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Smoo Cave in Sutherland used by Travellers. Charles 'Codlins' Simpson found Travellers camping in Smoo Cave in Sutherland, with a horse and a van. Discussion of the features of the cave.

Rivalry between Banff and Macduff traced to the hanging of MacPherson. The rivalry between Banff and Macduff goes back to the hanging of MacPherson. Some of the bigger lairds were encroaching on h...

A spoken fragment of the song 'MacPherson's Rant': Some come here tae see me hang And some tae buy ma fiddle But before I would part wi her I'll brak it through the middle. Sae rantinly, sae [gan...

The great days of Macduff as a centre of commerce. Charles 'Codlins' Simpson recalls the great days of Macduff, when the harbour was full of ships from all parts of the Baltic and from Holland, br...

Antiquities and the origin of place-names in the Macduff area. Charles 'Codlins' Simpson mentions contractors who demolished houses in Gamrie [Gardenstown], and who are suspected of having found s...

Fishing out of Macduff in the 19th century. James IV is said to have dragged a man's net ashore at Gamrie [Gardenstown] and picked out the herring. It is only a story, but Charles 'Codlins' Simpso...

Ancedote about fishermen trapped at sea on the Lord's Day, and concerns over whether they had worked that day. Halibut and skate were no use to fishermen before the railways, because they could no...

Shetland and Orkney exclusiveness. It was an awful disgrace for a Shetlander or an Orcadian to be seen going out with a Scotsman. They let it be known that they were a different race.

Charles 'Codlins' Simpson: biography. Charles Simpson was born in Macduff in 1875, in a street with a wall [well] at the foot of it. He was nicknamed 'Codlins' when he was six years old. A big boy...

Superstition and fishermen: generosity rewarded with luck. When Charles 'Codlins' Simpson was on the way from his lodgings to go to sea with the fishing boat 'Olive Branch', he met an old woman, B...