Our Posts

Scotland Blog

Contact

Resuelve tus dudas a través de nuestra lista de preguntas frecuentes

FAQs

This project was born from work, humility and experience in order to make people who visit Scotland feel part of its history and its legends.

If you would like an experience tailored to you, we offer personalized packages with a variety of options. You can choose the duration of the tour, focus on specific aspects of the city’s history, and explore the locations that are of interest to you.

Best privates tours in Edinburgh

Would you prefer a Private Tour?

**Glasgow** is currently one of the most visited cities in the United Kingdom and not many decades ago it was one of the most important cities of the Industrial Revolution, although today only remnants of that past remain.


Glasgow catedral.jpg

Glasgow

Guide tours and free tours in Glasgow

Charles Rennie Mackintosh is one of the forefront figures in the history of Scottish architecture and design. Not only his work proved fundamental to the development of the renowned Glasgow Style, but it also influenced European artistic movements as important as Symbolism and Modernism, leading British Art Nouveau alongside his wife, Margaret MacDonald.

![Charles Rennie Mackintosh 1.jpg](/uploads/Charles_Rennie_Mackintosh_1_37d07a3bc1.jpg)

## Biografía temprana

Son of Margaret MacIntosh (maiden name Rennie) and William MacIntosh, a local police superintendent, Charles Rennie Mackintosh **was born in Glasgow on June 7, 1868**, within an extensive family. His early education took place in public schools and institutions in the city. At some point during his youth, without knowing exactly why, **the spelling of his surname changed from MacIntosh to Mackintosh**.

**In 1884**, Charles **started working as an architect’s apprentice, and thus began his higher education at the Glasgow School of Art**, where he always stood out among his peers. Only six years later, he was already an associate of one the best architecture bureaus in the city, the same one where he had carried out his design and delineation internship.

His inspiration would always be rooted in Glasgow itself, as the city where he spent most of his life, and where he would become infused with Modernist and industrial ideas, as well as a new Asian style called Japonisme, since Japan held a close relation with the Clyde dockyards at the time. **Mackintosh loved the simplicity, pragmatism and use of natural materials** that such style boasted, being so **similar to Modernism** regarding its purity of lines and rejection of the pompous and the intricate.

![Charles Rennie Mackintosh 3.jpg](/uploads/Charles_Rennie_Mackintosh_3_4514bdf8a3.jpg)

## Glasgow Style

**As a combination of Japonisme, Modernism, Art Nouveau, and the influence that his vibrant hometown always exerted on him**, Charles Rennie Mackintosh gave birth to a new, original form of architecture and design: **the Glasgow Style**. Marked by its strong, **right angles and a liking for floral motifs**, Mackintosh would stand by it throughout his entire career.

But **no genius works alone**, and Charles was fortunate enough to closely surround himself with other brilliant personalities from contemporary arts and architecture. **Such is the case of Herbert MacNair, a peer from the Glasgow School of Art** and his subsequent internships, and an **inseparable friend of Mackintosh’s**. Both were fatefully introduced by the art school **dean to the sisters Margaret and Frances Macdonald**, whose artistic styles were strikingly similar to theirs, therefore, not only **they got married**, but they also collaborated throughout their whole lives by means of a **well-known group called The Four**. 

![Charles Rennie Mackintosh 6 rosa.jpg](/uploads/Charles_Rennie_Mackintosh_6_rosa_0edd8af83d.jpg)

## Main works by Mackintosh

Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s designs were highly popular in Scotland and, to a certain extent, also abroad in the early 1900s, at the height of his career.

Some of his main architectural works include:
- **the new Glasgow School of Art (1897-1909)**, which cemented his reputation internationally, and which sadly caught fire several times.
- **The Willow Tearooms (1903)**, an elegant tearoom that Mackintosh designed for the reputable entrepreneur Catherine Cranston. 
- The offices for the Glasgow Herald (1895), known nowadays as **The Lighthouse**.
- and **Hill House (1902-1904)**, which he erected for Scottish publisher Walter Blackie.

