A border romance
Abbotsford, near Melrose, Roxburghshire
In creating his dream home, Sir Walter Scott pioneered a Scottish version of the Gothic Revival. Mary Miers visits his newly reopened Tweedside mansion
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A unity of Arts
Ardkinglas, Argyll
Mary Miers explores Sir Robert Lorimer’s romantic masterpiece on the shores of Loch Fyne
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This earthly paradise
Mary Miers visits the West Highlands and discovers a little-known outpost of Arts-and-Crafts patronage that includes Philip Webb’s first country house
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Adam and the ‘sublime savage’
Balavil House, Inverness-shire
The notorious literary alchemist James Macpherson created a vision of Adam elegance in the Highlands. Mary Miers investigates
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A Highland paradise
Balmoral Castle,Scotland A homeofHerMajestyTheQueen
The product of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s enthusiasm for the Highlands, Balmoral remains a much- loved home of the Royal Family. Mary Miers looks at the history of the castle and its role as a sporting estate
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The people’s laird
Mary Miers welcomes a biography of the inspirational historian, farmer, environmentalist and folklorist John Lorne Campbell of Canna
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Scotland in print
The pick of new books on a range of Scottish subjects: food, fact and fiction
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Living with the lairds
Mary Miers enjoys the stories of 10 Scottish family seats
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The man who mixed colours
Tom Helme is a leading name in country-house decoration, with a flair for manufacturing. Mary Miers visits his Scottish retreat for tips on reviving a historic interior with sensitivity and innovation
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A Highland château
Dunrobin Castle, Sutherland, part I
In the first of two articles, Mary Miers considers how the medieval tower house of the Earls of Sutherland became a magnificent ducal palace
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Out of the ashes
Dunrobin Castle, Sutherland, part II
In this second article on the Highland seat of the Sutherland family, Mary Miers considers the outstanding Arts-and-Crafts interiors of the castle
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A balance of opposites
Mary Miers is exhilarated by an exhibition that brims with both an elemental force and a touching humanity
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Earth, wind and fire
Julie Brook is drawn to remote, primordial landscapes where she makes powerful sculptural works, drawings and films. As she prepares for a new exhibition, the artist talks to Mary Miers in her studio on the Isle of Skye
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Life among the battlements
Living in a Scottish castle sounds romantic, but how do owners cope? Mary Miers talks to four families who say the castle has to earn its keep Photographs by John Millar
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Taming the tough bounds
The wild land of Moidart is one of the most beautiful in Britain, but, by the 1980s, the population had dwindled and many of its houses lay derelict. Now, however, there are signs of new life. Mary Miers reports on a West Highland renaissance Photographs by Simon Jauncey
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Scotching the myth
The story of how a Highland tradition became the badge of Scotland’s national identity is full of paradox and misconceptions. Mary Miers considers the warp and weft of tartan’s complex history
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A Hebridean romance
Torosay Castle, Isle of Mull
Mary Miers tells the story of a Victorian shooting lodge owned by the same family for 147 years and we publish here, for the first time, photographs taken by Country Life shortly before the house and its contents were sold
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