The Isle of Mull is ruled by its wildlife. Red deer, white-tailed sea eagles, golden eagles, Atlantic gray seals, otter, and a panoply of nesting, migrating, and just plain blown-off-course birds make their home on Mull and draw visitors from all over the United Kingdom and the world. The chance to see some of these animals in the wild largely drew me to Mull, and, though it’s depressing to think we’ve denuded so much of the world’s land of its wildlife, I knew a wildlife tour around Mull would be a much happier experience than visiting the local zoo.
There are several wildlife tour operators on Mull each with their own routes and specific focus. Read more...
Turus Mara means “excursion by sea” in the Gaelic language. It’s an apt name for the tour company that trolls the waters west of Mull, the Loch Na Keal National Scenic Area, taking in some of Scotland’s most geologically-interesting and wildlife-rich areas. A cadre of small islands including Staffa, Lunga, Gometra, and Iona pierce the waters between Mull and larger Tiree and Coll, many of them born of ancient lava flows. Gaelic-speakers of the past once inhabited these austere isles, but these days they’re left to the wiles of Atlantic Grey Seals, Puffins, Razorbills, and Guillemots. It’s the presence of this wildlife that’s made cruise tours around Mull big business.
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The Isle of Arran’s Brodick Castle has borne witness to the ebb and flow of mankind for 15 centuries. That’s a pretty epic achievement for a little castle on a little island off the coast of a little country. I have a bit of history with the castle, too, though it only stretches back five years. Sarah and I visited it for the first time in 2006, and I remembered it as one of my favorite castles on that trip. When I returned to the stout, red castle in the woods across the bay from Brodick town, little had changed. After all, what’s five years in the context of 1,500?
It’s safe to say that the Brodick Castle of today wasn’t around in the fifth century when Gaels from Northern Island landed on Arran intent on expanding their kingdom of Dál Riata. Read more...
Natural beauty is freakishly common in Scotland, but there are some places that put the others to shame. The entire western side of the Cairngorms National Park is a riot of untouched mountains, forests, and lochs. Just a short drive south of Nethy Bridge, practically next door to Scotland’s adventure capital of Aviemore, stands Rothiemurchus, one of Britain’s largest tracts of natural forest.
Rothiemurchus sits snugly along the B970, a gorgeous road that technically ends at Coylumbridge but that actually continues east past the glittering shores of Loch Morlich and up to the peak of Cairn Gorm itself. Read more...
On my previous vacations to the MoraySpeyside region of northern Scotland, I spent most of my time inside distilleries to the detriment of seeing the thriving small business and artistic communities of this beautiful corner of Scotland. My Best Holiday in the World prize week in MoraySpeyside ensured I wouldn’t be doing the same old thing in northern Scotland.
It was busy, and I mean that in the busiest sense of the word.
Rene guided me from one stop to the next with the kind of passion you can only muster when you love a place so deeply that you need others to experience it and understand it the same way.
By the end of the week, I’d come to see what Rene loved about the area and I found a bunch of fun and interesting ways to spend time there as well. Read more...
A hunter, oft-stubbled and bleary-eyed, driven by an insatiable hunger for exploration and experience - and perhaps a chance to thin the herd of caffeinated and alcoholic beverages. From the highlands and islands to Edinburgh, Glasgow, and the Borders, I explore Scotland with a pen in hand and a fire in the belly (which could be partly from the whisky). 
