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- The Canadian Tartan Tour
- 2023
- Week 1 (15th -21st May)
- Week 2 (22nd -28th May)
- Week 3 (29th May - 3rd June)
- Week 4 (5th June - 11th June)
- Week 5 (12th June - 18th June)
- Week 6 (19th June - 25th June)
- Week 7 (26th June - 2nd July)
- Week 8 (3rd July - 9th July)
- Week 9 (10th - 16th July)
- Week 10 (17th - 23rd July)
- Week 11 (24th - 30th July)
- Week 12 (31st July - 6th August)
- Week 13 (7th August - 13th August)
- Week 14 (14th August - 20th August)
- Week 15 (21st August - 27th August)
- Week 16 (28th August - 3rd September)
The Canadian Tartan Tour
As we kick off the third and longest of our Canadian tartan tours to date it seemed only right to bring you along on the journey. So join me as we travel from province to province hosting tartan pop-up stores and heading to as many Scottish Festivals and Highland Games as we can along the way.
First of all, why Canada? Well, we Scots have played a significant role in the history and cultural fabric of Canada. With a sizable population and deep-rooted connections, the Scottish influence in Canada is undeniable. It's estimated that over 4.7 million Canadians, approximately 14% of the population, have Scottish ancestry. Considering the population of Scotland is only 5.4 million that's some pretty impressive numbers!
I too have my own family connections here in Canada with cousins who themselves emigrated from Scotland a few generations ago and have gone on to make Canada their home. With family in mind, I've always had a soft spot for The Great White North and this year marks my seventh trip across the Atlantic but, being the second largest country in the world, there's always more to explore!
2019
We launched our first Canadian Tartan Tour back in 2019 when myself, our founder Anna and her two children, Poppy & Harry hired an RV and visited for two weeks to attend Glengarry Highland Games in Maxville, ON, Montreal Highland Games the following day (this is affectionately known as M&M weekend with the Friday, Saturday in Maxville and Sunday in Montreal) and then Fergus Scottish Festival the following weekend, with a Pop-Up store in Toronto in between. We loved the adventure and couldn't wait to do it all again!
2022
The pandemic of course stopped us from visiting for a few years but last year I was able to return towards the end of July and embarked on a solo tour, again starting with Glengarry Highland Games and of course Montreal. There was an extra week's gap before Fergus Scottish Festival so I squeezed in a visit to Goderich Celtic Roots Festival on the banks of the beautiful Lake Huron as well as a few pop-up stores in between. After Fergus I headed east for The National Capital Highland Games in Ottawa & North Lanark Highland Games in Almonte, ON before continuing further east and on to the Maritimes to host a number of pop-up stores in the three provinces. Nova Scotia is of course intrinsically linked to Scotland with it's very name meaning New Scotland, and Prince Edward Island actually has one of the highest densities of Scottish Heritage in Canada so it was great to see just how well Scottish culture has been preserved & added to in these regions, Cape Breton music is the perfect example of this! After all the excitement of the Maritimes it was time to head to our final tour stop... Festival Celtique de Québec, safe to say this one challenged my high school French! The tour was a great success and I met so many lovely people along the way that there was no question that the tour would return once again.
2023
Where to start tour number three? It may seem like a difficult question but in fact this was one of the easier decisions to make when planning this years tour. In 2020 we had flights booked and were ready to go for a West Coast adventure to Vancouver & Victoria Highland Games so three years down the line we were determined to finally make this a reality!
Week 1 (15th -21st May)
And we're off! An early morning flight from Edinburgh to Frankfurt and then a considerably longer flight from Frankfurt to Vancouver saw us land on Tuesday afternoon.
On Wednesday it was time to collect our trusty hire car, Max the Mazda and take the ferry over to Vancouver Island. The Victoria Highland Games Pub Crawl, on Wednesday evening seemed like the perfect way to kick off the tour and I was delighted to join Team Blue alongside Joan McAulay, chief of the Clan MacAulay Association meeting lots of competitors, clan representatives and volunteers as we were piped between four fantastic pubs with pints waiting for us around downtown Victoria.
