Question from Judy - Why is white heather thought to be lucky?
There are a number of reasons why it’s deemed to be lucky. There’s a myth that white heather grows over the final resting places of faeries. It’s also thought that because of Scotland’s many ancient battles that white heather only grew on patches of ground where no blood had been shed.
White heather does appear to have been associated mainly with battles. Clan Ranald attributed a 1544 victory to the white heather they’d worn in their bonnets. Cluny of Clan MacPherson attributed his escape after Culloden to lying on a patch of white heather. The searchers overlooked him whilst he slept.
Question from Stan - Are Scots stingy?
No, we’re not. We’re just canny with money - cautious with money, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Scotland is full of the most generous people on earth. And in actual fact, Scots annually give the most to charity in the whole of Britain.
Question from Potter - Where’s the lowest point I could visit?
As you’ve already scaled the highest point on Ben Nevis, I can understand why you’d want to go in the other direction. But I seriously wouldn’t recommend it. The lowest point in Scotland is on the bed of Loch Morar. It’s a freshwater loch in Morar, Lochaber, Scottish Highlands. The fifth largest loch in Scotland, it has a surface area of 10 square miles/27 square kilometres. It holds the title of being the deepest freshwater body in the British Isles. Its maximum depth is 1,020 feet/310 metres.
Loch Morar contains five sizeable islands. The only road along the loch extends four miles along the north shore, and both sides of the loch were inhabited into the early twentieth century. But emigration and the introduction of sheep farming/sporting estates led to the abandonment of all settlements on the south shore. The remaining settlements disappeared around 1920. The Swordland Lodge situated at the midway point on the north shore and lying level with the deepest part of the loch, is now no more than a summer home since 1969. The loch is rumoured to have its own secret creature called Morag.
Question from Tip - Should I be scared of the Highland Midge?
There is actually more than one species of Scottish midge. But the Highland Midge is the most persistent and fierce. Midges of various species usually appear around April and continue to be present until October. The April/October midges tend not to be the most troublesome biters.
It is in June that the infamous Highland midge appears on the scene - an unfortunate twist of fate that this is also peak tourist season. It stays active for about three months with its numbers dwindling towards the end of August. The garden midge has a longer season that lasts until October. It does bite but isn’t as big a problem as its Highland counterpart. It’s Mellow Midge.
A machine aimed at controlling the midge has been developed by experts at Edinburgh University's centre for tropical veterinary medicine. The midge trap emits the carbon dioxide output equivalent to a cow, along with other associated scents. The midge is attracted to the trap. It’s then sucked up and trapped inside a bag until it perishes. For shame. :(
