Hello, I’m Laura

I’m a travel and outdoors writer, social media manager and bookworm based near Edinburgh, Scotland.

I grew up in a village on the west coast, not far from Glasgow, where I’d later study English Literature and French. I spent a lot of my childhood surrounded by nature, enjoying almost every spring, summer and autumn holiday here in Scotland. This, without a doubt, played a huge part in growing my love for this country and its beautiful landscapes, cities and people.

I live with my partner and spend my weekends walking or cycling, reading, and drinking coffee at my favourite local café.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy what you read.

What you’ll find here

I’ve been blogging at LARETOUR.com since 2013. I started writing online when I returned from a year abroad, wanting to share my journals from my time in France, and soon this became a place where I shared more of my life in Scotland.

The name La Retour is not really a name at all. Le Retour would be more grammatically correct, and means ‘the return’ in French (I was looking forward to coming home at the time!). I decided to change the le to la, rendering the pronoun incorrect — but it meant that the Twitter handle was free, and LA are my initials. And so the name sort of stuck!

Over the years the writing I share here has changed. For a period it was my year abroad diaries, then my student journalism portfolio, before becoming a dedicated space to share my Scottish travel writing.

In the past few years, however, I’ve begun focusing on the places that are a little further off the beaten track. Since early 2019, I have been exploring the relationship between Scotland and social media, and how technology is changing the way we travel. In September 2019, I and my project partner Nicolas launched Hashtag Scotland, a series that tackles all these questions and more.

As we move into 2020 — and topics like sustainability, climate change and social media continue to make headlines — I want to make this a space that encourages people to go beyond the guidebooks, seeking travel experiences that mean more than an Instagram post, whilst also respecting the delicate environments that we explore, whether that’s in our daily lives or during that once-in-a-lifetime holiday.

Working with me

I’m currently researching and investigating the above themes, and would welcome any queries from online publications regarding writing opportunities or social media collaborations.

Otherwise, I’m reviewing brand pitches on a case-by-case basis. You can find out more about my key themes and experience on the contact page as well as viewing my full portfolio. If your query is of interest, I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

Thank you!