The films I wrote for BBC Learning in Scotland (and made with Once Were Farmers & Wild Child Animation) are now on the BBC website! Vikings are here! Romans are here!

I loved doing the research and find both periods fascinating. The Romans, despite not really being here for long, still made an impression on proto-Scotland; most notably through the spread of Christianity beyond the limes of the Empire. There was much that I wanted to fit into the films, and there simply wasn’t enough time. Especially, the Great Barbarian Conspiracy. A cross between Game of Thrones and a Carry On film.

And as for Norse influence? In Scotland our Northern Isles (Orkney & Shetland) are still very much aware of their Norse heritage, but less so, The Western Isles and the rest of the Northern Coast, Argyle and the West Coast. There are even Viking graves in Govan, now part of Central Glasgow (settlement spread along the Clyde after the sacking of Alt Clut – Dumbarton Rock). Anyone with roots from the Northern Isles, the Western Isles and the Highlands likely has Norse blood flowing in their veins. That’s me then.