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In the early 1980s, Scottish music found itself at a crossroads. The punk momentum had waned, many post-punk trailblazers were decamping to London, and what remained was a vacuum — raw, uncertain, and wide open for reinvention. What happened next is the focus of Postcards From Scotland, a new book by filmmaker and cultural historian Grant McPhee, released this week to critical acclaim. Spanning the pivotal years between 1983 and 1995, Postcards From Scotland is an oral history told not by critics or industry suits, but by the musicians, label founders, fanzine writers, and gig-goers who lived it — and…

White turbines rise like ghostly sentinels over the waves of the North Sea, blades silently spinning in Scotland’s stiff maritime breeze. From the deck of a fishing boat or the shores of East Lothian, these structures may appear graceful — even elegant. But behind them, a fierce debate is playing out. Do we really need more? That’s the question increasingly being asked by campaigners, local residents, and some conservationists as Scotland forges ahead with what may become one of the most expansive offshore wind programs in the world. Critics argue the country already produces far more electricity than it consumes…

If you’ve ever wondered where to begin your gravel biking journey in Scotland, forget the tourist-choked roads of the Highlands or the slick tracks of the Central Belt. Instead, head southwest — to Galloway. Tucked between the Solway Firth and the Southern Uplands, this underrated region of Dumfries and Galloway offers wide-open landscapes, little traffic, and an ever-growing network of mixed-surface trails. Long bypassed by travellers on their rush north to Loch Lomond, the Cairngorms, or Skye, Galloway is now finding new fame — one gravel track at a time. Scotland, Undiluted The charm of Galloway lies in its contrasts.…

Scotland’s skies might be a little cleaner in the years ahead—and it’s not because of the rain. LoganAir, the country’s biggest regional airline, has struck a deal with ZeroAvia, a hydrogen aviation startup with backing from both sides of the Atlantic. The goal? To begin swapping out jet fuel for hydrogen, cutting emissions to near zero on some of Scotland’s shortest, yet most vital, air routes. It’s a small step on the global scale—but a potentially giant leap for an island-heavy nation that still relies on planes for basic connectivity. ZeroAvia’s Engine Runs on Water—Literally The tech sounds futuristic, but…

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 Port of Aberdeen has officially launched Scotland’s largest maritime decarbonisation initiative, a £4 million investment that is already being hailed as a landmark step in the country’s transition to net-zero. The project, titled ‘Shore Power in Operation’, brings shore power capability to eight berths in the port’s bustling North Harbour. With the flip of a switch, vessels docking at the port can now plug into land-based electricity—sourced from renewables—instead of running their diesel-powered auxiliary engines while moored. Shore Power: A Cleaner Future for Scottish Shipping This innovation aims to significantly reduce carbon emissions, airborne pollutants, and noise levels in…

A 68-year-old man has died following a wild swimming incident off the Isle of Bute, prompting a police inquiry into the circumstances surrounding his death. Emergency services were called to Kilchattan Bay, a scenic and often serene spot on the southern tip of the island, around 20:10 BST on Thursday evening. The call was made after concerns were raised about the man's wellbeing while he was in the water. The man, whose identity has not been publicly released, was retrieved from the sea and airlifted by emergency helicopter to Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. Despite medical efforts, he was pronounced…

In a hidden fold of the Scottish Highlands, where mist weaves through glens and red deer roam freely, the Alladale Wilderness Reserve offers something quietly radical: a retreat into rewilding—and yourself. It was here, deep within a glen north of Inverness, that I found myself seated alone at a lunch table draped in white linen and flanked by the steady call of a cuckoo. A tartan blanket was folded neatly across the seat, and delicate flowers sat in a jam jar, swaying in the breeze. There was no phone signal, no Wi-Fi, and no one else around. Just stillness. A…

A beachfront bar in the Costa del Sol town of Fuengirola—closed since a gangland-style double murder shocked the expat community—will reopen this weekend under a new name: The Irish Rover. The venue, previously known as Monaghans, was the scene of a fatal shooting on May 31, where Ross Monaghan (43) and Eddie Lyons Jnr (46)—two high-profile figures in Scotland’s organised crime scene—were gunned down in broad daylight. Both men were reportedly part of long-running Glasgow-based criminal factions. The rebranding comes less than a month after the attack, which Spanish authorities have treated as a targeted hit. Despite the building’s dark…

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…