22/06/2024
Guests enjoyed a great morning at the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh, getting - literally - a taste of some of the great fine foods and drinks that Scotland has to offer! Also seeing all aspects of farming industry all in the one place.
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11/05/2024
Some random photos of my first extended tour of the season. Weather coming good as we arrived on Skye.
27/04/2024
Lovely day out taking visitors around sunny Perthshire including the historic Scone Palace.
26/11/2023
I recently had the opportunity to visit the newly refurbished Vaults belonging to the Scottish Malt Whisky Society in Leith. It's looking really good, especially with the Christmas decorations! I always enjoy bringing guests here or to their bar in the centre of Edinburgh. Great food, but even better whisky - it is a must-visit for all serious whisky drinkers serving unique single cask whiskies that you will not find outside of the society.
08/11/2023
Lovely walk on Sunday with great friends. Started the long distance walk between Dunbar (the birthplace of John Muir) and Helensburgh over on the west of Scotland. This first stretch took us from Dunbar to the pretty town of East Linton. Passed great views of the Firth of Forth and the Bass Rock. 2WW tank traps litter the shoreline and are a reminder of darker days. Along the way we also passed Preston Mill, more widely known by Outlander fans as the location where Jamie hides from Government soldiers in the mill pond.
21/09/2023
It's not every day that you see a submarine sailing through the Inner Sound between Rona and the Applecross peninsula.
20/09/2023
Since Scotland has around 7 million sheep, I thought it was about time I did a post on them! Many thanks to Andrew for taking the time to talk to my guests despite how busy he and the other workers were (his grandfather owns the sheep). They were separating the male lambs for market as well as tagging the females. The backdrop is the stunning Quiraing on the Isle of Skye.
09/06/2023
Today has just been one of those really difficult days at the office!!
29/03/2023
A good day to start a familiarisation trip through the Borders and down into Dumfries and Galloway - a place full of ancient history, archaeology, great food, picturesque villages and harbours, and stunning landscapes ... and so often missed by visitors to Scotland.
24/02/2023
Images of Perth, once an ancient capital of Scotland that today has a fascinating story to tell and was told so well by my guiding colleague and friend Jim Leslie https://instagram.com/kiltedguide?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=. The post includes a photo of the great man himself taken by: https://www.facebook.com/gillbrowntourguide.
Perth's attraction for visitors will increase next year as it will become the new home of The Stone of Destiny - the ancient symbol of Scotland's monarchy, so it is definitely worth considering stopping here on your tour of Scotland.
21/12/2022
Happy Winter Solstice!
Photo taken at Clava Cairns during my last guiding trip up North in November, just as the sun was setting - and we had the place to ourselves!
The cairns are believed to be aligned with the winter solstice. The shortest day of the year. A time to reflect on the year just passed and a time to recognise that the seasons will be changing and Spring will be upon us soon.
Clava Cairns has now become a pilgrimage for many Outlander fans, but whatever the reason for visiting this is truly a spiritual and other-worldly place to visit.
10/12/2022
Our final day on the Herring Road takes us from Watch Water Reservoir to the Borders town of Lauder.
The weather this morning is the best of the three days walk and we have stunning views over the Lammermuir Hills. At the top of Twin Law there are prehistoric burial cairns and two towers allegedly constructed following the death of two brothers in an ancient battle, though more recently reconstructed.
Later we pass more neolithic standing stones and isolated settlements before descending past Thirlstane Castle and into Lauder - once again in the pouring rain!
It has been a great walk, and I've really begun to appreciate and better understand the landscape of these hills as well as huge admiration for the women who walked these tracks the 29 miles from Dunbar to Lauder as they carried their heavy creels of fish to the markets.
Our reward is lovely coffee and cake at the Flat Cat Cafe in Lauder!
09/12/2022
Day Two of our Herring Road walk from Dunbar to Lauder starting from Whiteadder Reservoir and finishing by Watch Water Reservoir. It's a relatively short walk today of approximately 6 miles but over the higher reaches of the Lammermuir Hills. The weather gods are not with us today as it rains for most of the day.