On Friday excitement was building as the final preparations for the Games really started to take shape. That evening there was a reception to welcome guests of the games to the newly opened Scottish Community Centre, built by the Victoria Highland Games Association. The Craigflower Centre was officially opened by the Association’s President, Jim Maxwell, on January 19, 2023. It's now home to the newly formed Capital City Pipe Band for 8 - 18 year olds who are encouraged to unleash their creativity, make lifelong friendships, and embrace the vibrant spirit of the Capital City Pipe Band.
Time for the big event... the 160th Victoria Highland Games & Celtic Festival, 3 years later than originally planned the tartan tent filled with over 500 tartans could finally open at the longest continually running Highland Games in North America!
Week 2 (22nd -28th May)
After a fantastic weekend on the Island, it was time to head back to the mainland. Before boarding the ferry I managed to fit in a quick stop to visit Malahat Skywalk, a Spiral wooden walkway that leads to a viewing platform overlooking the breathtaking panorama of Mt. Baker, Finlayson Arm, the Saanich Peninsula, and islands in both Canada and the US. While I was there I discovered the story of Major MacFarlane, who came to Canada in 1898 after a career as an officer in the British Army. The Canadian Government were sure that building a road across the difficult terrain over the Malahat mountain was impossible, but determined to make this a reality Major MacFarlane walked the hills between nearby towns, Duncan and Goldstream with just a compass, measuring tape and barometer to find a suitable route. His determination paid off and finally the government agreed to build the road. When it opened in 1911 he was the first to drive the new route end to end and I can only imagine how many have followed since!
I was in Vancouver for the majority of the week, and hosted our pop-up store at the Scottish Cultural centre, officially opened on the 11th July 1986 by The Hon Russell Fraser and Mr Stephen Rogers. Lord Gray Contin, Minister of State, The Rt. Hon JH Mackay, Lord Provost of Edinburgh, The Rt. hon R Gray, Lord Provost of Glasgow and Ald. D Bellamy, Deputy Mayor of Vancouver were among the many guests in attendance.
During the pop-up store I was interviewed by Caroline Chan for "On the Coast with Gloria Macarenko" on CBC Vancouver to talk about all things tartan, helping Caroline discover her own links to the Morrison clan & sharing an insight in to Canada's national tartan. You can listen back to the interview on CBC.
One of our lovely customers was Todd Wong, a gentleman we wrote about on the blog back in 2017, telling the tale of his incredible event, Gung Haggis Fat Choy, a combination of Burns Night & Chinese New Year! Todd chose the Chinese Scottish tartan for his latest kilt but as a graduate of Simon Fraser University he also proudly wears Fraser tartans too.
During my conversation with Todd we spoke of the Robert Burns Statue in Stanley park and this reminded me that last year I'd managed to see the statues in Montreal, Fredericton & Halifax so I made sure to add this to my to-do list (sadly, I completely missed the statue in Victoria, so I'll need to catch that next year!).
Another Scottish story I discovered while in the city was at the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. After the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1887 connected Vancouver to the rest of Canada, the city became a new centre for commerce & settlement. One of the many new settlers was Scottish businessman George Grant Mackay who moved to the city in 1888. George bought land on both sides of the Capilano River, first building a cabin on the cliff edge and within a year the first Capilano Suspension bridge, simply to allow him to access the land he owned across the canyon. The bridge soon became popular with hikers but by the 1900's the logging industry was booming and a wooden log flume that passed under the bridge was built, only increasing the popularity of walking in the area. By 1912 this had become Vancouver's first visitor attraction with improvements to the bridge and a teahouse added. In the 1950's new owner Mac MacEachran, also from Scotland advertised the bridge as the 8th wonder of the world! In 2011 a Cliff walk allowing you to journey along the canyons cliff edge was added and the park continues to be one of the top attractions in the city today!
Before the week ended I headed in to the Okanagan Valley and to Kelowna, BC. We hosted our second Pop-Up Store at Forbidden Spirits distillery on Wallace Hill Road, who named their Whisky after the street name. Perfect for me, having Wallace roots! Taking advantage of the amazing views and great weather we went for an alfresco pop-up next to the patio, for a perfect combination of views, top notch spirits and over 500 tartans.