In almost all of his projects, **the creative mastermind in charge of the wondrous decoration would be his wife, Margaret MacDonald,** as both gave birth to designs as well-liked as the so-called “Mackintosh Rose”.  
    
    
![Charles Rennie Mackintosh 4 Hill House.jpg](/uploads/Charles_Rennie_Mackintosh_4_Hill_House_6cf326ed46.jpg)

## Personal life of Charles Rennie Mackintosh

As mentioned before, Charles Rennie Mackintosh **married a brilliant artist called Margaret Macdonald in 1900**. **The Mackintosh couple** would be one of the greatest, **most successful art tandems of their generation**, as both influenced each other’s styles, and their projects became their legacy and offspring. Charles himself would claim that his wife’s work always comprised three quarters of his architectural projects, and that he only had a dash of talent, but Margaret was a genius.

Even though the works of Margaret MacDonald were at that time, alongside her sister Frances’, as famous as her husband’s, nowadays she has somewhat fallen into worldwide anonymity, and only Art Nouveau and Scottish painting connoisseurs know and appreciate paintings as wonderful as **The May Queen or White Rose and Red Rose**.

![Margaret MacDonald.jpg](/uploads/Margaret_Mac_Donald_ea8c6b0ba1.jpg)

## Legacy and recognition

The legacy of Mackintosh and his colleagues exerted a far-reaching influence on Europe’s contemporary, Modernist architecture, and it poses one of the most relevant examples of Scottish architecture and design in history. His fame would grow ever larger after his passing in 1928, and **it experienced a remarkable revival in the 1990**s.  

Indeed, between November 1996 and February 1997, the **New York Metropolitan Museum of Art devoted a monographic exhibition to him**, accompanied by a series of symposiums and conferences convened by Scottish scholars such as Pamela Robertson. 

**Mackintosh’s face has also appeared on Scottish £100 notes**, and it has also been **immortalized in a dazzling piece of urban art in Glasgow by graffiti artist Rogue One**. If you wish to discover this painting and more incredible urban art, as well as some jaw-dropping Mackintosh buildings in the city, join one of our [Glasgow free tours!](https://scotlandcitytours.com/tours-glasgow/glasgow-free-tour)

If you are also going to visit Edinburgh, you should know that a branch of **The Willow Tearooms inspired by Mackintosh's architecture and design has recently opened its doors**. Stop by to have something and then take a walk with our free tours through the capital of Scotland!
    
![Charles Rennie Mackintosh 2.jpg](/uploads/Charles_Rennie_Mackintosh_2_87a292d691.jpg)

## Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

* Who was Charles Rennie Mackintosh and why is he important?

Mackintosh was one of the most remarkable architects and designers in Scottish history, and one of the leaders of British Art Nouveau.

* Which are some of Mackintosh’s most famous works?

His most renowned works include the Glasgow School of Art, The Willow Tearooms, The Lighthouse and Hill House.

* How did Mackintosh’s style influence modern design?

Mackintosh designs influenced artistic trends such as Modernism and Symbolism, infusing modern architecture with his elegant, straight lines.

* Did Mackintosh take part in any notable collaborations throughout his career?

During his career, Mackintosh always collaborated with his wife, Margaret MacDonald, and frequently, with his sister-in-law Frances and her husband, Herbert MacNair, in a group known as The Four. 

* Where can I see Mackintosh’s works in the present?

Some buildings designed by Mackintosh can currently be visited in Glasgow and its surroundings, such as The Lighthouse, The Willow Tearooms, Hill House or the posthumous House for an Art Lover. 



Charles Rennie Mackintosh 1.jpg

Charles Rennie Mackintosh: The architect who revolutionised Art Nouveau

We will introduce you to the history of this medieval city, which is more than 3000 years old. We will walk through its most picturesque streets, such as the Royal Mile, Chambers Street or Victoria Street. Learn about the alleys where people lived in the 17th century. We will tell you how they died during the Black Death and about the beaked doctors who tried to cure them. Exciting stories await you!


