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) leads a 12 strong cast in Sincerely, Mr Toad, a brand new musical from Sell A Door Theatre Company in association with Greenwich Theatre. The show explores the life of Kenneth Grahame, author of The Wind in the Willows, and looks at the tragic events that inspired the popular writer’s most famous work. Continue reading
Scottish Wildlife: Meet the Big Five (CheapOair)
2013 is the Year of Natural Scotland (according to VisitScotland anyway). With vast expansions of wilderness, any year’s a good one to make the most of one of the world’s most rugged and beautiful landscapes. To celebrate the best of natural Scotland, VisitScotland has teamed up with Scottish Natural Heritage to “showcase some of the country’s best loved wildlife” with a list of Scotland’s Big Five. Continue reading
Summer Fun at Scotland’s Loch Ness (CheapOair)
Looking to have a monstrously good time in Scotland this summer? Figuring out how to have fun around the famed Loch Ness doesn’t have to be a mystery. Here’s a look at the area’s line up of awesome festivals … Continue reading
The 2013 Islay Whisky Festival (OneTravel)
The Feis Ile is the Scottish island of Islay’s annual festival of “Malt and Music.” Held every year during the last week of May with an variety of activities and events across Islay as well as on the neighbouring island Jura, the Feis Ile is considered to be one of the most important events on any true whisky lover’s calendar. Continue reading
Google Hangout with Chef Marcello Tully and Great British Chefs
I had a lot of fun last Saturday “hanging out” with Chef Marcello Tully of the Kinloch Lodge on the Isle of Skye. The Great British Chefs Google Hangout in association with Tesco Real Food offered an up close and … Continue reading
How to Discover Your Scottish Ancestry (CheapOair)
Here’s a list of five great places throughout Scotland where you can delve into the local archives and learn about your family and clan’s history … Continue reading
Scotland Celebrates John Muir’s 175th Birthday (CheapOair)
This year marks the 175th anniversary of John Muir’s birth. For the occasion, Scotland has announced the first ever John Muir Day on his birthday, April 21st, to be celebrated with a range of events happening in Scotland’s National Nature Reserves and National Parks throughout the entire month. Continue reading
Follow Scotland’s Great Trails to Scenic Adventure (CheapOair)
The Scotland’s Great Trails network constitutes 23 well maintained trails across Scotland that are distinctively waymarked, largely off-road and offering opportunities to discover one the most world’s most beautiful and rugged landscapes and to experience Scottish history and culture firsthand. Continue reading
Kopi Coffee Club
So, when the folks at Kopi – an “exclusive monthly subscription coffee club that is passionate about premium taste and ethical sourcing” – dropped me a line to ask if I’d like to sample their coffee in exchange for review, I was keen … and maybe a little suspicious too. Gourmet, fair trade, luxury … these days there are so many endowments attached to the front of too otherwise straightforward words like coffee that descriptions such as “exclusive” and “premium” don’t necessarily mean anything anymore. Continue reading
Four Sweet Eateries for Edinburgh Lovers (CheapOair)
Lovebirds looking for a romantic restaurant in Edinburgh for Valentine’s Day are spoilt for choice. That is if they act fast to make a reservation. There are plenty of great places to enjoy a delicious meal in an intimate and elegant setting. Here’s a list of four brilliant Edinburgh eateries to visit with your sweetheart. Continue reading
Deeney’s “Macbeth” Haggis Sandwich (Great British Chefs)
I love haggis. It’s one of the most savoury dishes I can think of and a true winter warmer. The blend of hearty oats, black pepper and, well, all those other ingredients that make haggis so infamously reviled among the squeamish add up to a flavoursome experience that’s unparalleled. And I’m not just hitting you over the head with a hyperbole stick either. Haggis really is one of my favourite foods. So when I heard about a haggis toastie (and that the Evening Standard had claimed it to be London’s best new sandwich) being sold just down the street from where I live, I was clicking my heals to the tune of Auld Lang Syne keen for a glimpse of this glorious sight warm-reekin! Continue reading
