Scotland Accommodation

Munitions Workers, Devil's Porridge Exhibit, Eastriggs near Gretna Green
Clyde Shipbuilding History , Scottish Maritime Museums at Braehead, Irvine & Dumbarton
Robert the Bruce Statue, Battle of Bannockburn site near Stirling
Women outnumbered men 3 to 1 in Dundee Jute Works, Verdant Works Dundee
Exploring Scotland's Fishing Industry, Herring Girl, 1904, Aberdeen Maritime Museum
Traditional crofting life was prevalent in the Scottish Highlands and Islands
Derelict crofts are still common in the Highlands and Islands a reminder of The Clearances
Many of the old Scottish fishing ports became hugely prosperous in the herring boom

Scotland Industrial & Social History, William Wallace, Robert Bruce, Bannockburn, Culloden

Scottish history might immediately condure up images of Bannockburn, Culloden, Mary Queen of Scots, Robert the Bruce, William Wallace, Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobite cause and Rob Roy's evasion of the Red Coats in the Trossachs. All integral to Scottish history and comprehensively explored at the historic sites of Bannockburn, Stirling Castle, Edinburgh Castle, Scone Palace and the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh (if somewhat maligned in the Hollywood movies!).

Lesser known, but now coming more to the fore in popular Scottish museums such as Glasgow's People's Palace, the Scottish Maritime Museum sites at Dumbarton, Braehead and Irvine, New Lanark Mills and Aberdeen's Maritime Museum is the social, industrial and maritime history of Scotland, much of which dates from the 18th, 19th and 20th Centuries. The persecution of Highlanders, from the Highland Clearances to emigration is also receiving much attention. To really dig deep into what has been Scotland's hidden history is to push off the official museum track to the crofting museums of the Highlands and Islands, the site of the huge munitions factory located at Eastriggs during the First World War and to the award winning Verdant Jute Works exhibit at Dundee and the New Lanark Mills site in Lanarkshire. Here's where you'll find Scottish history from the bottom up, and the oral histories of crofters, women workers in munitions and jute, Irish immigrant workers, evicted Highlanders working in Lowland Scots textile factories and in domestic service, fish factory workers, Clyde shipbuilding workers, off-shore workers and more.

Featured Scotland Accommodation

Loch Lomond Lodge - Loch Lomond

A three bedroom self catering holiday lodge on a gated estate at Rowardennan, beneath Ben Lomond, on the shores of Loch Lomond,Scotlands national park.

£400 to £800 Per week (seasonal) sleeping 8

Dumfries & Galloway and Ayrshire - Leadmining, Shipbuilding & Munitions

The fascinating history of the huge munitions factory located at Eastriggs between Gretna and Annan during the First World War has a lower profile than Gretna Green weddings!

The Devil's Porridge exhibit at St John's Church just outside Gretna at Eastriggs is an important site for women's history and the history of womens roles in munitions production during World War One. To explore it you need to head to the Devil's Porridge museum at St John's Church in Eastriggs - just a few miles on from Gretna up the A75. (weblink right).

There's a rich history of Lead Mining in Dumfries & Galloway. Find out more at Wanlockhead's Lead Mining Museum complex which takes a close look at the lives of those who worked the lead mines here across 150 years. Mining was still active in the area in the 1950s, with its origins dating back to 1710 when lead veins were first discovered at Wanlockhead.

Historic Saltcoats and Irvine sit firmly within Scottish Maritime History, shipbuilding was a major industry on this stretch of the North Ayrshire coast with Irvine Harbour being one of Glasgow's main trading points. For a comprehensive history of shipbuilding and maritime history in the area head to the Scottish Maritime Museum's Irvine site on Harbourside.

Edinburgh & Glasgow History - Museum of Scotland, People's History, New Lanark, Border Abbeys

If you're looking for a starting point for understanding the history of Scotland, you won't find a more comprehensive museum than the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh City Centre. The Museum of Scotland opened in 1998, and the focus of exhibitions here is on design, manufacturing, science, techology, how Scotland was formed/geology and the Kingdom of Scots exhibit takes a close look at the formation of Scotland as a national, the emergence of Monarchy, Gaelic history, life in Scottish towns over the centuries and Scotland's position within the wider world. All things Renaissance and Reformation are also considered. The Museum of Scotland is a modern and comprehensive exploration into Scotland's history from various angles including technological, geological and cultural. It's a good place to start if you're planning a wider tour of Scotland.

There's no better museum in Glasgow where its social and industrial history comes alive than at Glasgow's People's Palace & Winter Gardens on Glasgow Green. It's an increasingly popular attraction and ranks up there with Manchester's People's History Museum. This social history journey is aptly sited here at the People's Palace and Winter Gardens, which started life in 1898 as a building serving the Industrial working people of the East End. Indeed the history of Glasgow Green has strong links with working class struggle.

The unique 18th century cotton mill complex at New Lanark, now restored and with UNESCO World Heritage status, is an important historic site within not just Scottish industrial history but also as an example of a working co-operative. One man particularly, Robert Owen, is associated with New Lanark. Scotland's historic canals, particularly the Forth & Clyde Canal and the Edinburgh Union Canal are seeing a revival. Visit both the modern marvel of the Falkirk Wheel and the Scottish Canal Museum based at the Linlithgow Canal Centre on the Manse Basin to find out more. For a comprehensive guide to Glasgow's Shipbuilding history on the Clyde head both to People's Palace on Glasgow Green, and the Scottish Maritime Museum's Clydebuilt at Braehead. (weblink right for details).

