Graham Ogilvy

Our boatman on the River Douro is astonished to learn that I first visited the valley, as a guest of Cockburns, 40 years ago. On reflection, I’m a little amazed myself. The old signs celebrating the Scottish heritage of the Port business are still there. The steep, terraced hillsides are peppe

In April 1882 Kenneth Macdonald (see below), an Inverness solicitor, wrote to the lord advocate requesting a jury trial for his clients and took the highly unusual step of releasing his letter to the public. The letter in which Macdonald drew parallels with the treatment of his clients, Skye crofte

Until last year, I never took an interest in my Ogilvy ancestors, and I wish I had left it that way. Farmers at the head of Glenisla for hundreds of years, they were tenants and kinsmen of the Earl of Airlie. In contrast to my English relations (war heroes and concentration camp survivors), they see

The strange thing about St Andrews is that decent mid-range bistro/brasserie restaurants have always been thin on the ground. Today's lunch companion John Barnett, a contemporary who forged a successful career as an international banker armed with a law degree from Dundee University, is now resident

We’re pushing the boat out today. Kurt the Kiwi, an esteemed former colleague and now a senior man at the New Zealand Herald, is paying a flying visit. It’s 15 years since he left Scotland for home and the occasion calls for a special lunch at Edinburgh’s L’Escargot Bleu. We&

To Edinburgh for lunch with our ace reviewer and resident legal historian. La Bruschetta is the venue of choice. Right opposite Haymarket station, it is so convenient. On the hottest day of the year, the restaurant is pleasingly cool and what a joy – white linen tablecloths, gleaming silver an

Is Sunday lunch still a thing? Only just, I discover when we search for a decent restaurant to offer a Sunday roast with all the trimmings. They are few and far between and we finally settle on 18, the rooftop bar and restaurant of Rusack’s Hotel in St Andrews. As the name suggests, it boasts

To Inverness and McBain’s, a small family owned restaurant by the river, is our choice after a morning marvelling at the bronze age Clava Cairns and tramping through the steady drizzle of Culloden moor. My ancestors served in Lord Ogilvy’s regiment at Culloden and I once discovered an ac

To Dublin – a city fairly swarming with highly-paid lawyers, their salaries supercharged by big UK and US law firms locating to Ireland in search of a foothold in the European Union. New buildings are springing up on the banks of the Liffey like shamrocks after a summer shower. Our cheerful ta

Edinburgh’s Café Marlayne is full up so we’re in the capital’s branch of The Ivy. I personally loathe and detest chains which elevate mediocrity and present it as a culinary triumph. They suck the life blood out of our communities and I will always favour an independent vali

To Glasgow for dinner with my old colleague and friend Marion Scott, Scotland’s finest and, quite possibly last, investigative journalist. Where else but the legendary Buttery for this special night? Marooned amid housing developments and cut off from the city centre by motorways, this is Argy

To Edinburgh to meet a recently retired university pal. We choose Fishers in Thistle St, the city centre redoubt of the popular Leith restaurant. A cheery welcome greets us and we’re guided to our seats and wait … and wait. Eventually a waitress appears and takes our wine order. This hu

As a young journalist visiting Brezhnev’s sclerotic Soviet Union, I felt privileged to be shown around the huge state library in Leningrad, the second largest in the world, by one of the aged librarians who had actually worked there during the horrendous 872-day siege of the city, when the Naz

Perched on the South bank of the River Tay at the end of the rail bridge, The View is aptly named – offering diners a chance to admire the Victorian colossus that spans the yawning Tay estuary.

To Perth, and just a few steps from the busy Sheriff Court, Cardo has become an institution in the local dining scene. This year it celebrates its 20th anniversary – and continues to defy the economic and cultural headwinds that are laying waste to Britain’s restaurants. Cardo (Portugues