Axel Piper

Scotland’s road network isn’t just tarmac and traffic—it’s a sprawling, aging, often stubborn web of over 5,000 structures that quite literally hold the country together. And as Hazel McDonald puts it, keeping them standing is anything but straightforward. McDonald, the chief bridge engineer at Transport Scotland, is responsible for one of the most thankless yet crucial jobs in the nation’s infrastructure ecosystem. Her team looks after everything from culverts and gantries to high masts, retaining walls, and the 2,070 bridges that dot the national trunk road network. “We’re basically working with infrastructure that’s showing its age,” she says, without sugarcoating.…

The long-running Stagecoach pay dispute that disrupted bus services across Ayrshire and Arran has officially ended after hundreds of drivers accepted a new pay deal, securing an 11.5% uplift in basic wages. The agreement brings a close to a strike that began on 9 June and followed months of tension between Unite the Union and Stagecoach West Scotland, which operates routes across much of the region. Pay Deal Ends 2024–2025 Dispute The accepted offer marks a significant improvement on the company’s earlier proposal of a 4% raise, which Unite had rejected as “unacceptable.” Under the newly approved terms: Basic hourly…

A school project from 1994 has finally made its way back to sender — across the North Sea and three decades on. Back in 1994, a 12-year-old girl in Moray slipped a handwritten letter into a Moray Cup bottle and let it go into the North Sea. She didn’t think much of it. Fast forward to 2025 — she’s now in her 40s — and the bottle has finally been found. Not just found, but replied to. By a kind stranger in Norway. With a postcard. Alaina Beresford’s message in a bottle just closed the loop on one of the…

After months of legal back-and-forth, a Delhi court has cleared the way for Naijil Paul to be extradited to the United Kingdom, where he faces serious criminal charges including rape and sexual assault in Scotland. The extradition of Naijil Paul, an Indian national accused of multiple sexual offences in the UK, was approved by a Delhi court on Friday, marking a crucial step in a case that spans two continents and several years. Paul, who fled the UK to evade prosecution, was arrested in Kochi in late 2024. Since then, the UK government had been seeking his return under the…

With CalMac fare structures up for examination, the Scottish government insists it hasn’t decided the fate of its popular Road Equivalent Tariff. Islanders and tourists alike are bracing for potential changes, even as ministers vow to rule out options one by one. Ferry Fares Under the Microscope The Connectivity Minister, Jim Fairlie, stressed that “no decisions have been made on anything at this stage.” He added that every possibility—from tweaking fares to adjusting fleet resilience—would be considered and then discarded if it didn’t stack up. Governments need to look at everything, he said. But what exactly is on the menu?…

Scotland is hitting reset on its climate strategy after repeatedly missing key emissions targets. The Scottish Government has officially scrapped its legally binding 2030 climate goal, instead unveiling a new framework based on five-year carbon budgets aimed at reaching net zero by 2045. The move has sparked a heated mix of praise, panic, and political finger-pointing. Scotland, once seen as a global climate frontrunner, now finds itself facing tough questions—about credibility, capacity, and whether it's still on course to meet its long-term environmental promises. Abandoning the 2030 Pledge The 2030 commitment was ambitious: cut greenhouse gas emissions by 75% compared…

In a stark attempt to manage surging inmate numbers, Scotland has released more than 150 violent offenders early from custody this year—raising sharp questions about public safety and justice priorities. The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) confirmed that 312 prisoners were let out between February and March, under an expanded emergency early release programme designed to ease chronic overcrowding in the country’s prison estate. And nearly half of those released were convicted of non-sexual crimes of violence. Early Release Policy Quietly Expanded The early release powers were introduced last year but extended further in February 2025, allowing inmates with sentences of…

Scotland’s west coast, long considered the final stronghold for harbour seals in the UK, is no longer a safe haven. A major new study by the University of St Andrews has found a 20% decline in seal numbers between 2018 and 2023, marking the first significant downturn in decades for the area. Once a refuge, now a red flag The research, led by the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU), paints a sobering picture of the marine mammal’s fate. Using aerial surveys, tagging, and long-term photo identification methods, scientists have tracked the species since the 1980s. Until recently, the Inner Hebrides…

Every week, ordinary Scots snap extraordinary slices of life—and the week of 6–13 June was no different. Whether it was raw triumph after a 54-mile march or the splash of teamwork in a summer gala, these personal captures brought out the grit, charm, and quiet pride that pulse through the country’s communities. This week’s highlights come from Blairgowrie to Strathaven—and each image has a story behind it. “Raw Emotion”: A Selfie at the Finish Line There’s tired. Then there’s 54-miles-through-the-Perthshire-heather tired. Brendan Hannan shared a selfie with five mates trailing behind him, all grinning, thumbs up, walking a gravel path…