Spurtle smooth taper. The custom is that a spurtle should be used to stir in a clockwise direction with the right hand. Early spurtles were flat, wooden or metal instruments, with long handles and flat blades. The spatula-like utensils, known as 'Couthie Spurtles,' can be used for flipping oatcakes or making pancakes - but not for making porridge. The World Porridge Making Championship awards a "Golden Spurtle" as its main prize. Spurtle The spurtle (or "spurtel", "spurtil", "spirtle" or "spartle") is a wooden Scottish kitchen tool, dating from the fifteenth century, that is used to stir porridge, soups, stews and broths.
National parks of Scotland issue of national parks in Scotland. The report, published in 1945 proposed national parks in five areas: Loch Lomond & the Trossachs, the Cairngorms, Glen Coe-Ben Nevis-Black Mount, Wester Ross and Glen Strathfarrar-Glen Affric-Glen Cannich. The government designated these areas as "National Park Direction Areas", giving powers for planning decisions taken by local authorities to be reviewed by central government, however the areas were not given full national park status. In 1981 the direction areas were replaced by national scenic areas, of which there are now 40. Although the national scenic area designation provided a degree of additional protection via