The Sea And Me

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 Keeping My Mind. I’ve been out at sea for the past 15 years now; it’s all I do. I wait for the tide to rise high enough to get the boat out of the Scottish harbour, travel five miles out into the North Sea (the most treacherous sea in the world), and then drop my anchor and grab about three hours of sleep. Of course, I check the weather beforehand, and as much as I try to be careful, the weather can change on a whim. I wish I didn’t have to sleep, but everyone knows that’s impossible. It can be even more dangerous when you’re asleep, not just because the weather can change suddenly, but also because fishing trawlers have a nasty habit of catching fire. There’s a mountain of electrical cabling mixed with a fuel tank containing 2000 litres of diesel, plus other hazards that I won’t bore you with being on board. This is a video I took not long ago, it was of a trawler on fire close to me. So yes, it is the most dangerous job in the world, just one wrong step and it's game over! Yet,...
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Scotland: 25+ Astonishing, True & Fascinating Facts You Probably Didn’t Know...

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Ancient yews, Viking fires, underwater pyramids and the world’s shortest flight… Scotland is wilder and weirder than you think.


From a Scottish Fisherman's point of view


✈️ 1. The World’s Shortest Scheduled Flight

The trip between Westray and Papa Westray lasts under 2 minutes - often just 53 seconds.



🌲 2. A 5,000 Year Old Tree Still Stands in Scotland

The Fortingall Yew may be older than the Egyptian pyramids.



🐉 3. Loch Ness - More Than a Monster

Loch Ness contains more freshwater than every lake in England + Wales combined, making its depths perfect for mystery.



🔥 4. A Viking Fire Festival That Lights Up the Winter

Shetland’s Up Helly Aa festival features hundreds of torch bearers and the burning of a Viking longship.



🏴‍💻 5. Scotland Invented (or Transformed) Major Parts of Modern Life

From TV to the bicycle to penicillin, Scottish innovation shaped the world.



🧬 6. Scots Are Most Likely to Carry the Red Hair Gene

Only about 6–13% have red hair - but 40% carry the gene.



🐄 7. Drunk in Charge of a Cow? Still Illegal.

An old Scottish law technically prohibits being drunk while responsible for cattle.



🌧️ 8. The Word “Dreich” Is Uniquely Scottish

Meaning: cold, grey, miserable, damp, gloomy weather - an all in one perfect word.



🏌️ 9. St Andrews: The Oldest Golf Course on Earth

Golf has been played here since at least 1552.



🧱 10. Brochs - Scotland’s Mysterious Iron Age Towers

Up to 13 metres tall, built 2,000 years ago, its purpose still debated.



🌊 11. Underwater “Pyramids” Off Orkney

Neolithic buildings lie beneath the sea - older than Stonehenge.




🧊 12. Britain’s Oldest Human DNA Was Found in Scotland

Dating back 8,000 years, discovered in a cave in the Highlands.




🐬 13. Scotland Has Giant Bottlenose Dolphins

The Moray Firth dolphins are the largest in the world.




🌈 14. The Fairy Pools of Skye

Crystal clear blue pools look like they belong in a fantasy movie.




🌲 15. The Lost Caledonian Forest

Once a vast ancient forest - now only fragments survive.



⛰️ 16. Scotland Has the Highest Peak and the Deepest Loch

  • Ben Nevis: tallest mountain in the UK

  • Loch Morar: deeper than the North Sea




🌪️ 17. The Corryvreckan Whirlpool

The world’s third largest natural whirlpool sits between Jura and Scarba.




🦄 18. Scotland’s National Animal Is the Unicorn

A mythical creature representing freedom and purity.




🎓 19. Scotland’s Education System Was Centuries Ahead

Universities accepted poorer students long before other nations.




⚖️ 20. Scots Law Has a Third Verdict

“Not Proven” - controversial, unique, and centuries old.




🧱 21. The Stone of Destiny

Used in coronations for over 1,000 years.



🦕 22. Dinosaur Footprints on Skye

Footprints from sauropods and theropods dating back 170 million years.



🌊 23. You Can Walk to an Island at Low Tide

St Ninian’s Isle appears when the tide pulls back.



🎶 24. The Accordion Was Once Banned at Scottish Weddings

Strict religious groups in the 1600s called it “sinful.”



📯 25. Bagpipes Weren’t Originally Scottish

But Scotland made the Highland pipes globally iconic.


🐧 26. Scotland Has an Island Ruled by Puffins

Over 200,000 puffins live on the Isle of May in summer.




🌌 27. One of Europe’s Largest Dark-Sky Parks

Galloway Forest Park is so dark you can clearly see the Milky Way.




Irfan On His Fishing Boat


Scotland, United Kingdom Scotland, UK

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The Sea And Me

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Image
 Keeping My Mind. I’ve been out at sea for the past 15 years now; it’s all I do. I wait for the tide to rise high enough to get the boat out of the Scottish harbour, travel five miles out into the North Sea (the most treacherous sea in the world), and then drop my anchor and grab about three hours of sleep. Of course, I check the weather beforehand, and as much as I try to be careful, the weather can change on a whim. I wish I didn’t have to sleep, but everyone knows that’s impossible. It can be even more dangerous when you’re asleep, not just because the weather can change suddenly, but also because fishing trawlers have a nasty habit of catching fire. There’s a mountain of electrical cabling mixed with a fuel tank containing 2000 litres of diesel, plus other hazards that I won’t bore you with being on board. This is a video I took not long ago, it was of a trawler on fire close to me. So yes, it is the most dangerous job in the world, just one wrong step and it's game over! Yet,...
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