Little Scottish Treasures, Magical Tours.

14/12/2024

The Mermaid of Assynt.

This is the ruins of Castle Ardvreck which juts out on a peninsula into Loch Assynt. The castle and the land around here was controlled by Clan Macleod right back to the 13th century. Local people swore that the MacLeod got help from the Devil to build the castle, but in return he demanded MacLeod’s daughter Eva’s hand in marriage. When Eva found out about this deal, she threw herself from the castle’s highest window.

Strangely her body was never found, people say that she swam down to the depths of the loch to hide inside one of its underwater caves. Since that day Eva has occasionally been sighted and is known as the ‘Mermaid of Assynt’.

The Devil was furious, and in his rage, he tore through the land throwing huge boulders all over the place. If you find yourself around Assynt, you can still see these rocks littering the landscape.

Arvdreck Castle is a popular stop during one of our NC500 tours and Eva's story is just one of many legends to be told here.

Customised, private tours with Littlescottishtreasures.com

13/12/2024

Not everything is what it seems.

This is 'The Rest & Be Thankful', a popular place to visit during a tour of Scotland. One such (self guided) tour was taking place in 1818 by the great English Poet 'John Keats'. On studying his map, he believed the 'Rest & Be Thankful' was an inn, not a viewpoint.

His dismay is evident in an excerpt from his diary... "We were up at 4 this morning and have walked to breakfast 15 miles through two tremendous glens - at the end of the first there was a place called rest and be thankful which we took for an Inn - it is nothing but a stone and so we were cheated into 5 more miles before breakfast".

Rule no1 plan your route properly, no2 if in doubt ask a local.
Or even better let us plan your whole vacation, from the moment you land at the airport to the final farewell as you head back home, longing to return.

Little Scottish Treasures also plan in your meals, so you need not worry about anything, which is a good reason to 'Rest & Be Thankful'.

littlescottishtreasures.com
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12/12/2024

Bloody Orkney - A Poem.

Orkney is one of our favorite places to visit, the people, the landscapes and the historical sights are worth the travel. It has not always been a place that people wanted to stay though.

During the first world war many servicemen were stationed on Orkney and felt very isolated, at times they may have almost outnumbered the local population, this resulted in Captain Hamish Blair summing up his time there in a poem, as follows...

This bloody towns a bloody cus
No bloody trains, no bloody bus
and no one cares for bloody us
in bloody Orkney.

Everything's so bloody dear
a bloody bob for for bloody beer
and is it good? No bloody fear
in bloody Orkney

The bloody 'flicks' are bloody old
the bloody seats are bloody cold
you can't get in for bloody gold
in bloody Orkney

The bloody dances make you smile
the bloody band is bloody vile
it only cramps your bloody style
in bloody Orkney

No bloody sport, no bloody games
no bloody fun, no bloody dames
won't even give their bloody names
in bloody Orkney

Best bloody place is bloody bed
with bloody ice on bloody head
you might as well be bloody dead
on bloody Orkney.

11/12/2024

Beware the Blue Men.

There are many tales of creatures who dwell in the waters between the Outer Hebrides, Skye and the mainland, this area is known as ‘The Minch’ and this is where tales of the Blue Men of Minch are told.

When a storm looms heavy on the horizon, and a boat has found itself in this body of water sailors have said that this is when they come. The Blue Men surround the boat and start causing it to tilt and sway, threatening to capsize it.

There is however a way that the boat and crew can be saved. The captain must challenge the Blue Men to a poetry contest, if his rhymes and verse are good then the boat will be allowed to carry on its voyage. If however the captain is lacking in Beware the Blue Men.

There are many tales of creatures who dwell in the waters between the Outer Hebrides, Skye and the mainland, this area is known as ‘The Minch’ and this is where tales of the Blue Men of Minch are told.
When a storm looms heavy on the horizon, and a boat has found itself in this body of water sailors have said that this is when they come. The Blue Men surround the boat and start causing it to tilt and sway, threatening to capsize it. There is however a way that the boat and crew can be saved. The captain must challenge the Blue Men to a poetry contest, if his rhymes and verse are good then the boat will be allowed to carry on its voyage. If however the captain is lacking in poetic skills, the Blue Men will bring forth the storm and lay waste to the ship & crew.

Tonight, I am enjoying a dram of Talisker Skye, ‘Made by the Sea’ and I shall practice some poetry for my next sailing.
A tour with Little Scottish Treasures will not just show you the beauty of Scotland, we will also tell you the Stories that make this country a magical place to tour.

Tonight, I am enjoying a dram of Talisker Skye, ‘Made by the Sea’ and I shall practice some poetry for my next sailing.

A tour with Little Scottish Treasures will not just show you the beauty of Scotland, we will also tell you the Stories that make this country a magical place to tour.

11/12/2024

Let us all celebrate one of Scotlands greatest ever inventors... David Brewster who's birthday is today.

