Scottish Snippets

2 March 2013

Number 640



The Scottish Snippets Newsletter in its original format began in April 1997 and continued in an unbroken series for 591 issues. Although no longer produced in that style, there is now this regular update on the new and updated pages on the Rampant Scotland site including "Scottie's Photo Diary From Scotland".

HotTo receive a text version of this newsletter as a reminder to look at these Web pages when they are published, just send an e-mail to Scottie@RampantScotland.com with "Subscribe Newsletter" in the subject line.


Edinburgh Castle

Even in January there are still plenty of tourists in Edinburgh and most of these will pay a visit to the castle! I joined them recently and took a number of video clips of the castle, its buildings (including some inside shots) and also the view down to Princes Street below, the Pentland Hills and Arthur's Seat. There had been a fall of snow prior to my visit so there's snow showing on both at the castle and the hills. One of the clips was of the popular One o'clock gun being fired - the video camera jumped at that point! I've updated the "Places to Visit" page on the castle itself and also on the One o'clock gun. See:


Castle History
One o'clock gun
YouTube video tour of the castle

Photo Diary January and February


January and February are not the best months of the year for photography in Scotland. Even so, but I found a number of graphics that I thought would be of interest. For example, there were some graphics in the recent feature on Edinburgh's Royal Mile that were omitted because of space considerations. In particular, there's a fine picture of haggis neeps and tatties - and a couple of whisky shops. In addition to the still pictures of snowdrops at Finlaystone Country Estate the diary includes a YouTube video sequence of the drifts of snowdrops in their woods and also of a couple of waterfalls that provided a different audio backdrop. Culzean Country Park even had some colourful flowers on show, despite it only being February. Finally some pictures of my own garden - including one of everything covered in snow! See:
Photo Diary January and February There is a link to the YouTube video in that page but the direct link, if you can't wait, is YouTube - Snowdrops and Waterfalls

Private House Stays


In the 17 years that Rampant Scotland has been on the Web there has never been an advert on the site's home page - until now. Private House Stays has brought together a wide selection of properties from Bed & Breakfast or small guest house, to a cosy chalet or romantic castle. Each property has a description of its location, its facilities and areas of local interest, and many also have an online calendar where you can check availability instantly, helping you to plan your trip quickly and easily. The site is attractively presented and modern with an active map and search facilities to help users home in on what they need. I was so impressed by the quality of their site that when it was suggested that they should sponsor Rampant Scotland I immediately took up the offer and hope that some of their expertise might rub off into the Rampant Scotland site! Have a look at their advert on Rampant Scotland - Home Index Page and their own site at Private House Stays. Well worth bookmarking if you are planning to have a trip to Scotland!

Tartan Day



Thanks to the feedback from organisers of Tartan Day events around the world, the page of links to these has been updated for 2013. There may be further updates before the major tartan day "season" in April, so keep checking on the page at Tartan Day Events Round the World.

Scottish Place Names in Port Elizabeth, South Africa



Due to feedback and further research, Ian Kendall has been busy updating the pages in his series on Scottish place names found in towns and cities around the world. The latest revision is for Port Elizabeth in South Africa. Of the names of the 313 urban and semi-urban suburbs located to date in the city of Port Elizabeth and the neighbouring towns of an area known since 2001 as the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, 57 (18.2%) can be found in Scotland or are based on Scottish family names or Scottish words. Of course, some of the names are used in other parts of the British Isles as well, but at least 30 (9.6%) appear to have a unique connection with Scotland, or are readily identifiable with places in Scotland that are based on the same names. For all the details, see Scottish Place Names in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Next Newsletter

The next newsletter is scheduled for 30 March. Hopefully there will be better weather for visits to some photogenic tourist attractions!

Yours aye

Scottie

Previous editions of this Newsletter are available in an Archive. The Index to the other pages of the Rampant Scotland site is available here.



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Where else would you like to go in Scotland?

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