History

Scotland's past is never far away. It's in the castle on the headland, the battlefield at the end of a farm track, the abbey ruin in a Borders town and the pier where emigrant ships once left for good. Here are the stories behind those places, from the Picts and the Wars of Independence to the Jacobites, the Clearances and the people who made modern Scotland. Each one is told plainly, with the place you can still go and stand in. Pick a subject or a part of the country and start reading: it's the best way we know to make a day out mean something more.