Week 3 (29th May - 3rd June)
Week 3 saw us travel to a new province, hello Alberta! Over the weekend I was lucky enough to take a little time to explore the Rockies in Lake Louise, Banff & Canmore. Turns out there are many Scottish connections in the area. Lake Louise is home to Mount Aberdeen, named in 1897 for Lord Aberdeen, 7th Governor General of Canada. Banff was named in 1884 by George Stephen, president of the Canadian Pacific Railway who’s birthplace was close to Banff in Aberdeenshire and Canmore was also named in 1884, this time by Donald Smith, director of the Canadian Pacific Railway who named the town after Malcolm III of Scotland who went by the nickname Canmore, Gaelic for Big Chief.
Despite being a little sad to leave the Rockies behind me I was excited to continue travelling on to Calgary for the next of our pop-up stores. The city also claims Scottish origin being named after Calgary Castle on the Isle of Mull in Scotland. Colonel James Macleod, the Commissioner of the North-West Mounted Police, had grown up on Skye, another of the Inner Hebridean Isles. Calgary was his suggested name for what became Fort Calgary and ultimately the entire city. His own name can be found in the city with Fort MacLeod and the MacLeod Trail.
We held our Calgary pop-up store within the Irish Cultural Society which was a great chance to re-connect with our Celtic cousins and show off our Irish county tartans in addition to all of our Scottish selection.
It's usually statues of Robert Burns that I tend to find, but I discovered that Calgary instead has a statue of King Robert the Bruce! Eric L. Harvie, a lawyer, philanthropist and the founder of the Glenbow Museum, from Calgary was instrumental in the funding of a Robert the Bruce statue at the site of the Battle of Bannockburn near Stirling. Harvie also insisted that an identical statue was built in Calgary.
“We have this unique linkage between Calgary and Scotland,” “The name Calgary is derived from a wee town on the Isle of Mull and obviously Eric Harvie thought it was appropriate to provide that linkage in, I was going to say in a cast iron way but the statue is actually made of bronze, so in a bronze way.” - Ian Denness, The Calgary Burns Club.
The next road trip was through the prairies and north to Edmonton. This was our final pop-up store in Western Canada and the Scottish Society Hall was the perfect setting. The Society is also home to Edmonton Scottish United SC and Canada’s largest Sports Dome! I received a wonderful welcome from Society president Peter Dolan and his wife Una, both originally from Dundee, who went on to gift me a beautiful tartan scarf in the Society's own tartan.
I couldn't leave the city without a visit to the Edmonton Robert Burns Statue. With no Google Maps listing this was the hardest Canadian Robert Burns statue to track down so far but I managed to find it in Frank Oliver Park just in front of the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald in downtown Edmonton. The statue was raised by the Edmonton Burns Club who were established in 1919 as a branch of the Robert Burns Association of North America.
Week 4 (5th June - 11th June)
The week of travel! You may think there's already been a lot of travelling within the tour but this week really was the biggest of our adventures yet, a 12 hour drive from Edmonton, back through the Rockies and on to Vancouver was just the start. Next up was a flight from Vancouver to Montreal, Quebec where I was able to meet up with some of the team from our Albany, NY store which is just a 3 hour drive away to collect our minivan, know within the team as Sally the Sienna! A short stop in Montreal was followed by another drive, this time in to the fourth and largest province of the tour so far, Ontario, where I'll be based for much of the remaining tour.
I mentioned family connections at the start of the blog and these ties brought me to settle on Hamilton as my home city for the summer. My Great-granduncle John, better known as Jock, was one of the first in the family to move to Canada, becoming a member of the Dofasco "Dominion Foundries & Steel" Pipe Band & Branch 58 Royal Canadian Legion Pipe Band, he certainly kept his Scottish heritage alive! His children were born in my hometown of Dunfermline, Fife but were raised in Canada from a young age. The family lost touch over the years but in 2007 my Gran reached out to her cousins (Jock's children) and travelled here to meet them, their children and grandchildren and ever since we've travelled back and forward to see each other forming strong connections as extended cousins. Jock's mum, my great great grandmother is actually buried here, after moving to be with her son towards the end of her life.
