If yous are aboot Embra the day, mon alang tae the Scottish Storytelling Centre, we’re haein a Scots Language Gaitherin. I’ll be pairt o a panel at 3pm 👇 https://scottishstorytellingcentre.online.red61.co.uk/event/913:5784/913:25185/ | Alistair Heather
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If yous are aboot Embra the day, mon alang tae the Scottish Storytelling Centre, we’re haein a Scots Language Gaitherin. I’ll be pairt o a panel at 3pm 👇 https://scottishstorytellingcentre.online.red61.co.uk/event/913:5784/913:25185/ | Alistair Heather
1.4K viewsNov 22, 2024
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Scots & Gaelic have been further recognised and protected in law in Scotland 🙌 Both languages arrived in what is now Scotland in around 500AD, Gaelic as part of a joint sea kingdom between western scotland and eastern Ireland, and Scots as part of a migration of Germanic farmers into the Lothians. Over centuries these languages became totally dominant, Gaelic for many years was the language of kings, then through the later medieval period became the language of the highlands and western islands
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Scots & Gaelic have been further recognised and protected in law in Scotland 🙌 Both languages arrived in what is now Scotland in around 500AD, Gaelic as part of a joint sea kingdom between western scotland and eastern Ireland, and Scots as part of a migration of Germanic farmers into the Lothians. Over centuries these languages became totally dominant, Gaelic for many years was the language of kings, then through the later medieval period became the language of the highlands and western islands
216.3K views4 months ago
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Keith, the distillery toun in Moray, Scotland has a sign outside that proclaims itself as Scotland’s First Scots Toun What does that mean in practise? Well, it’s testament to the fact that 50% of the population at least speak Scots, and also to the commitment of the town to celebrate that fact. In 2014 all the wee lanes in the town needed named, so many were given Scots names. Sodger Lane, Fairmer Lane, Ploo Lane. Add to that, you have flags with favourite Scots words flying all through the town
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Keith, the distillery toun in Moray, Scotland has a sign outside that proclaims itself as Scotland’s First Scots Toun What does that mean in practise? Well, it’s testament to the fact that 50% of the population at least speak Scots, and also to the commitment of the town to celebrate that fact. In 2014 all the wee lanes in the town needed named, so many were given Scots names. Sodger Lane, Fairmer Lane, Ploo Lane. Add to that, you have flags with favourite Scots words flying all through the town
1.1K viewsSep 12, 2023
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10 years on since my first ever vote: a big Yes for Scottish independence. Dundee - Scotlands sunniest city as you can see in this clip - voted Yes. My home region of Angus had thousands of independence supporters too, though it narrowly favoured the Union. There’s plenty legitimate reasons to want to stay in the UK: defence and internal trade being two big ones. And I really don’t mind people holding different opinions to mine. But I woke up today ruminating on what an opportunity we had back t
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10 years on since my first ever vote: a big Yes for Scottish independence. Dundee - Scotlands sunniest city as you can see in this clip - voted Yes. My home region of Angus had thousands of independence supporters too, though it narrowly favoured the Union. There’s plenty legitimate reasons to want to stay in the UK: defence and internal trade being two big ones. And I really don’t mind people holding different opinions to mine. But I woke up today ruminating on what an opportunity we had back t
4.1K viewsSep 18, 2024
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Did you know that - just for one day - it looked like it could be WELSH soldiers who secured Scotland’s independence? 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 I was in Cardiff recently so thought I’d share one of my favourite Welsh-Scottish stories. There’s actually a huge number of things that connect our two Celtic nations, as you’d expect. But did you know this? | Alistair Heather
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Did you know that - just for one day - it looked like it could be WELSH soldiers who secured Scotland’s independence? 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 I was in Cardiff recently so thought I’d share one of my favourite Welsh-Scottish stories. There’s actually a huge number of things that connect our two Celtic nations, as you’d expect. But did you know this? | Alistair Heather
46.4K views9 months ago
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Im hosting Burns Night 2026, BBC One Scotland & iPlayer 7pm Sunday 25th Jan ❤️🙌 Here’s a great wee insight into Auld Lang Syne, Robert Burns’ most famous lines, sung all over the world, What’s the furthest away from scotland you’ve heard this sung? | Alistair Heather
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Im hosting Burns Night 2026, BBC One Scotland & iPlayer 7pm Sunday 25th Jan ❤️🙌 Here’s a great wee insight into Auld Lang Syne, Robert Burns’ most famous lines, sung all over the world, What’s the furthest away from scotland you’ve heard this sung? | Alistair Heather
13.7K views2 months ago
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Stormy in Scotland, snow on the hills and it’s blowing a screever in Orkney! How’s the weather where you are? Orkney has probably my favourite dialect of Scots, cause it’s both familiar to me with loads of similar expressions, but also totally distinct with a great accent and loan words from Norse and elsewhere. Languages adapt to their environment so it’s no surprise that Orkney has a wealth of words for wind 💨 Who knew that Hoolie came from Orkney too?! | Alistair Heather
