Caledonia Heritage

Kirkoswald Old Church dates back to 1244 when the monks of Crossraguel Abbey built a stone church to replace the shrine commemorating the great battle fought by St Oswald in 634 AD against the Welsh king, Cadwallon at Heavenfield, near Hexham. The word “kirk” means “church”. It is also possible that Robert the Bruce [...]

Since Ayrshire is Burns country and I’ve just returned from there, I thought I’d add more to the Burns theme by introducing you to the cottage of Souter Johnnie in Kirkoswald, Ayrshire. Souter Johnnie was a character from the famous Tam O’Shanter poem which Burns wrote in 1790 and is based on one of [...]

Homecoming 2009 has been officially kicked off by First Minister, Alex Salmond, this weekend and thousands are expected to take part in Burns Suppers all around the world. Images from Burns’s poems have been projected on to the City Chambers of Glasgow to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Rabbie Burns. The First [...]

William Burns, the father of Robert Burns, leased a small piece of land in 1757 in Alloway where he built the little cottage that is now famous the world over as Burns Cottage. William married his sweetheart, Agnes, in December of that year and a year later, their first son, Robert, was born on 25 [...]

Next year, Scotland will mark its first ever Homecoming celebration with events spanning ten months of the year. The aim is to unite Scots all over the world, whether you were born in Scotland, are of Scottish descent or just love the country. The Homecoming events also coincide with the 250th anniversary of the birth [...]