Scotland

Bucket List Europe: Edinburgh

A travel guidebook chapter for Fodor's Travel Guides, December 2023

"History plays out before your eyes along the Royal Mile, a succession of storied streets. It begins on Castlehill, where alleged witches were burned at the stake in the 16th century..."

Essential Great Britain: Travel Smart Chapter

A travel guidebook chapter for Fodor's Travel Guides, September 2023

"Britain and America are (in the phrase attributed to playwright George Bernard Shaw) “two countries separated by a common language”. Knowing some British idioms can be helpful..."

Essential Great Britain: Experience Chapter

A travel guidebook chapter for Fodor's Travel Guides, September 2023

"Great Britain and the United Kingdom: what’s the difference? GB is the landmass comprising England, Scotland and Wales; the UK also includes Northern Ireland and some smaller isles..."

Great Britain: Sporting Britain

A guidebook article for Lonely Planet, July 2023

"During the 18th and 19th centuries, Britons codified major sports including tennis, cricket, golf, field hockey, billiards, bowls, netball, water polo, baseball, horse racing, squash and boxing..."

Great Britain: Divided Kingdom?

A guidebook article for Lonely Planet, July 2023

"Two historical referendums, one on Scottish independence (result: remain) and another on Brexit (result: leave), have revealed deep divisions between Britain's three member nations..."

Great Britain: Meet the British

A guidebook article for Lonely Planet, July 2023

"For many Britons, their identity is specific to their country, their region or even their city. For me, it’s more general than that. The conclusion I've come to is this: I am British, not English..."

Scotland: Northern Highlands & Islands

A travel guidebook chapter for Lonely Planet, May 2023

"The most popular route through Scotland’s northern Highlands is the coast-hugging NC500, a 500-mile loop of spiky mountain peaks, dune-fringed beaches and brooding castle ruins..."

Scotland: Edinburgh

A travel guidebook chapter for Lonely Planet, May 2023

"It all began with fire and rock. The rugged, rangy landscape of modern-day Edinburgh was formed by three great volcanoes, which rose together here around 350 million years ago..."

Scotland: Northern Highlands & Western Isles

A travel guidebook chapter for Fodor's Travel Guides, June 2022

"As Scotland in miniature, the landscape on Skye ranges from the lush, undulating hills and coastal tracks of Sleat to the deep glens and saw-toothed peaks of the Cuillin Mountains..."

Scotland: Inverness and Around the Great Glen

A travel guidebook chapter for Fodor's Travel Guides, June 2022

"The Great Glen is world-famous for its hill walking, with some of the best routes around Glen Nevis, Glencoe and Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain. Look out for golden eagles..."

Essential Scotland: Edinburgh & The Lothians

A travel guidebook chapter for Fodor's Travel Guides, June 2022

" From floor-stomping ceilidhs to avant-garde modern dance, Edinburgh’s calendar of cultural events - including the Edinburgh Fringe, the world's largest arts festival - is truly outstanding..."

Scotland: Skye and the Outer Hebrides

A travel guidebook chapter for Lonely Planet, March 2022

"Skye's jaw-dropping landscapes and time-honoured castles are popular tourist draws, while those seeking solitude – and stunning sandy beaches – venture out to the Outer Hebrides..."

The Outlander Guide to Scotland

An article for Fodor's Travel Guides, November 2020

"From prehistoric stone circles to medieval castles, dramatic battlefields to majestic palaces, here's our pick of top Outlander locations for anyone looking to recreate the show’s magic..."

Scotland: Northern Highlands & Western Isles

A travel guidebook chapter for Fodor's Travel Guides, April 2020

"The Northern Highlands is a region where roads hug the coast, offering stunning views over the clear blue ocean, across dramatic mountain peaks, or along stunning heather moorland..."

Scotland: Inverness and Around the Great Glen

A travel guidebook chapter for Fodor's Travel Guides, April 2020

"Defined by its spectacular topography, the Great Glen brings together mountains and myths, history and wild nature, then lets you wash it all down with a dram of the world’s best whisky..."

Essential Scotland: Edinburgh & The Lothians

A travel guidebook chapter for Fodor's Travel Guides, April 2020

"Edinburgh is "a city so beautiful that it breaks the heart again and again," as Alexander McCall Smith once wrote. Its seven hills make a striking backdrop for the ancient pageant of history..."

10 Spectacular Scottish Castles to Visit

An article for Fodor's Travel Guides, March 2020

"You can be driving along a winding coastal road, trekking over a craggy mountain peak, or sailing across a fog-sheathed loch, and suddenly the outline of a castle will hone into view..."

The 10 Best Whisky Distilleries in Scotland

An article for Fodor's Travel Guides, February 2020

"With more than 120 active distilleries dotted around the country, Scotland offers opportunities galore to learn the whisky-making process while tasting the amber spirit in its spiritual home..."

Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh – The Caledonian

A hotel guide for Forbes Travel Guide, August 2019

"Opened in 1903 as a luxurious railway hotel, "The Caley" maintains its rose-tinted sandstone façade, its intricately sculpted stone arches and its unmistakable whiff of Victorian grandeur..."

The Balmoral Edinburgh

A hotel guide for Forbes Travel Guide, June 2019

"One of Edinburgh’s most instantly recognizable landmarks, The Balmoral was first conceived as a railway hotel. And the Victorian-era baronial property remains a luxurious place to stay..."