Royal_mile_blog.jpg

Edinburgh

Best Tours in Edinburgh

Edinburgh Walking Tours

Robert Burns, also known as **Rabbie Burns or The Ayrshire Bard**, is probably the most famous and influential poet in all Scottish history. Scottish culture, as well as some of its traditions, are tinged with the spirit and works of this brilliant author. **Pioneer of Romanticism**, **defender of the Scots language** and an advocate of Liberalism and even early-stage Socialism, Robert Burns is a fundamental character to understand Scotland.

![Robert Burns 3 retrato de Alexander_Nasmyth.jpg](/uploads/Robert_Burns_3_retrato_de_Alexander_Nasmyth_6559c6d26a.jpg)

## Robert Burns’ early life: birth and education
Robert Burns **was born in the village of Alloway**, in the outskirts of Ayr, southwest Scotland, **on January 25th, 1759**. He was the eldest of seven siblings in a family of farmers, hence his childhood was beset with hardships and strenuous work, which would eventually take a toll on his fragile health. Educated by his own father and a young local teacher, his talent seemed to be doomed to never flourish when, in 1779, at the age of twenty, **he founded Tarbolton’s Bachelor’s Club** alongside his brother Gilbert, **a place of meeting, debate and leisure**.

A few years later, encouraged by his friends, Roberts Burns took his first steps in his career as a poet while he kept working in his family farm and engaged in sultry affairs with several local ladies. Finally, in 1788, he married Jean Armour, the “Belle of Mauchline”, with whom **he had nine children** (which didn’t stop him from having **three more with other women**).

After a convoluted, tragically brief life filled with strain, hardships, struggling, romance, poetry and politics, **Robert Burns passed away on July 21st, 1796** at the age of thirty-seven, most likely owing to an aggravated rheumatic cardiopathy.

![Robert Burns 2 cottage Alloway.jpg](/uploads/Robert_Burns_2_cottage_Alloway_737f88b6ba.jpg)

## Robert Burns’ main works
Robert Burns graced Scottish poetry with works as relevant as the romantic “Ae fond kiss”, devoted to his beloved Clarinda, or “A red, red rose”, inspired by folk rhyme that he heard a townswoman sing; the delightful ode **“To a mouse”**; the fantastic and folklore-packed poem **“Tam O’Shanter”**; and, of course, the song which made him literally worldwide famous, **“Auld Lang Syne”**, an ode to nostalgia and friendship which is usually sang as a group during New Year’s Eve, arms intertwined.

**To a Mouse - BY ROBERT BURNS**
_On Turning her up in her Nest, with the Plough, November 1785._

Wee, sleeket, cowran, tim’rous beastie,
O, what a panic’s in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
          Wi’ bickerin brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an’ chase thee
          Wi’ murd’ring pattle!

I’m truly sorry Man’s dominion
Has broken Nature’s social union,
An’ justifies that ill opinion,
          Which makes thee startle,
At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,
          An’ fellow-mortal!

I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve;
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen-icker in a thrave
          ’S a sma’ request:
I’ll get a blessin wi’ the lave,
          An’ never miss ’t!

Thy wee-bit housie, too, in ruin!
It’s silly wa’s the win’s are strewin!
An’ naething, now, to big a new ane,
          O’ foggage green!
An’ bleak December’s winds ensuin,
          Baith snell an’ keen!

Thou saw the fields laid bare an’ waste,
An’ weary Winter comin fast,
An’ cozie here, beneath the blast,
          Thou thought to dwell,
Till crash! the cruel coulter past
          Out thro’ thy cell.

That wee-bit heap o’ leaves an’ stibble
Has cost thee monie a weary nibble!
Now thou’s turn’d out, for a’ thy trouble,
          But house or hald,
To thole the Winter’s sleety dribble,
          An’ cranreuch cauld!

But Mousie, thou art no thy-lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men
          Gang aft agley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
          For promis’d joy!

Still, thou art blest, compar’d wi’ me!
The present only toucheth thee:
But Och! I backward cast my e’e,
          On prospects drear!
An’ forward tho’ I canna see,
          I guess an’ fear!