We are in a remote part of Scotland and when you look at the map there doesn't appear to be that much to see, but the reality is that this is a lived in landscape and has been so for 1000's of years. An early reminder of this is Penshiel Grange now a ruin but once a major dwelling dating to the 1400's and historical records which go back to the 1200's. However this is a young building when compared to the closeby prehistoric standing stone known as Chapel Stone, and when you look at the map ancient settlements, forts, and prehistoric stones litter the hills of the Lammermuirs.
To this day there are isolated farmhouses and cottages which populate the area and in the days of the Herring Road it could be assumed that similar buildings might have provided some shelter for the fishwives of Dunbar.
07/12/2022
Having pretty much finished for the tourist season I took the opportunity with my friend Nigel to go on a 'short' long distance walk (29 miles) from Dunbar to Lauder over the Lammermuir Hills and on the historic Herring Road. The Road harks back to a time when the fishermen's wives of Dunbar would walk over the hills to Lauder with their creels of salted & dried herring. Looking on OS maps the mention of the roads (of which there are several routes) over barren and inhospitable moorland has always fascinated me and I wanted to see just what the journey might have been like. I'm not sure how long these women took to do this walk, but we did it over three days!
These photos are of our first day walking out of Dunbar and finishing by Whiteadder Reservoir. A suitable start was by the harbour where the herring would have been landed, then past the Creel Loader statue where it takes two men to lift a fishing creel onto the back of the fisherwife. Through Dunbar high street passing the birthplace and statue of a young John Muir - the famous naturalist and supporter of Yosemite and the American National Parks. Not forgetting a brief stop at Dunbar's Community Bakery for some delicious provisions!
Walking out of Dunbar we pass through the village of Spott and its ancient kirk - the only village we walk through on our journey to Lauder, and beyond here is the Witches Stone, a memorial to Marion Lillie one of the over 3000 people of Scotland (mostly women) who were killed having been condemned of being a witch.
After about another hour's walk we begin to climb up onto the Lammermuir hills with lovely views back over our shoulder to the Firth of Forth, the Bass Rock and Berwick Law.
On top, the trackway was good under foot until we arrived at the boggy quagmire of Crystal Rig wind farm. But once through it's a pleasant walk down to Whiteadder.
A good day's walk and huge admiration for all those women who undertook this walk with their heavy creels of herring.
18/08/2022
Everyone loves a Highland Coo! Photos taken on a recent tour of Scotland of two lovely herds by Loch Tay and on the Isle of Mull.
17/08/2022
The crossing between Mull and Oban has to be one of my favourites. Stunning views, ancient castles and all manner of sailing craft! The morning started with a fog which enveloped the Sound of Mull from whence came our ferry the ‘Isle of Mull’. Soon the fog lifted to reveal a glorious day. Enroute to Oban we passed yachts; other Calmac ferries and even the elegant cruise ship
01/06/2022
Extra guns being brought in to for the 42 gun salute on Thursday for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
01/04/2022
Took a trip to the Glenfarclas distillery in Speyside, Scotland. Expertly guided by the wonderful Rosie. Glenfarclas is a gem of a place - family owned and a great place to come and learn about and enjoy the delights of (Group photo courtesy of )
31/03/2022
Really love the sunlight hitting the sea on the horizon - a thin place.
17/02/2022
A welcome invite from Johnnie Walker allowed me to get to know their new Johnnie Walker Experience in Edinburgh. The tour is entertaining with lots of colour, live acting and graphics, not to forget three whiskies in which to discover innovative ways in which to enjoy your Johnnie Walker whisky! The centre has some amazing architecture and also has some fine rooftop bars with outstanding views across the Edinburgh skyline. Definitely worth a visit on your trip to Edinburgh.
24/12/2021
Seasons Greetings from Guided Tour Scotland. Wishing you all a lovely festive holiday and may 2022 bring us all so much more than 2021!!!
