I’m a writer based in and inspired by Scotland.
I grew up in a village on the west coast and now live between the sea and countryside in Fife. Here I share words and pictures about slower travel, Scotland, and switching off in the age of social media. Welcome to my quiet corner of the internet.
slower travel
Hashtag Scotland: What’s next for our slow travel project
When I was commuting into Edinburgh each weekday — how strange it feels saying that in past tense — I kept a small notebook in which I’d scribble ideas as the train rattled towards the city. It feels like a lifetime ago when I wrote the words, Where does Hashtag Scotland go next? You mayContinue reading “Hashtag Scotland: What’s next for our slow travel project”
Hashtag Scotland: Behind the lens at two of Scotland’s most popular places
The next blog in this series is finally here! Apologies for the delay — I got a bit distracted by summer weather and cycling the Fife Coastal Path. Anyway… In the introductory blog to the #HashtagScotland project, I mentioned that the writing I’d shared around social media and travel back in 2018 had led me toContinue reading “Hashtag Scotland: Behind the lens at two of Scotland’s most popular places”
A postcard from… Lochaber, and some thoughts on slow travel
The first few days it rained almost solidly. Between cups of tea and chocolate-sunk biscuits, we turned pages of books as the raindrops tapped the caravan windows. Reading Kathleen Jamie’s Findings, I imagined myself in an alternative weather reality hoping that, in a few days, I’d be able to get outside and note all the intricacies ofContinue reading “A postcard from… Lochaber, and some thoughts on slow travel”
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Why slow travel could be here to stay
Every evening this spring was the same. We’d shut our laptops, lace our boots, and climb the small and unremarkable hill behind our home.
During those wanders, I remember reflecting many times on the perverse paradox — that what I’d been writing about for so long, slower travel, was now happening on a mass scale, albeit for entirely different reasons…
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An ode (and guide) to some favourite Scottish coffee shops
There are many things to miss about life as we knew it. I’m sure we could all make endless lists on the subject. There’d no doubt be disagreements on what each deemed ‘essential’ — and others wrote off as superfluous — but we’d probably all admit that simple pleasures are more important than ever. WithContinue reading “An ode (and guide) to some favourite Scottish coffee shops”
Distancing #6: A letter from the last few months
I am sitting in a borrowed office chair in our kitchen. It is late morning. Soft light slants through the trees, dancing on the wall, as the occasional rusting leaf twirls to the ground. I’m not sure where the year has gone. How has time actually passed, despite the wild world we’re now living in?Continue reading “Distancing #6: A letter from the last few months”
Distancing #5: More links for weekend reading
All of this series, words from life under lockdown, can be found via this link. After a week of work — which involves creating content about the coronavirus for about 7 hours a day, which as you’ve guessed doesn’t provide much opportunity from switching off from the situation we currently find ourselves in — oneContinue reading “Distancing #5: More links for weekend reading”
