This week, Jackie Bird is in Culloden to join the team of archaeologists hoping to unlock more of the battlefield’s historic secrets. With the National Trust for Scotland’s Head of Archaeology Derek Alexander, Jackie discovers how modern techniques are helping to unearth musket balls, coins and buttons. Though the battle on 16 April 1746 may have lasted just a short time, it was hugely consequential and new elements of its story continue to be discovered through archaeological digs. Find...

When we think of a queen of Scots, Mary is very much the first one who comes to mind. But her grandmother, Margaret Tudor, played an equally crucial role in 16th-century Scotland. Here, her story is told. Linda Porter, author of The Thistle and the Rose, which tells the story of this overlooked historical figure, joins Jackie to discuss the life and legacy of Henry VIII’s sister. From a young pawn to a powerful and protective queen, Margaret certainly made her impact on history.  To enjoy...

The idea of Scotland being caught up in the story of the Spanish Armada may seem bizarre, and yet wrecked off Fair Isle is one of the Spanish fleet’s flagship vessels. How did this 650-ton ship come to end up in the North Sea? And how do the activities of the Armada relate to, among others, Mary, Queen of Scots? Jackie Bird is on a mission to find out.  This year marks 70 years since the National Trust for Scotland acquired Fair Isle, the most remote inhabited island in the UK. While now...

The Wicker Man is widely regarded as one of the best British horror films of all time. The strange tale of Sergeant Neil Howie’s doomed trip to Summerisle has cemented itself in popular culture since the film’s 1973 release, and with it, immortalised several of the National Trust for Scotland’s places on screen. Joining Jackie Bird to dissect this cult classic’s enduring popularity are film critic Siobhan Synnot and actor Lesley Mackie, who appeared in the original cast as Daisy. Together,...

Sculptor Andy Scott, the creator of the iconic Kelpies, joins Jackie Bird to discuss his incredible work, Scotland’s position in the art world, and his aspirations for the future.  Together, they talk about the physical demands of working on such large pieces of metalwork, the catharsis of sculpting, and how his Scottish identity influences his creations and his process. The Glasgow School of Art-graduate also speaks about his long-time affection for Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret...

This week, host Jackie Bird is at Robert Smail’s Print Works in the Scottish Borders to see the oldest working commercial letterpress printers in the UK. She meets the team that keeps the printing works running today and hears about the history of the press and its eponymous owner. Jackie also discovers secrets of the ever-changing publishing industry of the Victorian era, unpicks the mechanisms behind the presses, and takes us on a tour right into the heart of the machinery.  To enjoy...

We all know the songs and poems written by one of Scotland’s most famous sons – but who were the people that most influenced his life and his writing? Host Jackie Bird is on a mission to find out. This week, she’s joined by Christoper Waddell, learning manager at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, and Professor Gerard Carruthers, Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and Francis Hutcheson Chair of Scottish Literature at the University of Glasgow. Together, they look at poets, family...

How do you restore a 200-year-old church on one of Scotland’s most remote islands? Jackie Bird sits down with Susan Bain, property manager of St Kilda, to find out.   A dual UNESCO World Heritage Site that sits on the edge of the Atlantic, St Kilda is vital to Scottish history but a big challenge for the Trust to care for properly. Once inhabited year-round by a civilian population, the island now hosts annual maintenance, archaeology, conservation and bird monitoring projects. This year,...

Meet Hugh Miller: the man regarded as the David Attenborough of his day. Though often overlooked in the history books, this self-taught geologist helped to popularise natural history to his Victorian audience.  What did he help to discover about prehistoric Scotland? How were his scientific findings viewed by his peers? And why has he not remained better known?  Joining Jackie Bird this week is James Ryan, visitor services assistant at Hugh Miller’s Birthplace Cottage and Museum in...

As the Edinburgh Festival Fringe gets into full swing, Jackie Bird takes a walk from Gladstone’s Land along the Royal Mile to discover the dark side of this city centre street.  Guiding Jackie through the murky past is Eric Melvin, veteran tour guide and author of A Walk Down Edinburgh’s Royal Mile. Expect tales of body-snatching, the exploits of Deacon Brodie, and rumoured Jacobite-era cannonball scars.   To enjoy more episodes of Love Scotland, please follow or subscribe wherever you...

Whether you’re out every week hitting the links, or consider golf a good walk spoiled, the sport is undeniably a key ingredient in Scotland’s social tapestry.  At Kingarrock Hickory Golf Course, the only remaining course of its kind in the UK, Jackie meets Dave Allan, visitor services assistant at the Hill of Tarvit venue. She also meets Hannah Fleming, learning and access curator at The R&A World Golf Museum, to find out how and why golf became so popular. From its royal roots...

Recorded in Falkland Palace’s chapel royal, host Jackie Bird and her guest Steven Veerapen discuss the adult life and legacy of James VI of Scotland and I of England. During his reign, the king faced a host of challenges, from religious tensions to anti-Scottish sentiment in his London court, not to mention Guy Fawkes’ gunpowder plot.  Veerapen’s book, The Wisest Fool, challenges the varied perceptions of James as an ineffective or short-sighted monarch. What really motivated the first king...