Shetland Night in London (Great British Chefs)
Shetland Night in London was the brainchild of Shetland native, Helen Nisbet. As so many of us Londoners can relate, Helen loves her life in London but misses the charms of life ‘back home’. The day after the dinner, I … Continue reading
Save Money and Gain Control with British Gas Smart Meters
Winter doesn’t officially begin until 21 December. But I’m wondering if Mother Nature got all her Christmas shopping done early this year because it is already so bitterly cold out there! Grrr … I love this time of year to … Continue reading
Dubh Prais: Traditional Scottish Cooking on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile (CheapOair)
Located in the heart of the Royal Mile, Dubh Prais offers a hearty helping of welcoming Scottish character and, despite its tourist laden locale, has an authentically homey and off-the-beaten track feel to it. Read my complete post at the … Continue reading
The Scots Fiddle Festival, Edinburgh (CheapOair)
The UK’s biggest fiddle festival and one of Europe’s leading events in its field is back for a 17th consecutive go at bringing the world’s best fiddle players and fans together for a full weekend of “all things fiddle.” Read … Continue reading
Visiting Mackintosh’s Glasgow (CheapOair)
Here’s a list of Mackintosh’s buildings in his home city … all well worth a visit. Read my complete post at the CheapOair blog. Photo/dalbera
Help Out the British Red Cross
Your Guide to Glasgow’s Museums (OneTravel)
Got plans to visit Glasgow? You will after reading this comprehensive list of all its great museums in this compact and culturally rich city … Read my complete post at the OneTravel blog. Photo/dalbera
Win a Free Case of Carling Beer + a Three Foot Limited Edition Graffiti Kings Print
Want a case of beer and a limited edition print made by the Graffiti Kings? Well, Carling wants to send one of my readers some free beer along with a specially commissioned three foot screen print on high quality canvas. … Continue reading
Edinburgh Fringe Festival (CheapOair)
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the largest arts festival in the world. It takes place every August over three weeks in, yep you guessed it, Edinburgh. Read my complete post at the CheapOair blog. Photo/Shadowgate
Get Out of Town and Visit a Park Resort
As much as I love jetting off to exotic destinations, I’ve come to dread queueing up at airports and sometimes I come back from a trip abroad more exhausted than I was before I left. Don’t get me wrong – … Continue reading
Create the Next Great British Chocolate and Win a Year’s Worth of Thornton’s Chocolate
In search of the “next great chocolate flavour,” British chocolate brand Thorntons, has launched a Great Chocolate Britain Chosen By You competition. Thorntons is looking for chocolate creations from across the whole country. What chocolate flavour do you think would best represent Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Northwest, … Continue reading
Festival Promenade Promises August of Art and Fun in Edinburgh (OneTravel)
The inspiration behind the launch of Festival Promenade comes from a quote about Edinburgh by Scottish novelist and poet, Robert Louis Stevenson: This profusion of eccentricities, this dream in masonry and living rock, is not a drop-scene in a theatre, but … Continue reading
An Edinburgh Brasserie Where it’s an Honour to Dine (CheapOair)
The thoughtful menu alone makes The Honours well worth a visit. However, it should be noted that the elegant art deco feel of the restaurant, along with some of the most impeccably gracious service you’ll probably ever come across in … Continue reading
Exploring Leith, the Port of Edinburgh (CheapOair)
Visitors to this little slice of historic waterfront Scotland experience what might best be summed up as a microcosm of 21st century Britain. Exploring Leith, the Port of Edinburgh CheapOair, 3 May 2012
Get Work Related Qualifications at Your Own Time and Pace
BTECs are vocational and work-related qualifications undertaken in vocational subjects ranging from Business studies to Engineering. BTECs are equivalent to other qualifications such as the GCSE (levels 1 to 2), A Level (level 3) and university degrees (levels 4 to 7) and are designed to accommodate the needs of employers … Continue reading