The Top Ten Scottish UFO Sightings by Ron Halliday

Ron Halliday is one of Scotland’s foremost UFO and paranormal researchers and, while browsing a few cases from north of the border recently, I stumbled upon his personal list of the Top Ten Scottish UFO incidents. Although this is an older article from 2010 it is worth repeating here as some of the cases are not so well known and, consequently, may be worth further investigation or follow-up.

As with any top ten or list of favourites you can’t help but consider what didn’t make the cut. Personally, a few of the more intriguing cases have been left out: the controversial Calvine UFO case from 1990, the Neil Malcolm and family sighting in 1992 and the Grangemouth sighting from 1991. But I have no arguments with the No. 1 case, the perplexing Dechmont Law incident, which is still a “cause unknown” (in spite of numerous attempts to explain it away) and is, incredibly, the only formal criminal case involving a UFO in the UK. I have a special fondness for this incident in particular as it was a watershed moment for me as a young boy, reading the media accounts and being exposed to the notion that, just maybe, the world around me was a far richer place than I had given it credit for.

A personal conviction of mine is that a great deal of grassroots UFO material never sees the light of day and goes unreported (or even mentioned). Given the ridicule that often accompanies such revelations – a somewhat worrying phenomenon in itself – that may not surprise you too much. But it’s strange what can be revealed at times by a friend of a friend who just has an account to tell, possibly even something they’ve never told anyone before. Or maybe a work colleague, who just happens to mention their own strange experience, starting with a “well, a few years ago…” Or even some distant relative who still remembers his/her own grandparents telling them about some curious incident that happened one strange day. This experience sharing can often be very powerful and, in some cases, hugely cathartic even if a logical explanation may never be found.

Anyway, to the list itself! I have copied this over from the original article on the STV site:

10. Forth Railway Bridge

One day in 1962, engineering graduate Charles Farquharson looked out the window of his house in South Queensferry to look at the beautiful scenery around the Forth Railway Bridge, an area which is no stranger to UFO sightings.

He saw a ‘flying saucer’ hovering just above the bridge for about 15 minutes. Mr Farquharson was convinced that the craft was studying the railway line before it flew away.

9. Abduction of ten-year-old girl

In 1976, a ten-year-old girl known as Karen from the village of Meigle claims she was abducted by aliens in woods near her home. She says she saw some strange blue creatures before she was lifted up into a spacecraft and examined. Karen eventually returned home hours later.

8. Globe of fire

In the early hours of January 6, 1992, farmer Arthur Moar claims to have seen something incredible near his home on a remote part of Shetland.

Mr Moar was going about his daily business when a bright light outside his home drew his attention. Around 30 or 40 yards away, he saw a flaming ball which he recognised as a globe of the earth, complete with continents.

7. Andrew Cherry

The story of Andrew Cherry is well-known amongst UFO investigators as it is one of Scotland’s first documented sightings of an unexplained ‘spacecraft’.

At 5.30am on a July morning in 1947, Mr Cherry was waiting at a bus stop in Edinburgh as he prepared to go to his work. He noticed a disc-shaped object with a window around 300 feet in the air. Mr Cherry could clearly see an ‘alien’ wearing dark clothes and operating a control panel.

When Ron interviewed Mr Cherry in 1994, he said "after all this time I still have chills running through my body".

6. “Tattie Howkers”

In the 1950s, a number of farm workers known as "tattie howkers" were returning home in the back of a lorry along the Musselburgh to Edinburgh road when they were followed by a UFO for about five to ten minutes, terrifying everyone inside.

Several witnesses saw the bizarre object before it flew away at great speed and local Police later investigated the incident.

5. The Slogett Family

The Slogett family case in 1992 is recognised as one of the incidents which sparked the widespread interest into the UFO hot spot of Bonnybridge.

At around 7pm on a March evening, the family were walking towards Bonnybridge when they saw a circle of light. The light appeared to land in a nearby field. The family continued their journey but were soon stopped by a football-sized blue light hovering above the road ahead.

Isabella Slogett was later reported to have said: "My daughter Carole and I saw a UFO land right in front of us. A door opened and there was a howl-like sound. I screamed and ran off terrified."

4. Andrew Swan and the electrical storm

Andrew Swan, a cable-layer with Scottish Power, was intrigued by an electrical storm on July 30, 1994. He drove to Armadale Academy in West Lothian - only a few minutes from his home - to get a better look over the school playing fields.

There, he encountered a large UFO behind a row of trees. He went round to take a closer look armed with a spotlight from his car. When he tried to shine the light on the object, the bulb immediately exploded. The UFO flew off "at breathtaking speed" a few moments later.

3. The A70 abduction

One UFO incident which has received a great deal of media attention is the apparent abduction of Gary Wood and Colin Wright on the A70 in August 1992.

Mr Wood and Mr Wright were delivering a satellite TV system to a friend in Tarbrax. They travelled on the desolate A70 road when Mr Wright noticed a very large UFO flying about 20 feet above the road.

Mr Wood, who was driving, accelerated and as their car passed underneath the craft the pair - in Mr Wood’s words - experienced a "void of blackness". What seemed like moments later, they were on the same road as if nothing had happened.

When they got to their friend’s house, they realised their journey - which should have only taken them 30 minutes - had inexplicably taken them two hours and 45 minutes. In an effort to discover what had happened to them, the pair went under hypnosis. It revealed they had been abducted by small grey ‘extra-terrestrials’ while a tall, skeletal being communicated with them through telepathy.

Last year, during an episode of The Hour, it emerged a film about the A70 incident is currently in production. It is expected to be released next year. (edit: 2014 – still waiting)

2. Pat Macleod

Portabello woman Pat Macleod is absolutely convinced she saw a large UFO as she drove to the health centre one morning in October, 1992. The policeman’s wife described seeing a bright light flashing in the sky before the object landed in open ground called Niddrie Burn.

Ms Macleod said the object looked like the planet Saturn. However, the incident was not spotted by anyone else even though Niddrie Burn is easily seen from many houses. Nevertheless, there were other unusual sightings on the day in the area and the case featured in television programmes about UFOs.

1. Bob Taylor and the Dechmont Law Abduction

On 9 November 1979, forestry worker Bob Taylor was shocked to discover a large circular craft in front of him in an area of woodland known as Dechmont Law near Livingston.

As he approached it, two objects which looked like WW2 naval mines seemed to drop from the larger craft. The ‘balls’ rolled towards Mr Taylor and attached themselves to his trousers. They started to drag him towards the now hovering UFO. Mr Taylor then became aware of an acrid smell which made him choke.

The next thing he remembers is waking up, face down, on the ground. His legs were aching and a dishevelled Mr Taylor abandoned his truck and walked a mile home. His trousers were cut and his legs were bruised.

Police launched an investigation and detectives found several ladder-shaped impressions in the area, while evidence on the ground concurred with Mr Taylor’s explanation that the mine-like devices had approached him and dragged him towards the craft.

Police could not solve the mystery and the file remains open.

So there we have it. The Top Ten sightings according to Ron Halliday!