Scotland Travel Writing

I was born in Dundee and I’m now based in Glasgow, one of the greatest cities in the world (in my opinion). My work as a Scotland travel writer has focused mainly on the central belt, though I do go on an occasional jaunt into the highlands – usually to drink whisky!

My Scotland travel writing has been featured by publications such as National Geographic, Travel + Leisure, Time Out and the South China Morning Post. I also recorded a podcast episode on Glasgow for Dorling Kindersley’s Where to Go series. I’m a member of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society and write for their members’ magazine, Unfiltered; you can often find me with a wee dram at the Glasgow members’ rooms on Bath Street.

The below represents the best of my work as a Scotland specialist travel writer, journeying from Edinburgh to Dundee, Glasgow, Ayrshire and the far-flung reaches of the west coast and islands.

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  • March 2024 | Read

    This was the first of a three-part guide to Scotland, to be featured on the National Geographic website. It covers all the basics of a Scotland trip: when and where to go, and how to get around. This was my first time working for Nat Geo in the US – the UK team were kind enough to recommend me, based on my Scottish travel writing expertise.

  • March 2024 | Read

    This is the second feature in the three-part Scotland travel special that I wrote for Nat Geo. It covers some of the new openings – such as Scotland's new UNESCO trail – plus tried-and-true favourites, such as the fire festivals and literary Edinburgh.

  • March 2024 | Read

    For the final part of this three-part Scotland travel series I wrote for Nat Geo, I spoke to a few locals (including a few friends!) to get their top travel tips for Scotland.

  • May 2023 | Read

    I hopped on the train from Glasgow on a cold February day to check out the Marine Troon hotel, which had undergone a complete refurbishment. This was initially conceived as a hotel review but the editor asked me to write it as a feature on Troon, requiring me to seriously flex my Scotland travel writing chops. Turns out, though, there's a lot more to the town than meets the eye.

  • February 2023 | Read

    This was a fun – if rushed – wee piece to write, written in just a day after Nicola Sturgeon abruptly announced her resignation. Though it's not technically "Scottish" travel writing, each destination was picked with an awareness of its ties to Scottish people and culture.

  • April 2024 | Listen

    I could talk about Glasgow all day – so I suppose I might as well be paid to do it! In this episode of DK Eyewitness' "Where to Go" podcast series, I was invited on in my capacity as a Glasgow-based travel writer to talk all things whisky, music and Art Nouveau.

  • March 2023 | Read

    As I'm probably the only Glasgow-based travel writer working for the SCMP, the travel editor asked me to check out the Hong Kong market taking place at the Barras Market – a much-loved, but somewhat dilapidated Glasgow institution. Events like this are bringing the market into the future, ensuring that it continues to thrive in the coming years.

  • October 2019 | Read

    This was the first piece I wrote for American Way, the now sadly defunct inflight magazine for American Airlines. Here, I focused on the developing trend of gin bars and distilleries in Edinburgh, which at the time was quite new. This was also my first real foray into the American market as a Scottish travel writer; I've come to really enjoy being a cultural ambassador for Scotland and showing that there's more to it than castles and royals (though there are plenty of those, too!).

  • April 2022 | Read

    Even before I worked for Culture Trip as a commissioning editor, I often freelanced for them as a Scotland travel writer. In this piece, I focused on Scotland's cultural and natural attractions, from Glasgow's art and music scene to bagging your first Munro.

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