Scotland

Ancient Builders May Have Schlepped Stonehenge’s Altar Stone All the Way From Scotland

Fragments of the Altar Stone are geologically different from the others at Stonehenge, but similar to those found hundreds of miles away, according to new research.

Mysterious Stone Balls Found in Deteriorating Scottish Tomb

Dating back some 5,500 years, the polished stone balls could’ve been used as weapons.

The Queen Really Hates Harry and Meghan’s Kid

The royal family is one of the largest landowners in the country. But apparently it doesn't want that land affected by climate legislation.

Google Maps Provided Users With a ‘Potentially Fatal’ Hiking Trail on This Mountain

Google is updating its driving routes to take people to the mountain's visitor center, where they can speak with staff about the best trail to take.

Scotland Is on Track to Hit 100 Percent Renewable Energy This Year, Slàinte Mhath!

United Nations scientists have warned that most countries are on track to totally botch the climate goals needed to curb catastrophic global warming. But there’s at least one bright spot. Scotland is on track to move its energy sector to 100 percent renewables by t he end of this year. That’s just in time to…

The Scots Language Translation of Harry Potter Is the Most Scottish Thing Ever

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels have been translated into dozens of different languages, allowing for fans of witchcraft and wizardry from across the globe to get in on the magical adventure. But there is perhaps no translation quite as fascinating as the latest addition: Scots. Thanks to Matthew Fitt, Harry Potter and the Philospher’s Stone…

Outlander Missed an Important Moment in Its Season Premiere

Time-traveling kilt romance series Outlander came back for a solid season three premiere last night, tying up loose ends at the Battle of Culloden and featuring some major character deaths. But it seems as though Starz’s contender for nabbing Game of Thrones’ audience suffers from the same pacing issues that plagued Westeros’ most recent season.…

This 3,000-Year-Old Bronze Age Sword Is Absolutely Incredible

In what archaeologists are calling the “find of a lifetime,” a horde of Late Bronze Age weapons has been discovered at a Scottish construction site. Among the items found is a gold-decorated spearhead, and a 3,000-year-old bronze sword in remarkably good condition. The artifacts were found during an archaeological evaluation on a field in Carnoustie,…

A 17,000-Ton Oil Rig Ran Aground on a Beach

Stormy weather caused the Transocean Winner, a 17,000 ton oil rig, to break free of the tug line that was pulling it out to sea. A few hours later, it ran aground on a Scottish beach. Fortunately, the tug boat had been hauling the Transocean Winner to a scrapyard, so the rig was empty when…

Scotland Will Soon Get the World’s Biggest Floating Offshore Windfarm

Congratulations, kilt-wearers, and descendants of William Wallace! Your country’s seas are about to become the proud guardians of the world’s largest floating wind farm. The Guardian reports that Norwegian company Statoil has been awarded a seabed lease for construction of its Hywind Scotland wind farm, which is set to go float roughly 15 miles off…

Hundreds of Dinosaur Footprints Found in a Scottish Lagoon

A team of researchers has happened upon several hundred footprints left by Middle Jurassic dinosaurs at a coastal lagoon in Scotland. The footprintsmeasure around 70 centimetres across, which is larger than those that would have been left by T. Rex, and date back around 170 million years. In fact, the team that discovered the prints…

Watch the Spectacular Demolition of a Power Station’s Huge Chimneys

The controlled demolition of old buildings is always a fun thing to watch, especially when demolition experts do extremely accurate math in order to bring down huge structures. Just like in the case of the coal-fired Cockenzie power station in East Lothian, Scotland. Cockenzie’s 487 feet (149 meters) tall iconic chimneys were demolished on Saturday…

Scottish Exhibit Unveils Odd Memento Of 19th Century Serial-Killer Duo

A special University of Edinburgh exhibit offers a chance to view one of the library’s most bizarre and fascinating artifacts: a letter, stashed in a Victorian-era scrapbook, written in the blood of William Burke — half of the murdering-for-profit duo commonly referred to as Burke and Hare. The scrapbook was thought to be kept by…

The Ethereal Beauty of Scotland’s Fingal’s Cave

Fingal’s Cave is on the uninhabited island of Staffa, in Scotland’s Inner Hebrides. Its unique beauty is the result of Paleocene lava flow, and the cave inspired, among others, Felix Mendelssohn, Jules Verne, John Keats, August Strindberg, and Pink Floyd. Image Credit: Fingal’s Cave Staffa by dun_deagh/flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0 The name itself is derived from…

Man Claims Boat Collision Proves Existence Of Loch Ness Monster

A man who once rented boats on Loch Ness has come forward, claiming that “flesh and black skin an inch thick” was found clinging to one of his vessels after a tragic collision with an unknown object. Alas, there’s no proof, since the incident happened nearly 40 years ago. Still, that hasn’t stopped Stanley Roberts…

It’s Mel Gibson’s Birthday, Let’s All Watch Braveheart

Today is Mel Gibson’s 59th birthday! Happy Birthday Mel. 2014 was also the year that Scotland decided it didn’t want FREEDOM after all. As such, Braveheart, directed by and starring Gibson, is quite clearly the ideal film to be watching tonight. In case you haven’t seen it before, Braveheart is an “epic historical medieval war…

What’s the Loch Ness Monster been up to lately? Being mistaken for “fallen trees and branches from a woodland,” apparently. Hang in there, Nessie. You’ve fooled ’em this long — don’t give up the game yet!

I’m not sure bike rides can be more epic than through the Isle of Skye

There have probably been mountain bike rides that have been more intense than Danny Macaskill’s tour through the Isle of Skye in Scotland and perhaps there have been a few rides slightly more beautiful of his ride on the Cuillin Ridgeline but I can’t imagine any feeling more epic than this. It is stunning. To…

Scottish SF Author Ken MacLeod Talks About the Referendum (He’s a No)

This is a fascinating conversation between Scottish SF author Ken MacLeod (Intrusion, The Execution Channel) and British historian Francis Spufford, which took place just a couple of weeks before last night’s historic vote on Scottish independence. MacLeod talks here about his background as a leftist, and why he wants the keep the Union together. He…

What Europe Will Look Like If Its Separatists Get Their Way

As Scottish voters head to the polls in its historic referendum, the European Free Alliance has put together this map showing what would happen if every single separatist movement managed to break free. Don’t laugh — as the New York Times reported earlier this week, Scotland’s vote could rekindle other separatist movements. The European Free…