Centrally located, the city is the perfect base between the Highland Games & Festivals dotted around the province. With a train link directly in to the heart of Toronto I was able to head in to the big smoke on Thursday evening for a chance meet up with the Heriot-Watt University Alumni Club, known as the Watt Club. I graduated from the University in 2013 studying woven textile design so it was lovely to hear the stories of many Canadian's who'd chosen to Study at the university either remotely or at the main campus in Edinburgh.
The first of our Ontario based games for 2023 was Georgetown. Georgetown is one of the largest single day Highland Games in North America. Boasting over 1,000 competitors who gather to compete in Piping, Drumming, Highland Dancing & Heavy Weight events throughout the day.
I immediately followed the games with a quick drink in a local pub with Bill Petrie, president of CASSOC (The Clans and Scottish Societies of Canada), his wife Sylvie, Son Alex and the representative for Clan Young, the perfect way to end the week.
Week 5 (12th June - 18th June)
A much quieter week based in Hamilton gave me a chance to catch up virtually with the team back in Scotland and with family here in the City.
A quick fact about Hamilton... It is named after and was established in 1815 by George Hamilton, a prominent businessman and politician. Hamilton himself was educated in Edinburgh and was the son of wealthy and influential Scottish-born Queenston merchant Robert Hamilton, who went on to hold important government offices.
This weekend's games were held beachside which I of course loved and now think as a rule all Highland Games should be in close proximity of a beach! I also loved the story of the Cobourg games... In 1963, risking and mortgaging the very roof over his head to do so, Davey Carr of Clan Kerr founded the town's very first Highland Games and it was so successful that it has been an annual event ever since. The Cobourg Highland Games Society continues to celebrate David Carr's dream of preserving part of Canada's proud Scottish heritage.
Week 6 (19th June - 25th June)
Being so close to Toronto, I thought during my time here this summer that I should join the St Andrew's Society of Toronto and this week a handwritten letter from the Society president welcoming me to the society arrived along with a pin badge I was able to add to my ScotlandShop lanyard.
The Society was founded in 1836 to raise money for Scottish immigrants who had fallen on hard times. Canada didn't become a country until 1867 which makes the Society older than Canada itself! Many of Toronto’s most prominent citizens at that time were of Scottish heritage. A number of them got together at St. Andrew’s Church and agreed to form a committee so that, as a united group, they could raise money to assist new immigrants from Scotland who were in distressed circumstances.
St Andrew's Church can be found just opposite Roy Thomson Hall and is also home to the 48th Highlanders Museum. Artefacts at the museum date from the Regiments founding in 1891 to the present day. The St. Andrew subway station on Line 1 Yonge–University is actually named after the church.
Despite many visits to Toronto, this was the first time I was able to make it to the Robert Burns Memorial in Allan Gardens. The city archives have some great images and even a letter from the first proposal of the statue sculpted by David Watson Stevenson.
While I was in the city, the Canada Finland Chamber of Commerce hosted a Joint European Chambers Meet Up alongside The British Canadian Chamber of Trade and Commerce, Belgian Canadian Business Chamber, Holland House Canada, Swiss Canadian Chamber of Commerce (Ontario) & Ireland Canada Chamber of Commerce Toronto at the Bottom Line in downtown Toronto. It was lovely to be in such vibrant Canadian European company.
This weekend the tartan tent flocked to Kingsville Highland Games. After a break of more than 30 years Kingsville Highland Games returned triumphantly in 2019 and have since partnered with Jack Miner Migratory Bird Sanctuary to host the games on Ty Cobb Field. The Bird Sanctuary provided the backdrop for a totally immersive Highland Games experience. Pipes & Drums, Highland Dancing, Scottish Athletic Heavy Events, Tug of War, Clan Village, Sheep Herding, Haggis Hurl, and so much more.
I took a wee detour on my way to Kingsville to visit another Robert Burns Statue, this time in Windsor, Ontario, just over the river from Detroit, Michigan. That’s me got just two more Rabbie Statues to track down here in Canada. One in Victoria and the other in Winnipeg. I also discovered this week that Burns actually has the third most statues of any non-religious figure in the world, after Queen Victoria and Christopher Columbus!
