I had a free Friday and Nicole was heading up to Dundee for her university course. As I've done on several occasions, I hitched a lift...

We fancied getting away for a couple of days between Christmas and New Year. A break from the TV schedules and endless food....

According to royal charter, Scotland now has eight cities. If you apply the cathedral theory, the small Angus settlement of Brechin makes...

The traditional county town of Angus is Forfar. I've been there many times for football matches and Nicole and I have passed through on...

Dunfermline's most famous ex-resident on a worldwide basis is businessman Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919). Born in a small weaving cottage...

With the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth dominating the media, I had completely forgotten to look at the local Doors Open programme...

To the north of Stirling stands a hill known as Abbey Craig. The monument at the top is dedicated to national hero William Wallace and...

I try to visit as many town museums as I can. They tend to be full of stories and stuffed with all manner of fascinating objects. I had a...

I got married to Nicole at Doune Castle in 2008. It was a great day and we had the reception a few miles along the road at Bridge of...

Having driven up the A9 towards Inverness dozens of times over the years, I was well aware of the Highland Folk Museum at Newtonmore,...

While scanning the maps of Glasgow, it struck me that three major parks on the southside are within easy walking distance of each other....

Edinburgh - my city of birth. I had seen all the familiar sights many times but never walked out to the "other" castle on the south side....

Growing up in Lochgelly, it was a fairly short drive to Kinross in the next county. My parents took us regularly to the huge and varied...

I mostly discover the existence of walkable old rail routes by scanning through online maps. Sometimes I'll spot evidence of a path while...

It's always an interesting day when you can combine a walk with a romp through history. The Forest of Sheriffmuir lies on the moorland...

After completing my exploration of the old Paisley Canal line as far as Johnstone, the next leg of this railway walk would take me into...

The top of the Kingdom of Fife lies just across the Firth of Tay from the City of Dundee. Ferries plied their trade across the water for...

I often pick a former industrial town and see if I can build a heritage trail on the digital maps. Sometimes a ready-made route exists...

I discover many ideas for walks through the act of studying online maps. Popular trails are named but I also look out for railway paths...

Following my enjoyable exploration of the old railway between Paisley and Johnstone, I decided another trip to Renfrewshire was in order...