Scotland Travel Blog October 2026

The Final Curtain

We’ve decided to stop Secret Scotland.

It’s not a sudden decision triggered by one particular thing. But a lot has changed since we started in 2005, and we want to end Secret Scotland for the right reasons and on our terms.

The biggest factor has been Climate Change, and the extreme Summer of 2026 has really brought home the urgent need for action. In the face of an existential crisis, we should be doing everything we can to cut fossil fuel emissions. Flying thousands of miles for no better reason than a vacation is not sustainable, and we do not wish to be part of the problem by encouraging people to fly to Scotland.

We are also concerned about the impact of overtourism in Scotland, with places like Skye, Glenfinnan and the NC500 route being the worst affected. For several years, we have warned people to avoid places like the “Fairy Pools” and Glenfinnan viaduct. Social media, “Harry Potter” and “Outlander” have created an insatiable beast that has destroyed the charm of places that once had genuine magic.

In recent years, when we have found special places, we have questioned whether or not we should publicise them. When we started in 2005, the world was different. The internet was in its infancy; social media was virtually non-existent. We created our guides to help people find the special places that so many people were missing. Now, we worry that special places will go viral on social media and be spoiled by social influencers.

And then, along came AI. Running a small business is hard enough these days, without the challenge of AI plagiarising the website content that you have put so much work into researching and creating. So yeah, we’re feeling a bit “scunnert” (a good Scots word that means exhausted and disheartened).

But that’s enough about why we’re stopping Secret Scotland. Instead, we’d like to reflect on some of the most memorable experiences and characters that we encountered over the last 20 years.

When we quit our jobs in 2005 to start doing the research work for Secret Scotland, it was a huge gamble. Neither of us was quitting well-paid jobs, and we didn’t have much money saved up. We had to make a little money go a long way, and there were no guarantees that our idea for a new style of travel guide would work. It was a scary time, but also exhilarating, and we look back on those early optimistic days with fond memories.

Planning a trip in Scotland was very different back then. Google Maps didn’t exist, so we meticulously researched our driving routes, noting the mileage between landmarks, and photographing all the road signs. We must have looked like some weird Nerds with a fetish for traffic signs. We still have a folder full of road signs from those early days.

It was very labour-intensive, but it proved we could work well as a team and our different skill sets combined well. Aury has an amazing memory for names; my memory is more visual, and I tend to remember the details that help to give directions. I’m still amazed at how Aury can recall the names of B&B owners we met 20 years ago.

Finding good B&Bs was also much more hit-and-miss before the internet. I recall visiting a B&B south of Jedburgh that had been awarded 5 stars. When we arrived, the host (a formidable English lady) met us at the front door. She had seen our website and guessed we were there to review her for our Accommodation guide. She had conditions and would only let us in if we gave her B&B first place in our Borders guide. Aury was ready to walk away, but I persuaded her to stay since we had made the journey. It was a bad decision; the dining room reeked of cigarette smoke, and the bedroom could best be described as “Spooky”. That B&B didn’t make it into our guide.

Back in 2005, the B&B sector was much less regulated than it is today. Some of the experiences we had 20 years ago would probably not happen now. For example, I visited a lovely old lady who ran a charming B&B north of Perth. Whilst she showed me round the house, I commented on her unusual collection of stuffed animals, most of which were startled-looking red squirrels. She then explained that she had a friend who did taxidermy, and he stuffed the dead squirrels that she found on her walks. I was less impressed when she opened her chest freezer to show me the roadkill awaiting her next trip to the taxidermist. That B&B didn’t make it into our guide either.

One of the big changes we’ve noted over the last 20 years is the decline in B&Bs run by local people. There are still places run by people whose families have lived there for several generations, but this is much rarer than it used to be. Unfortunately, this means fewer opportunities to hear the stories and folklore that are such a part of Highland culture.

I had an especially memorable time at a farmhouse B&B near Carbost on Skye. While chatting with the owner, we started sharing our favourite ghost stories, and I asked if they knew anything about sightings of the ghost car on the old road to Sligachan. Not only did she know the story, but she told me that a farmhand had worked on the farm in the 1940’s, and he died in a car crash on the same road. After his death, his personal items had been placed in a chest and left in an outbuilding for his family to collect. But no one ever came for the chest, and the chest still sat in a corner of an outbuilding.

Over the years, the greatest rewards have been the friendships made, and the special experiences we’ve had whilst researching places that aren’t listed in other guidebooks.

Our research for Secret Scotland have taken us on all sorts of adventures. We’ve hiked in torrential rain to visit abandoned villages,

Camped on mountains to witness the magic of a Midsummer sunset / sunrise,

Explored spooky forests to find moss-covered causeways that lead to castle ruins hidden under centuries of  ivy.

Plunged into chilly waters to test the “wild swimming” experience

Randomly followed side roads just to see where they would take us.

And climbed numerous mountains to explore places where you definitely won't find a crowd of tourists!

We still get a buzz when we discover something worth sharing in the guides, and we’ve clocked up hundreds of miles in search of these “hidden gems”. Our son has probably seen more of Scotland in 15 years than most Scots will see in their entire lifetime. He’s been to 36 Scottish islands and travelled to all four extremities of the Scottish mainland.

We will miss the interactions with our clients, but we hope to stay in touch with the many friends we’ve made. So many clients have become good friends even though we’ve never met. We’ll not list them here in case we miss someone out and cause offence, but we’ll hopefully keep in touch, and you might still see us making the occasional post on Facebook.

I’ll probably also miss the many funny ways that people manage to misspell Edinburgh. We’ve seen it spelt so many different ways that I sometimes thought it was deliberate wind-up… Edinbro… Edinboro…Edinburg… Edinborough… Edinbra. Seriously, guys… It’s a bit insulting to visit someone else’s country and not even bother to get the Capital’s name correct. I can forgive non-English speakers, but the biggest culprits were usually Americans, so no excuses!

What we won’t miss is the stress of running a small business and never being able to have a holiday without checking your emails every day. But Secret Scotland has given us something worth more than money. It has enabled us to do things our way. We’ve always been true to ourselves and our principles, so it feels right to be taking our final bow on our terms.

All that remains is to say a big “Thank You” to everyone who supported us and bought into the ethos of Secret Scotland. It’s been a great adventure, and we’re glad we took the gamble on that travel guide idea all those years ago.

Slainte!