Week 7 (26th June - 2nd July)
Time to head in to a new month and a big Celebratory weekend! Canada day, the national day of Canada is celebrated on July 1st. It celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which took place on July 1, 1867. The Confederation brought together three separate colonies of the United Canadas, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick to unite them into a single dominion within the British Empire.
This was the first time I've been in Canada for the celebration so it was great to get to spend it with friends any family as well as many Canadian Scots at Embro Highland Games!
The Embro Highland Society was first founded in 1856, “to preserve the language, martial spirit, dress, music, literature, antiquities and games of the ancient Caledonians”. Disbanded in 1888 the society was revived under a new name, Zorra Caledonian Society in 1937. Highland Games returned to Embro the same year and is now the oldest annual event of its kind in Ontario.
Embro is just an hour away from Hamilton so following the Games I was able to join family in the evening for a local Canada Day festival in Gage Park where Canadian band Chilliwack were playing.
The festivities didn't end there as the next day I met up with even more family to head to Waterdown's Oh Canada Ribfest. Two of my cousins have been volunteers at the event for a few years so it was great support a festival that they're involved in!
Week 8 (3rd July - 9th July)
With Canada Day falling on a Saturday, Monday ended up being a public holiday here. Of course that wasn't the case in Scotland so I jumped on our regular marketing meeting in the morning and caught up with the team from my cousins house, one of the many advantages of today's virtual world, although Skye, the pug did run in and make an appearance on camera at one point! With everyone off it was nice to spend the rest of the morning with family who introduced me to a very Scottish board Game called "Isle of Skye - From Chieftain to King" in which you choose your Clan from a selection of 6 (I went for the MacDonald's) and trade game tiles to build up your clan land, gaining points for the number of lochs, mountains, farms, lighthouses, brochs, distilleries and ships you end up with. How I'd never heard of this back home I'll never know but it was a lot of fun and I'd highly recommend it!
I was born not too far from Kincardine, Fife but this weekend I was in Kincardine, Ontario on the banks of Lake Huron for Kincardine Scottish Festival & Highland Games. The festival aims to preserve, enhance, and celebrate Kincardine’s Scottish roots.
Kincardine refers to itself as ‘Ontario’s Scottish Destination’. The town is part of Bruce County with both taking their name taken from James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine, head of the Bruce Clan and Governor General of the Province of Canada (1847–1854). You can see the many Scottish influences around the town, even in every day objects like the fire hydrants and bike racks!
One of Kincardine’s co-founders unsurprisingly also claims Scottish Heritage. Allan Cameron was born in Cornwall, Ontario, to Scotsman Alexander Cameron and went on to found the town alongside his brother in law. This sign dedicated to the founders was just at the entrance to Station beach where I managed to catch a little sun after setting up for the games on Friday.
The sound of the bagpipes can be heard along Kincardine's shoreline at dusk on many a summer evening. Kincardine Pipe Band members take turns playing from atop the Kincardine Lighthouse at sunset to honour the memory of an early Kincardine Piper, Donald Sinclair. According to the legend, back in 1856, on a cold October day, a small boat left the Port of Goderich carrying a family from the Isle of Skye, Scotland. It became lost in a storm as it neared Kincardine. Aboard the boat, Donald Sinclair, fearing for his family, fetched his pipes and began playing a lament. The sound carried across to land where another piper heard and played another lament in return. The captain of the boat, hearing the drone of the pipes, headed for shore and the boat arrived safely.
Since it began in 1996, the Phantom Piper has become a popular tradition, with people gathering along Walker's Look-out, on the Huron Terrace bridge below the lighthouse, to listen to the pipes and watch the sunset, just as I did! By the end of last year there had been 1,441 appearances by 96 pipers over 27 years!
