Arts and Craft

The landscape of Scotland provides inspiration not just for visitors but for those lucky enough to live amongst some of Europe's finest scenery. Some choose to express themselves in craftwork - knitwear, pottery, jewellery and in all kinds of art.

Here are just a few of the many places where you can enjoy quality craft products and, in some cases, see them being made. Craftworks in Scotland Visit the Trossachs gateway town of Callander and you will find the Scottish Crafts Centre on the main street.

Ceramics, herbal products, knitwear, jewellery and a whole lot more (including Scottish-made computer mouse mats) - an ideal place for a souvenir of your Trossachs visit. Very close to Rosyth are some excellent craft centres.

A few miles north up the M90, the Butterchurn, under the banner of the Best of Scottish Food and Crafts, offers exactly that. Scottish hampers, beauty products and soaps, classy giftware and luxury items for the home all make leaving the M90 at junction 4 (Kelty) worthwhile. Look out too for the frequent exhibitions and craft demonstrations in their gallery.

Further east - in fact, about as far east as you can go in Fife - the family businesses of Crail Pottery, Crail Earthenware and Crail Ceramics produce a diverse range of stoneware and brightly coloured earthenware, from cooking pots to mugs, salad sets to garden pots.

Every item is hand thrown, decorated and glazed on the premises, and a trip to the workshops, to browse in the showroom and relax in the secluded yard under the fruit trees is always worthwhile. You never know when youÕre going to stumble across a craftworker!

If you take a trip to Buchan, the area in the tip of Grampian in the north east, you will find Caledonian Sticks, in the old fishing village of Cairnbulg (near Fraserburgh). And you'll also learn a lot about the lore of walking sticks, wading sticks, canes, crooks and (in Gaelic) cromachs.

Or explore the banks of Loch Lomond and you're sure to find the Thistle Bagpipe Works at Luss. They,ve been making bagpipes for more than half a century - a development of wood-turning skills - as well as hand sewing kilts and creating all kinds of Highland dress accessories of real quality.

Crieff in Perthshire is another crafts "hot spot". The Crieff Visitor Centre, south of the town, is well worth a look for pottery and a whole range of quality items (plus a fascinating exhibition on the Highland drovers, who took the cattle to the huge market Crieff had in olden days). Opposite is a fine glassware showroom, while further along the road, if you want to try your own skill, then the Ceramic Experience gives you the chance to select your own unglazed pottery, then go wild with the paints, creating your own unique piece. (Brilliant! They fire it for you - and post it to you if you are just passing through the area.)

In the sense that craft can mean experience and knowledge acquired over time, the craft element shows in all kinds of Scottish products - whisky distilling is one example. Another might be, for instance, manufacturing preserves. Dundee is still associated with jams and marmalades (because its hinterland is one of the largest soft-fruit growing areas in Europe).

On your breakfast table, or in quality shops around Scotland, you might find the brand-name Mackays. They have been producing high quality preserves and marmalades in the Dundee area since 1938 and are the only remaining producer of Dundee marmalade, located beside the birthplace of this world famous product. They still manufacture preserves and marmalades in traditional open pans, using only natural ingredients to create the homemade taste.

In short, Scotland is full of surprises - craft work turns up in many places and there are a large number of individuals in the industry. Discovering it all is an essential part of the Scottish experience.

Musical Notes... Burns and a that

Burns Suppers, as a nation-wide (if not worldwide) institution, have now been joined by a Burns Festival in Ayrshire in late spring, which aims to make the life, work and music associated with the poet more widely known and more easily accessible to all nationalities.

Celtic Connections

Another showcase for ScotlandÕs music is Celtic Connections, a music festival of international standing and reputation. With a clear and growing interest throughout the world in Scottish music and Celtic culture in general, Glasgow's festival every January is recognised not only as the premiere Celtic festival in the United Kingdom but also as an important global event.

With 80,000 attendances last year alone, Celtic Connections attracts visitors from throughout the world. The festival includes performances from big name artists as well as providing a showcase for new talent. These world class events take place in venues across the city.

Celtic Connections is also a social and interactive event that provokes discussion, informs participants and initiates cultural exchange across the city in communities and schools. The Mod The Royal National Mod is Scotland's premier festival of the Gaelic language, arts and culture and is held in October at a different location in Scotland annually.

The Mod is a competition-based festival which celebrates the Gaelic language and culture through music, dance, drama, arts and literature. First held in Oban in 1892, the Mod has now grown to become the second biggest festival in Scotland, attracting visitors and competitors from throughout the UK, Ireland, Australia, Canada and the USA. In October 2003 the 100th Mod returns to Oban.

Folk music in Scotland

There are a number of regular folk clubs in all parts of Scotland. Some are informal gatherings of local people who meet to exchange songs and play tunes together, while others operate a more formal concert style evening. There is usually an entrance fee, depending on whether or not it is a club evening with regulars or a more ambitious concert with perhaps even big-name guests.

Most clubs are run by volunteers and exist to promote traditional and contemporary folk music. You may come across a variety of musical forms. Clubs are spread all over Scotland in towns and cities large and small such as such as Stirling, Aberdeen, Dunfermline, Aberdour, Crail, Lossiemouth and Fyvie (and lots more).

Visitors are always made welcome both as audience members or performers. Folk Festivals are basically bigger events than folk club evenings, though sometimes initiated and run by club organisers. From Portpatrick in Galloway to Stromness on Orkney (and Shetland, too) and at many places in between a comprehensive programme of folk music, both traditional and contemporary can be found - as a reminder of the living heritage of music to be enjoyed in Scotland today.