How many have you bagged? Mountaineers and hikers from across the UK and beyond have flocked to Scotland to take on the Munros – Scottish peaks more than 3,000 feet high – ever since the list of such mountains was created by Sir Hugh Munro in 1891. The National Trust for Scotland cares for 46 of these Munros, including Ben Lomond, Ben Lawers, Ben Macdui and Torridon’s Spidean a’Choire Léith. Jackie Bird sits down with Andrew Dempster, author of The Munros: A History, to trace the...

In 1941, cargo ship the SS Politician ran aground near Eriskay, an island in the Hebrides. On board? Some 22,000 cases of whisky. What followed has been immortalised on page and screen in Whisky Galore, a retelling of how local islanders made the most of the unexpected arrival of so much alcohol, and how the authorities tried to stop them.  But what really happened? Jackie Bird is joined by journalist Roger Hutchinson, author of Polly, The True Story Behind Whisky Galore, to discover the...

Host Jackie Bird is joined by curator Antonia Laurence-Allan and historian Sally Tuckett to discuss all things 18th-century fashion. Recorded inside the Georgian House, just days before the exhibition Ramsay & Edinburgh Fashion opened its doors, the trio talk about the artist Allan Ramsay and the women behind the paintings. What was life like for someone at the centre of the Scottish Enlightenment? Who were his patrons? And what do his paintings tell us about the role of fashion among...

Joining Jackie this week is Tom Conti, the Paisley-born actor best known for his roles on stage and screen, including 1978’s Whose Life Is It Anyway and 2023’s Oppenheimer. The recipient of Tony and Olivier award, Tom was also named the 2024 Great Scot by the National Trust for Scotland Foundation USA earlier this year. In his conversation with Jackie, Tom reflects on his hugely successful career and his love of Scotland. Whether in smaller appearances in cult classics, such as Friends and...

Earlier this year, the National Trust for Scotland revealed that a Second World War plane propeller had been found on Arran. Mysteriously, the propeller was wrapped in an old potato sack and had been discovered deep in a peat bog. How did it get there? The Trust’s Head of Archaeology, Derek Alexander, led an investigation to find out. He joins Jackie in the studio to discuss the surprisingly high number of wartime plane crashes and tragedies in Scotland, and the particular circumstances of...

Earlier this year, Mackintosh at the Willow – a tea room on Glasgow’s Sauchiehall Street that dates back to 1903 – joined the National Trust for Scotland’s portfolio of special places. To better understand the venue and the role it played in Edwardian Glasgow, Jackie sits down for a cup of tea with two expert guests. Celia Sinclair Thornqvist MBE, who purchased, saved and restored Mackintosh at the Willow in 2014, is joined by cultural historian Robyne Calvert to reveal the hidden stories...

This week, Jackie and her guest discuss six objects in the Trust’s collections that help to tell the stories of some of the most fascinating women connected to Trust places. Regional curators Emma Inglis and Antonia Laurence-Allen help to paint a picture of these six women, whose lives and jobs range from being an ale-brewer in 1600s Edinburgh to the daughter of an earl in Clackmannanshire. What does a job application from 1910 tell us about the changing world of work at the turn of the...

So far this series we’ve looked at two of Scotland’s most famous monarchs: Robert the Bruce and Mary, Queen of Scots. Today, we step back further in time to meet the rulers whose names have become more forgotten to time. Helping Jackie to acquaint herself with the earliest kings and queens of Scotland is Richard Oram, a professor of medieval and environmental history at Stirling University. Together, they piece together a picture of the most significant crown-wearers leading up to Robert...

Arguably the most famous monarch in Scottish history, Mary, Queen of Scots remains a figure of global intrigue more than 400 years after her death. One question, then: why? In a previous episode of Love Scotland, Jackie explored the life and times of Mary. Today, she’s on a mission to find out why Mary’s story and legacy have been pored over in such detail for centuries. Joining Jackie in the studio is Professor Steven Reid of the University of Glasgow, who is also the author of The...

In the second part of a two-episode biography of Robert the Bruce’s life, Jackie returns to the studio with Professor Dauvit Broun of the University of Glasgow. Last week, we looked at the early life of Robert and how his canny abilities, not to mention his tendency to switch allegiance at opportune moments, helped him to secure power. But what came next? Picking up their conversation in 1306, when Scotland has been conquered by Edward I of England and Robert faces a tussle for power with...

Welcome to a new series of Love Scotland. In this week’s episode, Jackie is joined by Professor Dauvit Broun of the University of Glasgow to discuss the life of Robert the Bruce.  Robert, King of Scots from 1306-1329, led a fascinating life full of changing allegiances, shifting power and military victories.  How much of our common understanding of this Scottish ruler is based in fact? What motivated him to switch sides, on several occasions, in the wars of the 13th and 14th centuries?...

Jackie gives a brief introduction to brand-new season of the Love Scotland podcast. We're going across the centuries to delve into the stories of Mary Queen of Scots and Robert the Bruce, then skipping ahead to the tales of the Georgian Tea Room. Jackie also hears from the Trust's archaeology team about wartime relics beind unearthed across the country.