The abbeys of the Scottish Borders are visible evidence of the turbulent Borders' history. Melrose Abbey is the starting point for the 62 mile St Cuthbert's Way, a trail running all the way to Lindisfarne (weblink right). The glorious ruins of Melrose Abbey (which Sir Walter Scott went to great lengths to preserve in the 19th century) are one of the best of all the Border Abbeys. Visit more of the Borders Abbeys at Jedburgh, Dryburgh and Kelso.

Central Scotland History, Bannockburn, Stirling & Scone Palace

Two of Scotland's most famous battles took place in the Central area of Scotland - the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297 when William Wallace defeated the English, and perhaps Scotland's most important battle on Scottish soil - the Battle of Bannockburn. Here at Bannockburn, with strategic Stirling Castle in view, Robert the Bruce led the Scots to victory in 1314 against the English force under Edward II. At Bannockburn the Scots were considerably outnumbered by the English, and the victory was testament to the skilled command of Bruce. The Declaration of Arbroath followed some years later, and the English were forced to accept Scottish Independence. The two key sites of particular historic interest are Stirling Castle high above Stirling town, and the Battle of Bannockburn Heritage Centre just outside Stirling. Superb views of the William Wallace Monument in Stirling dating from 1804 can be seen from Stirling Castle.

Just to the north of Perth, Scone Palace is usually crowded with visitors. Crowning place of kings, the 'Kings of Scotland' exhibition within Scone Palce explores the history of Scone as a site for the Crowning Place of Scottish Kings. The history of the Black Watch Regiment, at the Black Watch Regimental Museum in Perth, offers in many ways an insight into some of the history of Scotland. This regiment dates from around 1715 and was deliberately raised as part of the attack to quell the Jacobite rebellion.

North East Scotland History - Dundee Juteopolis & Aberdeen Maritime

The Aberdeen Maritime Museum takes a close look at the story of the North sea, integral to its history. Everything from fish workers, to shipbuilding to off-shore oil rig life is explored here through interactive displays, photography and film. Aberdeen was a centre for shipbuilding during the 19th and 20th centuries - 3000 ships were built here. The museum also contains a comprehensive guide to Britain's offshore oil and gas industry.

The Verdant Jute Works in Dundee was built during the peak of the Industrial Revolution in 1833. Scotland was already establishing itself as a leader in the production of railway engines, steel and shipbuilding and Dundee's emergence as a centre for jute production sits within that context. The scene was already set in Dundee prior to the introduction of jute - it was already an established centre for weaving, whaling and shipbuilding with a bustling harbour. Whale oil was used initially to soften the jute, weavers in the town were already skilled in operating machinery and ships built here in Dundee were used to transport the jute from India.

What is jute you may ask. The Verdant Works exhibition offers comprehensive answers, and explores Dundee's close links with India where the jute plant was grown and shipped out to Dundee for processing (until India finally took over the processing as well at a cheaper cost).

Scottish Highlands History - The Jacobites, Crofting & Highland Clearance

To the east of Inverness is the battleground of Culloden Moor - the site of the last battle on British soil. The battle was between the Jacobites supported by the French and which many Highlanders fought for under the leadership of Bonnie Prince Charlie (Charles Edward Stuart) and the Hanoverians supported by the British. The battle is often thought to be between the Scots and the English but it wasn't as clear cut as that as there were more Scots fighting for the Government side. However, the loss suffered by the Jacobites effectively saw the demise of the Highland clan system.

The Jacobite uprising in 1745 was one of many attempts to restore the Stuarts, former Kings of Scotland, to the throne. Charles Edward Stuart led this uprising and became known as The Young Pretender although he was attempting to restore the crown to his father. The Jacobites had got as far as Derby pushing down from Scotland but decided to retreat when support from southern Jacobites was not forthcoming and the French wouldn't be able to invade in sufficient time. In actual fact support was in the offing from Welsh and Oxfordshire Jacobites and it is said that if they hadn't retreated they had a good chance of overthrowing George II and thereby changing the course of history. The retreat back up to Scotland sealed the Jacobites fate where Culloden was chosen as the battleground. The boggy, treeless nature of the moor actually gave the Government's forces the advantage. The Jacobites had to wait two days after they'd left Inverness and their supplies. They had tried to mount a surprise attack on the Government army by marching to Nairn where they were drinking the king's health but had to turn back to Culloden when they hadn't reached Nairn in time. By the time the battle came they hadn't eaten in two days, had undertaken a wasted march to Nairn and back and were ultimately outnumbered by an 8,000 strong Government army better equipped with a variety of weapons. The outcome is obvious although it was brutal and remains a poignant event in Scottish culture.

The Highland Clearances of the 19th century hit the Scottish Highlands hard particularly in the far north in Sutherland & Caithness.

Crofters in the Highlands were forced from their homes by greedy lairds who saw more profit in sheep rearing. The familiar story of poverty, starvation and the dispersal of clans followed that meant that many Highlanders sailed across the world in search of work and a new life.

Featured Scotland Accommodation

Loch Lomond Lodge - Loch Lomond

A three bedroom self catering holiday lodge on a gated estate at Rowardennan, beneath Ben Lomond, on the shores of Loch Lomond,Scotlands national park.

£400 to £800 Per week (seasonal) sleeping 8