## Robert Burns and Scottish culture
Thanks to his straightforward prose, honest and direct, **heir to the Makar tradition heralded by bards and troubadours in Renaissance Scotland**, Robert Burns’ lyrical works soon became highly appreciated both by his closest environment and also by a humbler audience. In addition to this, **his liberal political ideas** and the fact that **he favored the use of Scots in his works**, a traditional Scottish language which was sternly frowned upon by the elites back then, Rabbie eventually **became the most beloved poet by the folk**, being almost revered.


## Celebrating “Burns Night” and its meaning

Precisely due to the fact that both the humble folk and his friends enormously valued his works as well as himself, **when Robert Burns passed away his loved ones started meeting every January 25th, the poet’s birthday, to cherish his memory with a very special dinner brimming with Scottish traditions.**
Nowadays, this **“Burns Night” or “Burns Supper”** is still celebrated yearly on this very same date, and, in fact, it is not only one of Scotland’s most cherished and traditional festivities, but it is also celebrated wherever Scots have emigrated, bringing Scottish culture together across the world.
Burns Night consists of a dinner in which guests, welcomed by a bagpiper and special speech, have a first course of soup, and a main course of [haggis](https://scotlandcitytours.com/blog/what-is-haggis), which is presented in the dining room with the highest honors, **reciting the poem by Robert Burns “Address to a Haggis”**. The meal goes on with loads of whisky, bagpipe tunes, Scottish poetry, songs, toasts to the bard and the comical “Toast to the Lassies”, followed by its correspondent “Reply from the Lassies”, a rhetoric gender fight on a humorous note. At last, the heartfelt “Auld Lang Syne” is sung.

![Robert Burns 5 Supper.jpg](/uploads/Robert_Burns_5_Supper_ec77e9cc5a.jpg)

## Places related to Burns in Scotland

The traveler wishing to visit sites in Scotland related to Robert Burns should undoubtedly head to Alloway, the Ayrshire village that witnessed the poet’s early years. Both his birthplace and also a wonderful museum entirely devoted to him can be explored, besides a lengthy walk encompassing some of the places described in “Tam O’ Shanter”, in Alloway’s old church and the Rozelle House pictorial gallery, all of which are renowned landmarks of tourism in Scotland.
Not far away from there, in Tarbolton, the notable **Bachelor’s Club** founded by a young Robert Burns can also be visited and, further south, in Dumfries, there is also **The Globe Inn**, frequently trodden by the Scottish poet, where travelers can eat and embark on themed tours.
Should your trip be limited to the city of Edinburgh, fret not! Drop by the marvelous **Writers’ Museum** and indulge in endless trivia about Robert Burns, Walter Scott and Stevenson, to whom the venue is entirely devoted. If you wish to complete your experience, you can take a _free tour throughout the Old Town_!

![the-globe-inn-robert-burns-.jpg](/uploads/the_globe_inn_robert_burns_475515ae63.jpg)

## Robert Burns’ present-day legacy
Robert Burns’ legacy reaches far beyond his uncontested literary value, and it exceeds Scotland’s borders. His defense of the Scots language and folk traditions, his innovative political orientation and even his extraordinary charisma have made him today as beloved as he was in life, **which can be attested by the countless statues in his honor dotting the world**. Thanks to his works and the legacy that his loved ones preserved and spread,** events such as Burns Night or songs like “Auld Lang Syne”** bring the descendants of Scottish emigrants far and wide together to this day, connecting them again to the nation from which they all once departed.
His legacy is so influential that you don’t even have to be Scottish to be touched while singing “Auld Lang Syne” as the new year approaches!

