January
Scotland's Year of Stories 2022

VisitScotland / Luigi Di Pasquale

January

January is a rich month for events in Scotland’s history and members of the Scottish Tourist Guides Association can now tell you some of the amazing stories behind them.

Keep coming back to this page as we will be adding new stories regularly and we don’t want you to miss out.

Scone Palace - Crowning Place of Kings

1715 saw the largest of the Jacobite rebellions, in terms of combatants. Over a fifty year period, followers of the Stewart monarchs tried to regain the throne from William III and his successors.

In January 1715, the Old Pretender, styled James VIII and III, came to Scotland, staying at Scone Palace in January 1716, before returning to France, never to return.

As part of Scotland’s Year of Stories, 2022, Jim Leslie has written a blog on the place of Scone Palace in Scottish history.
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Scone Palace - Crowning Place of Kings

1715 saw the largest of the Jacobite rebellions, in terms of combatants. Over a fifty year period, followers of the Stewart monarchs tried to regain the throne from William III and his successors.

In January 1715, the Old Pretender, styled James VIII and III, came to Scotland, staying at Scone Palace in January 1716, before returning to France, never to return.

As part of Scotland’s Year of Stories, 2022, Jim Leslie has written a blog on the place of Scone Palace in Scottish history.
Read More

The Birth of St Mungo

On the feast day of St Mungo, Patron Saint of Glasgow, join Blue Badge guide William Kinnaird as he recounts the remarkable circumstances of Mungo’s birth. 

The Feast Day of St. Mungo

January 13 is the anniversary of the death of St Mungo in 613AD and Kerstin Devine has written a blog exploring the various stories about his life.
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Up Helly Aa

Jolene Garriock at Island Vista gets the chance to talk to Lyall Gair, an ex-Jarl and Green Badge Tourist Guide for Shetland, to hear what Up Helly Aa was like for him over the years.

Robert Burns

This month millions of people around the world will be celebrating the birth of the poet and song writer Robert Burns on January 25 and Blue Badge Guide Jim Leslie tells his story in a special video. 

John Logie Baird

On January 26, 1926, Scots born John Logie Baird demonstrated television for the first time in London and Stewart Noble reveals how that came about.

Up Helly Aa

January is also when the famous Up Helly Aa event takes place on Shetland and Green Badge guide Robyn Johnson has written a story about the Vikings and the Far North.

Up Helly Aa

The origins of Up Helly Aa and the festival today.
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Live Virtual Tours

Every Monday Blue Badge guides Joe Harrower and Mike Turpie are out telling stories on a live Facebook broadcast. To find out more visit their Facebook Page below, Piping Scot Tours.

Scottish Blethers Podcast

Blue Badge Guides Helen Houston, Liz Lister and Susan Brown also tell stories in their weekly Scottish Blethers podcast which can be found on all major podcast platforms:

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February

March

April