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Stormy in Scotland, snow on the hills and it’s blowing a screever in Orkney! How’s the weather where you are? Orkney has probably my favourite dialect of Scots, cause it’s both familiar to me with loads of similar expressions, but also totally distinct with a great accent and loan words from Norse and elsewhere. Languages adapt to their environment so it’s no surprise that Orkney has a wealth of words for wind 💨 Who knew that Hoolie came from Orkney too?! | Alistair Heather
10K views5 months ago
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What have the Sámi even done for Scotland? It’s national Sami Day, so I thought I’d ask the big questions! Well, the best connection I could see between scotland and the Sami was the introduction of reindeer. We still have the only free ranging herd of reindeer in Britain, thanks to one Mikel Utsi. After the reformation, Catholic Europe put around pictures of the “allies of Sweden” which included monstrous Scots and Sami warriors standing alongside one another, attacking from the north. This see
7.4K viewsFeb 6, 2025
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Scotland - Jamaica - the Russian Navy - The Southern confederacy - how come we all share a flag? It’s a wild old ride this one. A lot of the evidence here is anecdotal and circumstantial rather than academically rigorous, but it’s compelling all the same. Other saltires exist around the world too - I’ve already done a reel about Tenerife having the saltire. But where else uses them? Thought a wee St Andrews day reel from an airport in Sweden would be fun, enjoy! | Alistair Heather
91.1K views4 months ago
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Romans introduced stinging nettles to Scotland? I dunno, I was telt this the other day and it doesn’t seem to be true. But in checking the claim, I did read some other cool and surprising stuff about these wee pricks | Alistair Heather
105K views7 months ago
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Heard about the Nazi that came to Scotland? This is some story: Hitler’s long time pal and collaborator Rudolph Hess flew to Scotland in 1941 to negotiate peace. His plane ran out of fuel, Hess parachuted to safety, and after his arrest he spent time being nursed here at Buchanan Castle in Stirlingshire just outside the lovely village of Drymen, just north of Glasgow. His offer was simple: Britain and Germany could be at peace tomorrow, if Britain left Germany to get on with their plans in Europ
2.3K viewsOct 15, 2024
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Other great words shared between Scots and Norwegian? There’s more than 200 Need any definitions? Ask away in the comments! Here’s a bunch of my favourites Bairn Bigg (to build/bigg something up) Caber Cloot Dram Flit Gate Hoast Hoose Keek Mirk Neb Redd Yule | Alistair Heather
92.7K views4 months ago
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Have you heard about the curses of the Acts of Union? 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗻𝗼𝘄 ❤️🏰 The joining of the two old nations scotland and England was unpopular in both countries, and riots broke out across Scotland in opposition. Wales washed up dead in massive numbers, which people took as a sign of nature rebelling against this unholy union. Also, this horrible story emerged from the very place the Acts were being signed… | Alistair Heather
44.9K views10 months ago
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How did some of the poorest parts of Scotland manage to evade the British State for so long? Whisky-making went on in Glen Isla and in similar places in the 1700s and early 1800s despite concerted and at times violent attempts by the British State to crush the industry. By converting barley to whisky using pure local water and age-old folk skills, the poorest people of the glen could make enough money to make ends meet. But the industry relied on a real community spirit. My Masters dissertation
6.1K views1 year ago
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The ringing stane! There’s two of these in scotland, both seem to have been important to the ancestors here. There’s a great big belter on the Isle of Tiree. And this one in the Cairngorm mountains. The one in Tiree has Neolithic artworks carved onto it. The one in the cairngorms is positioned in a prominent place in the landscape, it’s been moved from somewhere else. It is obviously cool and unusual, and clearly captivated attention of the tribes living here. A great stop off on our way from Br
69.7K views5 months ago
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Angus is the best bit of Scotland, and Glen Doll is the Best bit of Angus 🗻❤️ | Alistair Heather
708 viewsAug 6, 2022
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Huge question. Why is scotland full of steps to nowhere? I love seeing these features oot n aboot, they really help imagine the older inhabitants we’ve inherited these urban spaces from. There *must* be one near your house or somewhere you’ve been. Where’s the best Loupin-on Stane near you? #scotland #history #horse | Alistair Heather
123.9K views7 months ago
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Join Alistair Heather as he travels by bike along the Kintyre 66, an exciting new route around Scotland's Adventure Coast. His latest discovery is a great example of keeping history alive and the power of community coming together... #Scotland #ScottishHistory #Argyll #ScotlandHistory 📽️ IG/historic_ally | Scotland is Now
846 viewsNov 18, 2024
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Scots has roughly four billion words for rain, which is so surprising because this is such a dry and clement wee country we live in … Some of these are everyday words, some are more nuanced. Scots really developed alongside agriculture in the east coast and lowlands, so it makes sense that, as we spent so much time outside and our livelihood relied entirely on crops, that we’d generate a huge number of varied words to describe weather. Words fade when they cease to be useful, and we all spend le
148.4K views4 months ago
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Alistair Heather: My dad was violent and I feared acting like him - how do we stop the cycle?