Last year I discovered this statue of Donald Dinnie in Lucknow, ON and drove past him once again on Sunday evening heading back from Kincardine. Why’s a man from Aberdeenshire in Lucknow, ON? Well, he competed in the local Caledonian Games in 1881 dressed in his tam o'shanter, kilt and sporran and stirred the blood of the local people. Though Dinnie was from Scotland and had no connection with Lucknow other than participating in the games, he became a folk hero of the time, and a part of community history. Today, the names of Lucknow and Donald Dinnie continue to be synonymous.
Irn-Bru fan? Well did you know the strongman on Irn-Bru cans is actually Donald, who at one point was known as the world’s best Athlete! In 1903 he was approached by businessman Robert Barr to endorse his soft drink Iron Brew, which he agreed to, declaring that IRN-BRU was the perfect drink for those "who wish to aspire to athletic fame." For his endorsement, Donald was forever immortalised as the 'man on the Irn Bru can." I didn’t know about the Irn-Bru connection until more recently so it was nice to pay him another visit… now to find some Irn-Bru here in Canada!
Week 9 (10th - 16th July)
I didn’t have to wait too long to get hold of some Irn-Bru... Butties of Scotland is a family owned business originating from Dundee in 1996 with four takeaway's around the city. Having family both sides of the pond they recently opened a café in Ancaster, ON just outside of Hamilton.
Lee, Rachel and their sons opened the café in March and are now bringing a wee taste of Scotland and even their own Butties tartan to Ontario. We aren’t know for the healthiest of foods in Scotland but we do have some of the tastiest! A Macaroni Cheese Pie, Chips, Curry Sauce and Irn Bru made for the best late lunch on Tuesday!
This weekend's games were held in Orillia on the banks of Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe. The Fesitival is usually held in Couchiching Beach but due to construction moved to a new temporary home in Tudhope Park. The park was a great replacement setting and even the overcast skies couldn't dampen the Scottish spirit!
Clan Cameron were designated as Honorary Clan this year with badges featuring both the Clan Crest and Cameron Clan Modern tartan on offer in exchange for donations to help with the running of the otherwise free festival. I was very happy to add a badge to the growing collection on my ScotlandShop Lanyard.
The Orillia Scottish Festival was first founded by Pipe Major Duncan Kennedy Fleming of the Orillia Branch 34 Pipes and Drums in 1978. Duncan was born in Glasgow, arriving in Canada as a baby aboard the SS Regina in 1928. He first learn to play the pipes in Maxville, ON age 12 and went on to play in the 48th Highlanders who were the dominant Grade 1 pipe band in North American during the 1950's. After leaving the 48th Highlanders Duncan was asked to form a band for the Oro Lions Club which later merged with the Orillia Legion Band, becoming one of the best Legion bands in Ontario and founders of the Orillia Scottish Festival. Outside of Piping Duncan was a United Church Minister for Many years and then an HR Manager at the Ontario Hospital School. Sadly in later life he developed Parkinson's disease and could no longer play himself, but I hear he maintained a keen ear and that student's didn't dare have a drone out of tune!
Saturday formed the main component of the festival but there were also two Ceilidh's held within the Legion on both Friday Evening and Sunday afternoon as well as a Kirkin O’ Tartan service at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church.
Over the year's we've had many customer's tell us about their local Kirkin services across North American so I headed along to find out more. Presbyterianism is is often applied to churches that trace their roots to the Church of Scotland. According to the legend during the days of the Act of Proscription, when the wearing of kilts & tartan was banned in the Highlands. Highlanders hid pieces of tartan and brought them to church to be secretly blessed at a particular point in the service.
The Rev. Peter Marshall, originally from Coatbridge is believed to be the originator of the modern day Kirkin o’ the Tartan service. He was the pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington DC, and served as Chaplain of the United States Senate. During the Second World War he held prayer services to raise funds for British war relief, naming one of the services on April 27, 1941 “the Kirkin’ o’ the Tartans” and a new tradition was born. Today, many Scottish, Caledonian and St. Andrew’s Societies across the United States and Canada hold Kirkin’ of the Tartans; while the majority are held in Presbyterian Churches, they are also found in Episcopalian, Methodist, Roman Catholic and other denominations too. Kirkin’s are held year-round, but St. Andrew’s Day and National Tartan Day are very popular dates and Kirkin's can often form part of Scottish festival programmes such as Orillia's. There was a lot of tartan on show as well as a piper and as a nod to their honorary clan status a Cameron Clan tartan sash was presented for blessing. I've heard that in some services a tartan banner representing each family within the church are presented so if you ever need fabric to create a banner for your own service don't hesitate to get in touch!