![Robert Burns 4 estuatua en Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA.jpg](/uploads/Robert_Burns_4_estuatua_en_Milwaukee_Wisconsin_USA_f1335437ad.jpg)

## How to explore the world of Robert Burns
To know more, you can read some of the best poems by Robert Burns here: scotland. org/events/burns-night/the-poetry-of-robert-burns 
And delve deeper into his life and works here: poetryfoundation. org/poets/robert-burns 
Or you can also check out this veritable encyclopedia of Robert Burns: robertburns. org


Robert Burns 1.jpg

Robert Burns: Scotland’s legendary poet and his cultural impact

## Wild Haggis

The **haggis is an animal native to the Scottish Highlands** that lives on the slopes of the mountains. It is relatively small, with four legs, rough skin and quite a lot of hair. But having to live in such mountainous areas means that this animal has had to adapt to the very steep terrain. So, it has evolved to have two legs on one side longer than the other. This means there are two species: those that travel clockwise because their right legs are shorter than their left; and those whose right legs are longer and travel anticlockwise. Both species coexist peacefully and can climb the steep mountains without difficulty.

Hunting them is relatively simple since a wild haggis is a timid creature, so you just have to scare it, and it will run away. Since it only runs in one direction, you can wait for it to go around the mountain and catch it easily - but be careful, they bite!

To cook your haggis, put it in brine for a couple of days to make it tender. According to several records, people on the **Isle of Lewis and Harris** once used the skin to craft their sporran (the bag worn as part of the traditional Scottish dress). Today, the skin is simply discarded.

Did you believe the story? A third of Americans visiting **Scotland** believe that the wild haggis exists!

![Hag Haggiswild.jpg](/uploads/Hag_Haggiswild_487c125537.jpg)
_Wild haggis, Kelvingrove museum Glasgow_

## History of Haggis

Haggis, the **national dish of Scotland**, is a somewhat complex recipe made from sheep entrails: the heart, liver and lungs are usually part of the standard dish, mixed with oatmeal, onions and other spices. Everything is chopped into pieces and cooked inside the sheep’s stomach. Finally, it is served with mashed potatoes, mashed turnip and whisky sauce.

Scotland is a country with grand romanticism: so much so that this delicious dish even has a romantic poem dedicated to it, written in the 18th century by the **famous Scottish poet Robert Burns**.

However, in reality, the origins of haggis point in many directions - even to England! Catherine Brown, a Scottish food historian, believes that haggis was invented in England, having found a cookbook from 1615 with a recipe for a pudding called "haggas" that is very similar to haggis. But did Shakespeare write a poem to **haggis**? 

Other sources suggest that it was brought to Britain by the Romans in the 1st century AD, although there is little evidence to confirm this theory.

|Edinburgh Walking Tours |
|---|
| Book your [Edinburgh Free Tour](https://scotlandcitytours.com/tours-edinburgh/edinburgh-free-tour) |
| Book your [Edinburgh Mysteries, witchery and murders Walking Tour](https://scotlandcitytours.com/tours-edinburgh/edinburgh-ghost-tour) |
| BEST TOUR [Edinburgh Castle Guided Tour](https://scotlandcitytours.com/tours-edinburgh/guided-tour-edinburgh-castle) |
| Book your [Outlander and Jacobites Walking Tour](https://scotlandcitytours.com/tours-edinburgh/outlander-tour)|

![Haggis.jpg](/uploads/Haggis_85cd0b1a2f.jpg)
haggis

It has also been associated with Scandinavia, specifically the **Vikings**, who settled in Scotland between the 8th and 13th centuries. The etymologist Walter William Steak said that the word “haggis” derives from the Old Norse word “haggw”, meaning to cut into pieces or chunks.
Haggis has even been attributed to France due to their **old alliance with Scotland**, and they may have introduced in the late 13th century.
However, the earliest written reference to a haggis-like sausage comes from the Greek playwright Aristophanes, who mentioned it in 423 BC.
 
### How did haggis become Scotland's national dish?

Curiously, the **first mention** of haggis comes from the English.

At the end of the 17th century, the English diet changed due to the **Agricultural Revolution**. There was a wider variety of better quality foods, so people no longer needed to eat these less appealing sheep parts. Dishes like haggis went out of style in England and were only associated with the poorest working classes. Yet the opposite happened in Scotland! A severe economic recession in the 17th century led to 7 years of extreme famine, which made dishes like haggis more popular.

