Friday 16 OctoberClear through the middle of the country, up to 8° in Edinburgh.
The lightSunrise 07:55 · Sunset 18:04
Good morning, and happy Friday. The weekend is nearly here. It's 6 degrees and clear across the country. On this day in 1995, the Skye Bridge opened.
Today’s weather
Clear through the middle of the country, up to 8° in Edinburgh. Greyer in the west than the east. Noticeably milder tomorrow.
Light 07:55 – 18:04 · 10h 09m, 5 min less · a crescent moon, fillingWhat is on today
Today’s interesting news
- The Signal Tower Museum by Arbroath harbour is to get a new garden, with its own way in from the Angus Coastal Path.
- Baltersan Castle, the 16th-century tower house near Maybole in South Ayrshire, is for sale to someone who will restore it.
- Dun Flashadder Cottage Croft, near Edinbane on Skye, is one of three finalists for Best Food Producer at the BBC Food and Farming Awards.
- Isle of Mull Cheese has made a cream liqueur from the whey left over from its cheesemaking.
- Panda & Sons in Edinburgh has won Best Cocktail Menu at The 50 Best Bars 2026.
On this day
The Skye Bridge opened.
The ferry from Kyle of Lochalsh to Kyleakin was withdrawn that month. The crossing is really two bridges, using the small island of Eilean Bàn as a stepping stone.
Read about Skye Bridge
Free from the magazine todayIssue 13
A Weekend Exploring the Isle of Mull
Photographer, painter and now magazine founder, Shelley Richmond wears a few hats on the Isle of Mull. She shares her insider's guide to the island, revealing the beaches, creative corners and much-loved local spots that shape her life in Dervaig.
Read itLoch Earn
On this morning’s cover · Loch Lomond
A seven-mile loch on the eastern edge of the national park, between Lochearnhead and St Fillans, known for watersports and trout.
Read about Loch EarnScotland this week
The gannets are leaving
4 days before the Bass Rock is bare
A hundred and fifty thousand birds on one rock, and the noise is the thing nobody warns you about. The boat from North Berwick goes round it.
The Best Day Trips from Edinburgh
An hour from Edinburgh gets you beaches, hills, castles and even a tidal island, all easy to do between breakfast and dinner. These are the day trips worth making.
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Joiners Cottage
Sleeps 4 · 2 bedrooms · Aberdeenshire
The estate joiner's stone cottage for four, with his own work still in it.
Have a lookYou can walk from the middle of Glasgow to four waterfalls, 65 kilometres up the Clyde Walkway.
The Clyde Walkway runs 65 kilometres upriver to New Lanark, from the city through woodland, farmland and orchard country to the wooded gorges of the Falls of Clyde, where the river drops over four falls.
See the place“In another life, I would definitely have been an archaeologist.”
Jennifer Pearson, jewellery designer and founder of Òr, Portree
Get to know Scotland a little better
Cleg is the Scots word for a horsefly, a large grey fly found around cattle, bracken and wet ground in summer. Unlike the midge it comes alone and quietly, and its bite is sharp and can swell. On a warm, still day in the hills, long sleeves and a hat are the best defence.
Inbhir is the Gaelic word for the mouth of a river, where it meets the sea, a loch or a bigger river, and on maps it is almost always written Inver-. Inverness is Inbhir Nis, the mouth of the Ness, and Inveraray and Inverurie carry the same word. In the east you will also see Aber-, an older word with the same meaning, as in Aberdeen.
Shetland lies far out in the North Sea, closer to Bergen in Norway than to Edinburgh. The islands were under Norse rule for centuries and passed to Scotland only in 1469, which is why Norse place names run all through them. That history is celebrated every winter at Up Helly Aa in Lerwick, the fire festival with its Viking longship.
The Ghillie Dhu, Gille Dubh in Gaelic, is a solitary spirit said to have lived in the birch woods around Gairloch in Wester Ross. He was described as small and dark-haired, and dressed in moss and leaves. He kept away from grown-ups, and the best-known story tells of a little girl lost in the woods, whom he found and looked after through the night.
Weekend trip ideas from around Scotland
2 daysRoyal Deeside by bus: Crathes, Cambus o' May and BraemarTwo days on Royal Deeside without a car: the 201 bus to Crathes Castle, the Cambus o' May…
A dayCulzean Castle and lunch at Wildings in MaidensA castle morning on the Carrick coast: Culzean Castle's oval staircase, armoury and…
A dayA walk to the Falls of Falloch and lunch at the Drovers InnThe short path to the Falls of Falloch in Glen Falloch, 600 metres there and back from a…Hot water, cold water
Saunas on the shore and water cold enough to make the point of one. The sun is back up at 07:55, in about 3 hours.
Three dates to look forward to
The clocks go back
Sunday 25 October
Sunset in Edinburgh moves from 17:51 to 16:48 overnight. The last Sunday in October, after which sunset in the far north is mid-afternoon.
What is on that weekendHalloween
Saturday 31 October
Samhain, the old new year, when fires were lit on the hills. Guising and the turnip lantern began here, long before America took them up.
What is on that weekendSt Andrew's Day
Monday 30 November
A bank holiday here, and a lot of historic buildings open their doors for nothing.
What is on that day
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