Week 10 (17th - 23rd July)
I made another trip in to Toronto this week and happened to stumble across the Campbell House Museum! Sir William Campbell was born near Caithness, Scotland. He fought with the British forces during the American Revolution and was taken prisoner at Yorktown in 1781. He went on to practice law in Nova Scotia where, in 1799, he was elected to the House of Assembly. In 1811, Campbell moved to Upper Canada where he had accepted a judgeship on the Court of King's Bench. He was made chief justice of the province and speaker of the Legislative Council in 1825 and went on to receive the first knighthood awarded to a judge in Upper Canada.
Campbell built this Neo-classical brick house on Adelaide Street East at Frederick Street around 1822. 150 years later The Advocates' Society and the Sir William Campbell Foundation moved it 1,617 m northwest from Adelaide Street to the north side of Queen Street West, between University Avenue and Simcoe Street on March 30, 1972. The move was a major spectacle, and attracted a large crowd as it closed several downtown streets. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother opened the fully restored structure on June 28, 1974.
Our first ever Toronto Pop-Up store was held in Mackenzie House Museum, home of William Lyon Mackenzie, the 1st Mayor of Toronto. I wonder if there are there any other Scottish homes in the city that have been turned in to museums?
One of the main reasons for my trip in to the city was to visit the Caledonian Bar on College Street. As the name suggests it's a Scottish pub with a monumental selection of Whisky on offer. The bar was opened 13 years ago by Donna who is originally from Huntly in Aberdeenshire.
Not really knowing where to start on the Whisky instead I opted for a Crabbie's Alcoholic Ginger Beer, if you've not tried it I'd highly recommend it and yes, I have seen it on offer in the LCBO. In addition to an excellent Scottish drink I was able to get my hands on my favourite Vegetarian Haggis by MacSween's in the form of a burger, but if you want to go for the more traditional serving alongside neeps and tatties, don't worry this is also on offer. The bar hosts regular whisky and gin tastings and I'd highly recommend this as a great Scottish spot in the heart of Toronto.
This weekend's festival was in Elgin Park, Uxbridge. The park was named after James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine. The name may seem familiar... yes, this is the same James Bruce who I mentioned the town of Kincardine, ON and it's county, Bruce county were also named after.
Elgin park is also know as being the site of a picnic held by Canada's first Prime Minister John A. Macdonald in a re-election bid. MacDonald was born in Scotland before emigrating to Kingston, ON at a young age. He served just under 19 years as prime minister and has consistently been ranked in polls as one of the greatest prime ministers in Canadian history. Quite the legacy for a wee boy from Glasgow!
The festival itself is organised by Stewart Bennett and Lew Gregor who aim to bring a wee bit of Scotland to Uxbridge for the day! Safe to say they certainly succeeded in their mission!
People often ask me how I organise accommodation during our tours and honestly it's a real mix of hotels, staying with family, a little bit of camping but mainly Airbnb's (to the point my cousin jokes I must have shares in the company!) Often many of the festivals are held in smaller towns around Canada where hotels are few and far between so I have to say the app really has been brilliant and always leads to a bit of an adventure! On Friday I stayed with Laura & Michael a lovely couple from Uxbridge who rent out the ground floor of their home, even providing access to their pool and hot tub, although I must say this has been a first! The couple were incredibly welcoming offering me wine on arrival and even coming to say hello to me at the Festival on Saturday! I should also do a quick shout out to Margarita and Staz who's apartment in Hamilton I've longer term rented via the app as my main base for the summer.
Saturday marked a year since I landed in Canada to begin the 2022 tour, I can't quite believe I've already fit in 10 weeks of adventure ahead of what I'd done this time last year!
