Titian and The Golden Age of Venetian Painting
National Gallery of Scotland, from Saturday
This free exhibition brings together a pair of much admired mythological paintings by Italian master Titian - Diana and Actaeon, and Diana and Callisto - jointly acquired for a total of £95m by the National Gallery in London and the Scottish National Gallery in 2009 and 2012. These are displayed alongside related works, including the artist's unfinished The Death of Actaeon, along with paintings, drawings and prints by Venetian contemporaries drawn from the Gallery's extensive collection. www.nationalgalleries.org
Blair Drummond Safari Park
Near Stirling, From Saturday
Closed to the public since the start of November, Blair Drummond reopens for its 2014 season this weekend. Included in the ticket price is entry to drive-through wildlife areas, sea lion shows, and birds of prey demonstrations. Visitors can also take a boat ride to Chimp Island, get close to various friendly beasts at the pets farm, and burn off excess energy at several outdoor adventure play areas. Showpiece wildlife includes lions, elephants, giraffes, rhinos, zebras, chimps and a tiger. Open daily from 10am, entry is £11-£14. www.blairdrummond.com
M&Ds New Season Preview Weekend
Strathclyde Country Park, Saturday and Sunday
Also reopening for the spring this weekend is Lanarkshire theme park M&Ds, who mark the occasion with a special preview weekend offering cut-price entry to their outside rides and pirate-themed crazy golf course. To gain access to more than 40 rides and roller-coasters, simply sign up for a special promotional wristband in advance online for £8.95. Those with a bit more time and money to spare can also explore a children's soft play area and the wildlife-packed Amazonia, billed as Scotland's only indoor tropical rainforest. www.scotlandsthemepark.com
Sainsbury's Sport Relief Games
Glasgow, Friday to Sunday
This huge fundraising event in aid of the sporting equivalent of the Comic Relief appeal offers the chance to get involved in swimming, running and cycling events across Scotland over the next few days. Participants can sign up to run or swim various distances at numerous local parks, pools and leisure centres, while cyclists can take part in 3, 25 or 50 mile rides starting out from the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome and Tollcross Park in Glasgow on Sunday. Find an event near you at www.sportrelief.com
Yorkhill Cycle
Yorkhill Hospital, Saturday, March 22
You wait all winter for the chance to take part in a mass charity cycle in Glasgow, and two come along at once - although with this one taking place on Saturday, the particularly energetic and/or crazy could feasibly fit them both in. Perhaps aimed at slightly more seasoned riders, this new event takes a challenging 75-mile route from Yorkhill Hospital to Loch Lomond and back again via Balloch and Garelochhead. Entry is £35 (over 16s only), but organisers ask that participants commit to raising extra sponsorship. www.fundraising.yorkhill.org
National Science and Engineering Week
Across Scotland, until Sunday
This British Science Association-backed programme of inspiring events celebrating science, technology, and engineering continues until Sunday. One of the biggest things on this weekend is Dunbar SciFest - a weekend community festival for families with drop-in sessions, workshops, and demonstrations during the day, plus a number of evening events for grown-ups. Elsewhere, look out for Rocket Building in Easterhouse, a Nature and Science event in Strathpeffer, a Family Science Investigation Day at Mill of Benholm near Montrose, and free technology workshops at Glasgow's Riverside Museum. www.nsew.org.uk
Wildlife Photographer of the Year
National Museum of Scotland, until June 1
Some of the highlights from the 2013 edition of this prestigious global nature photography competition are now on display in the capital, offering a remarkable glimpse of the natural world. The free exhibition's 100 images have been drawn from over 43,000 entries by amateur and professional photographers from 96 countries, and include winning entry Essence of Elephants, by South Africa's Greg du Toit. Now in its 49th year, the competition is organised under the auspices of London's Natural History Museum and BBC Worldwide. www.nms.ac.uk
Spring Equinox Family Fun Day
Loch of Lowes Visitor Centre, Dunkeld, Saturday and Sunday
Two days of events at Loch of the Lowes, a 98-hectare Scottish Wildlife Trust-run nature reserve near Dunkeld marking the point when the shorter days of winter begin their inexorable and very welcome tip into the shorter nights of spring and summer. As well as finding out about the equinox and its importance to wildlife, visitors can enjoy craft activities and quizzes, observe red squirrels and woodpeckers, and reconnect with nature along trails linking the reserve's freshwater loch and abundant woodlands. scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk
The Commonwealth: Gifts to the Queen
Palace of Holyrood House, from tomorrow
Another new exhibition of ultra-rare stuff at the Queen's Scottish residence; having visited nearly every county in the Commonwealth in her time, Her Maj has amassed a formidable collection of items showcasing traditional arts and craftsmanship from across the globe. On display are wooden sculptures, carved thrones and ornately stitched footstools from Africa, a spectacularly painted tin model of a bus from Pakistan, and colourful Inuit wall hangings from Canada. Entry is included with admission (£6.80 to £11.30), open daily from 9.30am to 4.30pm. www.royalcollection.org.uk
Glasgow Rocks
Emirates Arena, Glasgow, Saturday and Sunday
A great chance to sample the unique atmosphere of professional basketball this weekend, with this rare home double header for Scottish team the Glasgow Rocks at the city's Emirates Arena. As the 2013-14 British Basketball League season moves into its final month of fixtures, ninth placed Glasgow face a stern test as they welcome third placed One Health Sharks Sheffield on Saturday (7.30pm), followed by table toppers Newcastle Eagles on Sunday (5pm). Cheer on the team for £4.80-£10, with tickets available in advance from www.glasgowrocks.co.uk
Don't miss:
Scottish Freestyle Championships
Cairngorm Mountain Centre, Saturday
A day of exciting competitive action in the Highlands as some of the UK's top freestyle skiers and snowboarders showcase their most difficult tricks and jumps. After a day on the slopes, the winners will be honoured at a prize giving at the Old Bridge Inn in Aviemore. www.snowsportscotland.org
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article