Essential Great Britain: Experience Chapter

A travel guidebook chapter for Fodor's Travel Guides, January 2019

"Heston Blumenthal, Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay are just the tip of the culinary iceberg, as chefs nationwide now indulge their passions for high-quality, locally-sourced ingredients..."

Dining in Style at The Shore in Leith, Edinburgh

An article for Honey Travel by nine.com.au, March 2018

"The setting is gorgeous – an intimate, minimalist dining room looking out on the water – but it's Restaurant Martin Wishart's imaginative, French-inspired fare that takes all the headlines..."

Scotland: Northern Highlands & Western Isles

A travel guidebook chapter for Fodor's Travel Guides, March 2018

"Wild and remote, Scotland's Northern Highlands and Western Isles have a timeless grandeur. Dramatic cliffs, sandy beaches and craggy peaks rising out of moorland like islands in a sea..."

Essential Scotland: Edinburgh & The Lothians

A travel guidebook chapter for Fodor's Travel Guides, March 2018

"Take time to explore Edinburgh’s streets - peopled by the spirits of Mary Queen of Scots, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson - then enjoy a candlelit restaurant or a folk ceilidh..."

Northern Beauty: Scotland’s Secluded Islands

An article for Flight Time (Flybe in-flight magazine), March 2017

"Head beyond the Scottish Borders, bypass the capital, traverse the Highlands and cross the North Sea. Only then will you reach Scotland's outer limits - its remote, remarkable, islands..."

Cameron House: Luxury on Loch Lomond

An article for About Luxury Travel, December 2016

"Martin Wishart's Michelin-starred restaurant is the culinary apex of a stay at Cameron House. We had the six-course tasting menu, starting with confit of trout with smoked mussel cream..."

Scotland’s Gin Trail Serves Up Tourism Tonic

An article for The Guardian, September 2016

"British gin is synonymous with London. However, in recent years, more than two-thirds of the UK’s total gin production has moved outside the capital, and outside of England altogether..."

Dizzying Illusions at the Camera Obscura

An article for Honey Travel by nine.com.au, August 2016

"Lights flash on all sides of me. The floor lurches down to the right - and my stomach lurches with it. Bright rings of red and paint-blots of green cloud my vision as I cling to the handrail..."

The Cromlix: Andy Murray’s Luxury Hotel

An article for About Luxury Travel, July 2016

"You'll love the Cromlix if you choose small, personal boutique hotels over mega resorts, and love outdoor activities from playing tennis to taking brisk walks to fishing in the house loch..."

What to Do in Glasgow’s West End

An article for WestJet Magazine, June 2016

"Perhaps the most celebrated restaurant in Glasgow, the Ubiquitous Chip has been a West End favourite since the early 1970s, reputed locally for its superb, seasonal Scottish fare..."

On the Trail of Scotland’s Gin

An article for Honey Travel by nine.com.au, May 2016

"When it comes to Scottish spirits, whisky has traditionally ruled the roost. But right now, the tipple on every local's lips is gin, as new craft gin distilleries have opened across Scotland..."

40 Must-See Structures in Scotland

An article for USA Today, May 2016

"As well as its stunning nature, Scotland has amazing man-made structures, from prehistoric settlements to medieval fortifications, Victorian monuments to ultra-modernist parliaments..."

Sip Scotland On a New National Gin Trail

An article for USA Today, March 2016

"The gin trail features 17 stops, from urban distilleries and bars in Edinburgh and Glasgow to gin makers out on the islands of Harris and Shetland, tempting visitors to explore them all..."

Scottish Gin: Get Into the Spirit of Things

An article for The Independent, March 2016

"Scotland may be better known for its whisky, but it is also responsible for producing 70 per cent of the UK’s gin. And it's the huge growth of craft gin that has really raised local spirits..."

Six Uniquely Scottish Experiences

A blog post for VisitScotland, September 2015

"From scuba diving among German warships to hiking between curious Highland Cows, from gigantic viaducts to deep vaults, here are six of my favourite uniquely Scottish experiences..."

Gleneagles: Golf Galore (and More)

An article for About Luxury Travel, August 2015

"The world-class golf is just one of the hotel's myriad draws. From cultured cuisine to warming whisky, in-house spa treatments to off-road driving, Gleneagles is the perfect luxury escape..."

Glasgow Overview and Q&As

A guide for Forbes Travel Guide, August 2012

"Scotland's second city Glasgow is often considered Edinburgh’s little brother. That simply means it stays out later, has far hipper taste in music and still has its best years ahead of it..."

Edinburgh Overview and Q&As

A guide for Forbes Travel Guide, May 2012

"Described by the famous Scottish poet Hugh MacDiarmid as "a mad god's dream,” Edinburgh is a multifarious mishmash of a metropolis. It has a history reaching back to the Bronze Age..."

Welcome to Edinburgh

A guide for GuidePal, December 2011

"Wrapped in a blanket of high hilltops, it is home to Michelin-star restaurants and world-class theatres alongside thriving nightlife and hectic urban chaos, all set against a calm sea view..."

UK & IRELAND – INTRODUCTORY SPREAD

Brochure copy for Welcome Cottages, January 2010

“From the sunsplashed beaches of Cornwall, to the rolling green hills of County Cork, to the giddy peaks of the Scottish Highlands, there’s a little something in Britain to suit everyone..."

Cutting It At The Edinburgh Fringe

An article for Scriptwriter Magazine, January 2008

“On the city's pretty Royal Mile, actors, singers, dancers, jugglers, stuntpeople, wrestlers and inexplicably semi-naked hypnotists all indiscriminately thrust their pamphlets at passers-by…”