Week 11 (24th - 30th July)
This week it's time to take a week off from the world of tartan as there's actually no festival this weekend. After all my solo adventuring so far it's time for my best friend, Kerri to come to Canada for the first time to visit me! We met when Heriot Watt University and Borders College opened a combined campus in Galashiels back in 2010. Kerri was the vice president for the University Student's Association having just graduated and I was the Co-Vice President for the newly formed College Student's Association so when Anne, Princess Royal came to open the new Campus we were introduced for the first time. We went on to host lots of events together and I then studied the same course in Textile Design as Kerri had at University.
Many years and adventures later it was time for me to help Kerri in her mission to find a moose! Algonquin Provincial Park seemed like our best shot so we set off north to the oldest provincial park in Canada. Highway 60 runs right through the park providing easy access to the many trails the park has to offer and within the park the Highway is dedicated as the Frank MacDougall Parkway. Frank was known as the "flying Superintendent of Algonquin Park", remembered for his development of the park system in the province and for the use of airplanes in forestry. He was born in Toronto and I can't confirm his Scottish heritage but with a name like MacDougall I'd like to think there must have been some Scot in him! Sadly despite taking on three of the parks 18 interpretive walking trails we left without finding our moose and instead covered head to toe in mosquito bites but the trip was well worth it and provided my first Canadian canoeing experience which I can't wait to repeat!
Although Canoes were developed by cultures all over the world it turns out that John MacGregor, nicknamed Rob Roy after his renowned relative, and son of Scottish soldier, Major Duncan MacGregor is generally credited with the development of the first sailing canoes and with popularising canoeing as a sport in Europe and the United States. He designed his own style of canoe naming it Rob Roy celebrating his nickname linked to the famous Scottish outlaw! In 1866, he published A Thousand Miles in the Rob Roy Canoe, which popularised the design of his Rob Roy canoe and, more importantly, the concept: "in walking you are bounded by every sea and river, and in a common sailing-boat you are bounded by every shallow and shore; whereas, ...a canoe [can] be paddled or sailed, or hauled, or carried over land or water". Famous Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson took on his own voyage in Rob Roy canoes through the canals and rivers of France and Belgium doing on to publish the travelogue An Inland Voyage to share the adventure. Although I love the concept, I'm not sure we could canoe between our highland games, kilts in tow!
After our Algonquin adventure it was time to head in to Toronto for a total contrast. On Thursday we were invited to join Toronto Scottish Rugby Football Club as they kicked off their 70th Anniversary celebrations, hosting Pint Club at the Duke of Kent.
There are reports of a team going under the name of the “Toronto Scottish” as far back as the Victorian era, but it was only in 1953, following the formal organisation of rugby in the Toronto area, that a club was formed to field sides on a regular basis. Many of the Scots involved in the forming of the club were exceptionally talented players having played representative rugby back home, to the point that I hear for a number of seasons, the team were so strong that they effectively dropped out of local competition in Ontario, and only played touring sides. Throughout the 1950s, Scottish members played a leading role in organising the Ontario Rugby Union, most notably Canon Guy Marshall and Doug Robertson, who ran the Union for years. Today, Toronto Scottish Rugby Football Club fields three senior men’s teams, two senior women’s teams as well as junior rugby and minis. A huge thank you to Marty Black for inviting us along to meet the team, hear some stories and share our love for Scottish & Canadian rugby. Of course our most notable tartan link to Scottish Rugby comes in the form of Doddie'5 tartan, which I am very honoured to have designed for our favourite Scottish rugby legend, Doddie Weir so I took along a small gift for the club to honour both Doddie and the club's 70th anniversary.
The rugby theme continued over the weekend when I invited my Canadian cousins to Join Kerri and I to watch Scotland take on Italy in their World Cup warm up match. We tried to theme the day with some pizza for Italy followed by the traditional Scottish desert, Cranachan alongside our wide selection of Scottish & Italian drinks to get us in to the spirit.
Week 12 (31st July - 6th August)
Week 13 (7th August - 13th August)
Week 14 (14th August - 20th August)
Week 15 (21st August - 27th August)
Week 16 (28th August - 3rd September)
Keep up to date with our latest eventdates and be sure to say hello if you're coming to one of the upcoming Highland Games this summer!