05/12/2021
Stopped for wonderful coffee and cake at at the halfway point of yesterday's walk and then came out to a transformed landscape - a real winter's wonderland!! The beautiful village of Gifford is looking resplendent!
19/11/2021
Great News! Congratulations to Pilar at pilardeleaniz for winning the Creativity Award at the awards - a well deserved winner! It must have been Pilar's drawing of me that won the judges over for her project!!!
26/10/2021
Check out this wonderful picture of me and see many more drawn by who included me as part of her project celebrating small independent businesses in Edinburgh. It has been a real privilege to be a part of this.
Guiding has understandably been difficult over the last two years, but thankfully now beginning to open up again.
If you are planning a trip to Scotland and looking for a guide then please check out my website!
16/10/2021
MacLeod's Tables looking resplendent today! View from our outside breakfast table!
24/08/2021
Any trip of a few days to Edinburgh should incorporate a short journey out of the city to Rosslyn Chapel. This is an amazing place and you will be rewarded with memories for a lifetime!
These photos are all from the outside of the building (photos of the inside are not permitted - check out ), however take it from me, the carvings inside are extraordinarily beautiful and complex.
The chapel was founded in 1446 by Sir William St Clair as his private family chapel, however it fell out of use after 1560 and into disrepair, before being saved in the 1800's and subsequent periods of restoration. It also received cinematic fame with a part in Dan Brown's book The Da Vinci Code and the subsequent film of the same name.
Last photo is of William the chapel cat who is often seen sunning himself in the grounds!
14/08/2021
Today is the 250th Anniversary of the birth of Sir Walter Scott, one of the finest writers of his day and who was instrumental in how the world sees Scotland.
As an author Scott excelled in weaving historical events into fictional storylines using both fictional and real life characters. Many of his books have formed the basis for today's movies such as Ivanhoe and Rob Roy.
His books romanticised the highlands and the people of Scotland replacing an established image of a foreboding place full of thieves and outlaws. As such he is credited with kick-starting the Scottish tourist industry which many visitors still enjoy experiencing today.
The statue of Sir Walter Scott was sculpted by Sir John Steell in the 1840's and is located in the centre of the Scott Monument situated in Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh.
A visit to Scotland can incorporate discovering more about our great writers such as Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, Robert Burns and JK Rowling.
11/08/2021
The wonderful thing about history and archaeology is that we continue to have to rewrite it! A visit to Edinburgh's National Museum of Scotland to see the Galloway Hoard evidences this point!
These photos were taken of the amazing silver and gold treasures which were found by a metal detectorist in 2014. After years of restoration and research many of these finds are now presented in this exhibition.
It is part of a Viking-age hoard found in Galloway, Scotland and believed to have been buried in the AD900's, however many of these objects are not actually viking in origin but are from Anglo-Saxon England. Whilst others are from much further afield - from modern day Iran and date to the AD600's -700's. Due to the quality of preservation a small vessel was actually found to have been wrapped in silks and are still undergoing preservation on the vessel, as such the vessel in the photo is a 3D replica.
The exhibition is on until September 12 before it goes on a tour of other Scottish towns and cities and it is well worth seeking out if visiting Scotland.
22/07/2021
All across Scotland large and small private gardens open their garden gates during the summer months as part of , to allow visitors to come and enjoy their wonderful creations. Each garden brings joy and happiness to its visitors whom for a small fee, would not ordinarily get to see them. The money raised is shared between the charity of individual garden owners and the charities of the national organisation.
These photos are from the gardens of just outside of the village of Gifford in East Lothian. It is more than just a garden, it is also a wonderful open air art gallery built around farm buildings which date from the 1600's.
If visiting Scotland then it is certainly worth looking out for a garden near you.
10/07/2021
A real privilege to spend time with these amazing birds in the Treshnish Isles (off the Isle of Mull) having taken my guests there on a cruise on the Turas Mara. You too can get to see them on a Scotland driver-guided tour.
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