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  • St Andrews: a 60-minute walking tour

    Are you visiting Scotland on a whirlwind visit but only have a few hours in each location? Maybe you’re staying in Edinburgh but want to visit St Andrews for the day? This short walking tour of around one hour takes you past all of my favourite parts of St Andrews. Allow yourself a bit of…

  • 10 things to do in Aberfeldy and Kenmore

    In recent years, the Aberfeldy area has become a favourite of ours for day trips and long weekends, and with each visit I appreciate more just how beautiful it is. There are elements that remind me of lake holiday culture in New England – self-catered holiday cabins, weekend ‘cottage’ escapes and water sports galore -…

  • Iona Abbey

    The Isle of Iona has been a holy spot since the St Columba (originally Colum Cille, ‘Dove of the Church’) landed there in AD 563 and founded the monastery with his band of twelve followers. Renowned as a centre of learning and art – particularly manuscript illumination – Iona survived repeated attacks by Vikings. In…

  • Scottish Crannog Centre

    Monday of this week was one of those spectacular sunny clear Scottish days that belie the tradition that Scotland is only ever wet and rainy. As it was my last free day, I decided it was time for an adventure to visit the Scottish Crannog Centre. I fully admit to being a history geek -…

  • Queen’s View and Allean Forest Walk

    The Queen’s View over Loch Tummel in Perthshire is one of the most famous views in Scotland, and one of the most photographed. It is not hard, when visiting, to see why, though actually getting to the viewpoint can be a bit of a challenge. Not, I should point out, because it is physically difficult…

  • This day in history – 18 May 1152

    One of the most significant royal marriages of the Middle Ages took place at Poitiers, in May 1152. We know this because the chronicler Robert of Torigni – sometimes known as Robert de Monte due to his position as abbot of Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy – tells us in his Chronicle that, ‘Henry Duke of Normandy,…

  • Castle Campbell

    Castle Campbell holds great appeal to me not only for its location but for the memories it evokes. My first visit took place almost entirely by accident. I was staying in Doune in January, in a tiny hotel that had very few guests in the off-season. In the breakfast room one morning, I struck up…

  • Town of Doune and countryside walk

    Several years ago, I took myself away for a few nights on a mini writing retreat. I chose as my destination somewhere out of the way and yet relatively easy to reach by public transport (though not on a Sunday as I had forgotten): Doune.

  • Jedburgh Abbey

    Jedburgh (named for its place along the Jed Water, a tributary of the River Teviot) was a location we chose quite at random when planning a special long weekend away, and looking for somewhere different than our normal jaunts north.

  • Highlights of Puerto Rico 🇵🇷

    For a good part of my tween and teen years, I spent several weeks each year visiting my father in Puerto Rico. So much of the island is stunningly beautiful, with sunny beaches and tree-covered mountains of a rugged nature unlike those we have in New England and Scotland.

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