The Historic Scotland Podcast

Join Sarah as she discovers Dirleton Castle’s role in Scotland’s witch trials, cleaves history from legend on the shores of Loch Ness and delves into the rich archaeology of Holyrood Park and Caerlaverock Castle.

Season Two of the Historic Scotland podcast is available now - just search wherever you get your podcasts! 

Historic Scotland members get to listen to every episode first, plus they get exclusive access to all previous episodes and other bonus content. It's just one of the many benefits of membership, which supports our work protecting Scotland's history and heritage.

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With Ali Davey and Marlene Macleod.

Sarah sits by a glowing fire in one of Scotland’s most remote crofts to immerse herself in Hebridean life and hospitality. Within the Blackhouse’s thick stone walls and thatched roof, kept wind and watertight though the sharing of traditional skills down the generations, she discovers a story of community, resilience and a Gaelic tradition of storytelling and music that endures.

With Zoe Samuels-Lyons, Castle Steward, Judith Rowett Regional Collections Manager, Lynsey Haworth, Collections Access Manager, and Stefan North-Sagrott, Senior Cultural Resources Advisor

Sarah travel to the fairytale castle of Caerlaverock in Dumfries and Galloway. Here, she learns how a series of remarkable archaeological finds - from leather goods and basketry to fragments of Islamic glass - reveal how this seemingly remote medieval castle was once part of a vibrant network of international trade and cultural exchange.

With Regional Collections Manager, Jill van Millingen and volunteer John Simpson

On a rocky craig in the Scottish Borders stands Smailholm Tower, a medieval stronghold in a landscape with a strong tradition of balladry - poems capturing the lives and legends of the area.

Collections Manager Jill and volunteer guide John explain how this brooding place fired the imagination of a young Walter Scott, and how his Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border in turn inspired a set of costumed dolls by the late artist Anne Carrick.

With Monument Manager Paul Rowlands, Deputy Head of Industrial Heritage Mark Watson, and Ian Shearer from Friends of Kinneil

In this episode, we step back to a time of frustration and triumph in the workshop of Scottish inventor and engineer James Watt at Kinneil House. What experiments took place here, what were Watt’s most important innovations at Kinneil and how did they help launch Britain’s Industrial Revolution? This is the story of how one man’s persistence in a corner of Scotland changed the trajectory of the world.

With experts from the Loch Ness Centre

Sarah heads north to the shores of Loch Ness and the dramatic ruins of Urquhart Castle in Scotland’s Great Glen to discover how legend and history co-exist at one of our most famous heritage sites. As the castle’s guides reveal the castle’s strategic importance and a fierce past filled with clan struggles and warfare, Sarah also ponders the origins and enduring myth of Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster – with help from some Nessie experts at the Loch Ness Centre.

With Senior Cultural Resources Advisor Rachel Pickering, Professor Jon Henderson and Ranger and Visitor Services Manager Martin Gray.

From the heights of Holyrood Park, we explore thousands of years of history in Holyrood Park - from Iron Age hillforts to royal hunting grounds - meet the archaeologists who are reshaping our understanding of the park’s past and reflect on the challenges of managing archaeology in a green space that sits within one of the busiest cities in the world.

With Properties Historian Dr Morvern French and Professor Julian Goodare

In the first episode of series two, Sarah travels to East Lothian to discover a dark chapter in Dirleton Castle’s history.

As witch trials in Scotland escalated during the 16th and 17th centuries, Dirleton and the wider region became embroiled in false accusations, interrogations and executions - with women being disproportionately targeted. Sarah brings their stories into the light and reflects on the castle’s changing role, from a site of fear and cruelty to a place of beauty and commemoration.