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IT was in this week of the year 563 that a hugely important development in the history of Scotland took place on the island of Iona. On the date traditionally held to be May 12, 563, St Columba and 12 companions from Ireland arrived on Iona. At that time only the Kingdom of Dalriada in what is now Argyll and the very southern regions of what is now Dumfries and Galloway were Christian. By the time Columba died in 597, most of the Scottish mainland was Christian, and the Scots – descendants of immigrants from Ireland – and the Picts were united by religion in what historians call the C...

Photograph by Getty Images Natural remedy Choosing a journey immersed in nature — an increasingly common reason cited for taking up a pilgrimage — would have resonated with early Celtic saints of the fifth and sixth centuries, such as St David. In the Middle Ages, the eponymous Welsh city was a pilgrimage destination rivalling Spain’s Santiago. The Shrine of St David, in its resplendent medieval cathedral, is the climax of a new week-long pilgrimage trail for 2021, forging the Celtic connection between Ireland and Wales as it treads in saintly footsteps along the wave-hammered shores of...

Farmers support plans for a Galloway National Park Hill farmer Robert McTurk from Glenhowl, above Loch Ken near Dalry says he would welcome a national park. Updated Robert McTurk at his hill farm near St John's Town of Dalry. Picture by Colin Hattersley (Image: Colin Hattersley / Galloway Nati) Join thousands of others in getting the stories that matter to you sent straight to your inbox.Invalid EmailSomething went wrong, please try again later. Subscribe When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Your information will be used in accordance with ...

Pilgrims along the 220-mile route from Southampton to Canterbury Credit: Jeff Gilbert/Alamy After more than a year of living under the cloud of Covid – when one walk a day was our only officially permitted exercise – this bank holiday weekend, you might understandably decide you are sick of walking. But how about a walk that isn’t just a walk, but a pilgrimage? In pre-Covid times, there was nothing nicer than to go for a long walk on a bank holiday with the promise of a pint at the end of it. But when lockdown restrictions closed the pubs, necessity gave rise to an alternative reason to...

FARMERS in Scotland's south-west are supportive of plans for the development of a Galloway National Park. According to the Galloway National Park Association, Galloway farms would be amongst the major beneficiaries if a park is designated, and the the issue is already on the political agenda, with the Conservatives, Greens, Labour and Liberal Democrats all supporting the idea of more National Parks in their Scottish Parliamentary election manifestos. One farmer who is keen on the idea is Robert McTurk, who has a farm above Loch Ken near St John’s Town of Dalry. Mr McTurk said: “As a...