May 7, 2024
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The Canongate Wall is a highlight of Edinburgh for me: really thoughtful quotes from Scotland’s best writers over centuries But it was too male: currenty there’s only one female quote on there. Happily, that’s being sorted: our three most recent Makars (national poets) will all have lines carved into stone and placed into our parliament walls. They held a public vote and 5000 people selected these lines: this our one small country… our one, wondrous, spinning, dear green place. What shall we bui
5.5K viewsMar 20, 2025
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Of *course* chips came to Scotland via Dundee 🍟🍟🍟 They didnae arrive until 1870 tho, so nae idea what we were eating on the road hame fae the pub before that … Julia & Edward de Gernier, a pair of Belgian migrants settled in Dundee in the late 1800s and spotted a massive gap in the market. By 1888 the Courier was describing the foodstuff as “The now fashionable edible, the chip potato”. Edward started a Belgian-style chip stall in the middle of Dundee, amidst all the other stalls of a bustlin
14.8K viewsMar 26, 2025
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Scottish soldiers in the 1700s were about 5 foot 4 👀 That’s the Jacobites and all the hard cases that signed up as mercenaries for foreign armies, not even coming up to your shoulder Scottish folk remained genuinely littler than German or English people on average, which meant by the time of the 1800s we were having our own special wee beds made 😅 The modern average male height in scotland is about 5 foot 10, an inch or so shorter than Germany, a good couple of inches shorter than the Netherla
465.7K views3 months ago
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Is your city like this? Loads of places - Dundee & Glasgow in Scotland anyway - have a fancy West End and a more working class east end. Big mills and reeking lums like the one that used to belch smoke fae @verdantworksmuseum are the reason Smoke drifting east in the prevailing wind made the air dirtier and the streets sootier. So folk that didn’t get to choose where they lived ended up there. | Alistair Heather
36.5K viewsMar 18, 2025
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Alistair Heather on Instagram: "Scots & Gaelic have been further recognised and protected in law in Scotland 🙌 Both languages arrived in what is now Scotland in around 500AD, Gaelic as part of a joint sea kingdom between western scotland and eastern Ireland, and Scots as part of a migration of Germanic farmers into the Lothians. Over centuries these languages became totally dominant, Gaelic for many years was the language of kings, then through the later medieval period became the language of t
93.1K views4 months ago
Instagramhistoric_ally
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Feral goats live in Islay, chomping away on seaweed. They’re not native to Scotland, and came, like sheep, from that sweep of land between Turkey and Turkmenistan. Some of these goats became feral when they were released by their crofting owners during the Highland Clearances. There’s not many of them around, mostly they’re here in Islay or on the mainland in Dumfries and Galloway. They are pretty lovely looking creatures, and didnt seem to mind us sitting admiring them for a while, while out on
7.7K viewsDec 26, 2024
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Being chief of a highland clan was about way more than just collecting rents and acting the big man like some English Duke. You also had to bear the honour and respect of your people, and be the first and most able amongst the warriors. To prove that you were ready to step up, you’d lead a raid into rival clan lands and take their cows, plus maybe some sheep and horses. Martin Martin was a man from Skye who travelled widely in the 1600s and left a lot of interesting notes about life in those day
5.1K views5 months ago
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Kieran Tierney ❤️ Im launching an Adopt a Scot programme for next summer, we’ll be needing all you Americans who have a soft spot for scotland to put us up when we emigrate over for the tournament 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿❤️ | Alistair Heather
120.5K views5 months ago
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Edinburgh isnae the ainly Scottish city wi culture I was asked to make a wee video showing a day in ma work life, to show off Scotland to the world for Scotland is Now I took the chance to show how much good stuff is buzzing away in Dundee & Glasgow (and Aberdeen for that matter) A whirlwind tour through V&A Dundee Natlib Scotland and Sloans Filmed in the Bonnie Balgay Park, Dundee ❤️ | Alistair Heather
1K viewsApr 25, 2023
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Autumn in Scotland 🍁🍂🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 This is a spot I am proud to bring people on my tours. You can see why. | Alistair Heather
17.2K views5 months ago
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