Love Scotland: Stories of Scotland's History and Nature

This week, Jackie is looking up: to the Munros and mountains that have shaped Scotland’s past and present. With her expert guest, author Ed Douglas, Jackie explores how the high peaks’ geology, culture, land ownership and conservation have all influenced the nation’s people, animals and landscapes. 

Their conversation covers everything from the very formation of the mountain ranges themselves to the cutting-edge of modern conservation techniques being used across Trust places and beyond to protect Scottish wildlife.  

To find out more about the outdoor places in the Trust’s care, including Ben Lawers National Nature Reserve and Mar Lodge Estate, click here. 

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This week, Jackie is on the case of a famous painting that disappeared for centuries. The portrait in question was commissioned in 1803 and produced by prominent artist Henry Raeburn. For more than 200 years, however, it was missing and assumed to be lost to time.

Then, in 2025, everything changed. Joining Jackie to tell all is the man who investigated the portrait’s disappearance: William Zachs, a Burns scholar and the director of Blackie House Library and Museum in Edinburgh. What follows is a tale of internal art history centuries in the making.

The Portrait of a Poet exhibition runs at Robert Burns Birthplace Museum until 1 November. Find out more here, and plan your visit here.

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Join Jackie as she discovers the personal stories of Newhailes House, the stately home that belonged to the Dalrymple family for almost three centuries. Diane Martin, visitor services supervisor, guides Jackie through the mansion to highlight the stories of three women in particular who helped to shape its history.

Together, you’ll discover the tale of Janet, the first lady of Newhailes, who managed the estate in the 18th century; her great-granddaughter whose community spirit was a marvel of its time; and Lady Antonia, the last female resident of the Musselsburgh home.

To find out more about Newhailes itself, click here.

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This week, Jackie is heading back further in time than ever before. Join her on a prehistoric adventure 170 million years in the making as she explores a prehistoric Scotland formed of warm lagoons, humid forests, and dinosaurs aplenty.

Guiding her through this incredible period of history is the palaeontologist Stephen Brusatte, an author and academic at the University of Edinburgh who has also acted as a consultant and expert for Jurassic World and Walking With Dinosaurs. Together, they separate the facts from the fiction and delve into Scotland’s rich history of palaeontology, fossil discovery, and the awe-inspiring animals who once roamed the nation’s landscapes.

Plus, join Hugh Miller’s Birthplace visitor services supervisor James Ryan as he takes to Cromarty beach in search of fossils.

For more on Hugh Miller’s Birthplace, click here.

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This week, Jackie is exploring centuries of history in less than half an hour. Join her as she discovers the secrets of Aberdeenshire’s Drum Castle, covering everything from Robert the Bruce to James VI, the Jacobite Uprising of 1745 to the majesty of the walled gardens. Plus, Jackie learns all about the Trust’s Timesliders project, which opens up history to new generations.

To find out more about Drum Castle, and to start planning your visit, head to the website.

To enjoy more episodes of Love Scotland, please follow or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.