Born in 1781 and without the assistance of mind altering drugs, David invented the 'Kaleidoscope'.

Entertaining children and adults for over 200 years 😊

10/12/2024

Queen Victoria's review of Dalwhinnie.

On the 8th of October 1861 (37 years before the distillery was established), Queen Victoria stayed at the Inn at Dalwhinnie.

She was not amused, since this is what was written in her journal... "Unfortunately there was hardly anything to eat, and there was only tea, and two miserable starved Highland chickens, without any potatoes. No pudding, and no fuss".

Victoria may not have enjoyed her visit, but since there is now a distillery at Dalwhinnie, most visitors are more than satisfied when we take them.

Tonight, I am enjoying a dram of Dalwhinnie Winters Gold, straight from the fridge like they advise.

Many of our guests feel that a visit to a distillery is one of the essential elements of a tour with Little Scottish Treasures and if Queen Victoria came on our tour we would have known where to book her in for a full & satisfying Dinner.

09/12/2024

Our National Animal.

A national animal of a country usually represents a country’s heritage and individual identity. Then why, oh why would the Scottish have a unicorn as theirs?

There are many theories put forward, but I love to think that the story of a unicorn being the only one of gods creatures that cannot be tamed, is supposed to represent Scotland, as a pure country that will never willingly bend the knee (unfortunately it seems a unicorn can however be tricked).

It will be a special tour indeed if you were to see one of these beasts in the wild while visiting Scotland, but you will see them pop up all over the place, mostly in historical settings, as the Scottish Royals have been using the unicorn as a symbol since the 12th century.

Tonight, I am enjoying a dram of 12yr old Fettercairn Whisky Single Malt (who use the Unicorn in their logo), as I share some pictures and information about Scotland’s National Animal.

To book a tour in 2025 as unique as Scotland's national animal, contact us at [email protected]

08/12/2024

The Doocot or Dovecote.

A Doocot is a home built for pigeons and mankind has been creating these for at least 5,000 years. Today as you travel around Scotland there are still plenty to spot, even though few are still in use. The buildings give us clues that there is, or once was a castle or great mansion nearby, the doocots survive where many of the associated grand buildings have long gone, some people put this down to superstition around the destruction of these delightful buildings.

The main reason for their use was to provide a source of food during winter months for the wealthier folk, there were strict laws concerning who could and who could not build one.

Tonight, I am enjoying a dram of Kingsbarns Single Malt Whisky, with the title ‘Doocot’ as I share pictures and information on some of my favourites.

25/11/2024

Touring in Scotland is not just a Summer vacation. Visitors do not come here for the great weather, often they come for experiences that can be had all year round.

This week we have been touring a very quiet Isle of Islay with some dedicated whisky enthusiasts. We managed all 10 distilleries, including barrel tastings taken at 3.

A selection of rare and old whiskies were enjoyed with the ever enthusiastic 'Peter' from the Bowmore Hotel and their phenomenal collection, and we just have one more stop at the Islay Whisky Vault before we say farewell to our guests and the Isle of Islay.

Visiting Islands in the winter may come with travel disruptions, but the risks are worth the reward.

22/11/2024

One of our favourite places to visit on Skye, and definitely one 'Little Scottish Treasures' favorite people.

The founder of the Staffin Fossil Museum, Dugald Alexander Ross has received an Honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Edinburgh for his preservation of Skye’s Jurassic history and its celebration as the ‘Dinosaur Capital of the UK.’

Dugie has become a renowned palaeontologist and his important discoveries were recognised in 2016 by the presentation of the prestigious Mary Anning Award named after the famous English palaeontologist of the early 19th century.

This latest award of an Honorary Doctorate from Edinburgh University further recognises the very significant contributions Dugie has made to the world of palaeontology and his colleagues, friends, family and community are immensely proud of him.

Details of the awards ceremony can be seen by clicking on the link.
https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2024/honorary-graduates-recognised-at-winter-ceremonies

27/09/2024

Day 3 of this tour has seen us meeting with many of our friends all over Skye, as things wind down here, and everyone looks toward the coming winter.

From restaurant & accommodation staff, to those running museums & castles, there are so many people we now consider friends. We look forward to greeting you all again in 2025 😊.

Even thought it is now late September, Skye is still providing the perfect backdrop for an amazing tour.

26/09/2024

It's day 2 of our last multi day tour of the season, and today we were reminded of all the magical people who work with us in the industry.

During the days travel, we met Arron working with Tartan Viking, Andrew from Highlander Tours and Bruce of Bruce's Scotland Tours, of course hugs, stories, pictures and greetings were exchanged.

We, and over 150 tour operators all work together to ensure all who visit Scotland get the very best out of their vacation and leave longing to return.

25/09/2024

This year '2024' has been a phenomenal year of adventures.

We are currently on our last tour before a little, well deserved break in Colombia.

Today is day 1 of 6, a day of Bridges, Curses and Coos.

We are looking forward to posting many Little Treasures over the coming months.