The English began to mock the poverty of Scottish food, attempting to humiliate them. The famous English writer Samuel Johnson said, “a grain, which in England is normally fed to horses, in Scotland feeds its people”.

So while England rejected haggis as a food, the Scots, with their wounded pride and constant struggle to differentiate themselves from the English, claimed haggis as their own.

However, the love story between **Scotland and haggis** didn’t begin until 1786, when Robert Burns wrote his famous “**Address to the Haggis**”. Although, the association was not consolidated until the 19th century.

King George IV's visit to Scotland in 1822 served to close the ancient wounds between the two nations. **Sir Walter Scott** hosted the event, presenting the monarch with a romantic image of Scotland. Scott asked everyone to dress in tartan for the royal banquet and selected dishes that reflected Scottish identity, haggis being his main course. As you can imagine, he created a new tradition in the process!
Haggis became more fashionable than ever, Scotland was a romanticised notion, and the **William Wallace Monument** was erected. And **Scottish patriotism was reborn**.

Although haggis is traditionally made with meat, a vegetarian version was invented in 1984, and you can also find everything **haggis-flavoured**, from **crisps** to ice cream!

![Hag Veg pat.jpg](/uploads/Hag_Veg_pat_d2fcae52df.jpg)

**Scotland is a country of traditions and customs**, so the haggis tradition survives, now deeply rooted in its culture, alongside bagpipes and tartan. Every year on the 25th of January, Burns Night is celebrated on the poet's birthday. Friends and family gather around their tables to enjoy the most Scottish night of the year, paying homage to **Robert Burns, whisky and, of course, haggis**!

![Robert Burn, poeta nacional de Escocia.jpg](/uploads/Robert_Burn_poeta_nacional_de_Escocia_4299f080dd.jpg)
Robert Burns Portrait

#### Address to the Haggis

_Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face,_

_Great Chieftain o’ the Puddin-race!_

_Aboon them a’ ye tak your place,_

_Painch, tripe, or thairm:_

_Weel are ye wordy of a grace_

_As lang ‘s my arm._

-

_The groaning trencher there ye fill,_

_Your hurdies like a distant hill,_

_Your pin wad help to mend a mill_

_In time o’ need,_

_While thro’ your pores the dews distil_

_Like amber bead._
 
 -
 
_His knife see Rustic-labour dight,_

_An’ cut ye up wi’ ready slight,_

_Trenching your gushing entrails bright,_

_Like onie ditch;_

_And then, O what a glorious sight,_

_Warm-reekin, rich!_

-
 
_Then, horn for horn, they stretch an’ strive:_

_Deil tak the hindmost, on they drive,_

_Till a’ their weel-swall’d kytes belyve_

_Are bent like drums;_

_Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive,_

_Bethankit hums._

 -
 
_Is there that owre his French ragout,_

_Or olio that wad staw a sow,_

_Or fricassee wad mak her spew_

_Wi’ perfect sconner,_

_Looks down wi’ sneering, scornfu’ view_

_On sic a dinner?_
 
 -
 
_Poor devil! see him owre his trash,_

_As feckless as a wither’d rash,_

_His spindle shank a guid whip-lash,_

_His nieve a nit;_

_Thro’ bluidy flood or field to dash,_

_O how unfit!_

-
 
_But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,_

_The trembling earth resounds his tread,_

_Clap in his walie nieve a blade,_

_He’ll make it whissle;_

_An’ legs, an’ arms, an’ heads will sned,_

_Like taps o’ thrissle._

-
 
_Ye Pow’rs wha mak mankind your care,_

_And dish them out their bill o’ fare,_

_Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware_

_That jaups in luggies;_

_But, if ye wish her gratefu’ prayer,_

_Gie her a Haggis!_

![Plato de haggis.jpg](/uploads/Plato_de_haggis_dde5f294e8.jpg)
Haggis, neeps & tatties

So whether it was English, French, Roman, Viking or ancient Greek, who cares who created the original recipe? In the end, it was the Scots who dedicated a poem to the haggis and welcomed it as their national dish.




Scottish History