The First Piper

22/04/2024

Still Pink! 🇮🇳
9 years later, I’ve grown a beard, forgotten how to iron my shirt and I finally know how to wear my sporran properly! 😅
I feel so lucky to be able to revisit countries on this big bagpipe adventure. So much has changed in India (fancy hotels, swanky cafes, brand new highways and so on!), but a lot has stayed the same. The Pink City is still pink, Jaipur curries still make me hiccup and the Palace of the Winds is still breezy (so I hear!). 🌬️🌶️
For some context, this beautiful building behind me is called the ‘Hawa Mahal’ and is a symbol of Jaipur (aka the Pink City). The name of the building, and its design, has inspired the nickname “Palace of the Winds” 💨

19/04/2024

Tales of the City 🗺️
It’s hard to express what Old Delhi has to offer in a few photos & videos. This place is a treat for the senses and made for an awesome way to kick off our time in India! From the Jama Masjid & Jain temples to the food stalls & fabric shops, it was wicked! A big dhanyavaad (and shukriya!) to Sufiyan & Tales of City for our intro to this slice of Delhi! 🙏🏼

25/03/2024

Happy Holi from Agra! 🌺
A huge thank you to Tajview, Agra - IHCL SeleQtions for hosting us and inviting me to play 🎶
What an awesome way to celebrate my first ever Holi! 🙌

14/03/2024

A very belated Happy International Bagpipe Day from the Chocolate Hills of Bohol! 🍫 🎶
Salamat Ichika & Kayla for the photos & video clips of me tuning up 🙌

28/02/2024

Last year, Timisoara (Romania) was the 2023 European Capital of Culture. Because of this, there were tonnes of events happening; in galleries, theatres and in public spaces. You could walk into a park and there’d be a performance, or even drop into a cafe there’d be an award-winning sculpture exhibit. It was pretty cool to witness first hand and to contribute to with the bagpipes.

For my final night I thought I’d join some of the street musicians with a sundowner tune in Union square and the sunset was just ufff (!!) out of this world 🌅

Ever though of visiting Romania?! Head West and check out Timisoara! 🙌

EUROPE (visiteurope.com) Romania Visit Timisoara

13/02/2024

Happy Lunar New Year! 🧧
It’s been many years since I’ve done anything to celebrate Lunar New Year, but this past week has definitely made up for it! I got to eat my way around Manila’s Chinatown and work on my dumpling making technique 😅 🐉

04/02/2024

Throughout the city of Budapest you can find dozens of miniature bronze statues. From cartoon characters to tiny tanks, each little monument has a backstory, but they’re not the easiest to spot!

They’re designed by Mihály Kolodko - a sculptor with Hungarian roots.The most iconic one? I reckon it’s the rubik’s cube!

Why? Well, it was invented in Hungary! 🤩

02/02/2024

Reason 51: Guatemala's "Crater Azul" (aka Blue Crater), might have the clearest fresh water I've ever seen 🤩

01/02/2024

What would you choose?! 🏝️

1. Grenada 🇬🇩
This country is a lot more than just beaches. It’s also one of the largest producers of nutmeg in the world.

2. Dominica 🇩🇲
What’s not to love about a country that’s called ‘The Nature Isle?!’ This island is a total gem with its own resident pod of s***m whales.

3. Belize 🇧🇿
Ya’better Belize it! This country’s got the Blue Hole (Google that!), a beautiful selection of cayes & reefs, and also a huge population of menonite folk!

30/01/2024

One of the many things I love about the Philippines are these brightly coloured ice cream carts! 🍭🍦

27/01/2024

Hey you lot! Hope you’re having a looovely weekend! 🙌

I'm excited to share that the itinerary for the July Scotland trip is now up. You’ll notice we’ve also opened up another set of dates in May. Tap the following link for a wee look 👀

Embark on a cultural immersion into South West Scotland's Dumfries & Galloway. Traverse sheep-graced landscapes, hike coastal paths, and conquer hills echoing with the legacies of Scottish Kings & Queens. Unusual trips, unusual guides and a lot of digital content. Our aim is to take you on one-off a...

25/01/2024

Happy Burns Night you lot! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
Whatever you’re eating tonight, I hope it’s “Wordy o’ a grace, As lang’s my arm!” If you’ve no idea what I’m on about, check out my stories and my last video! 🥃

23/01/2024

Maybe we should call this “Burns Week!” 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
On the 25th January, (some) folk around the world celebrate Burns Night. “What is that?!” I hear you say! Well, it’s an annual celebration dedicated to the life and works of Robert Burns, Scotland’s National poet. He wrote some great poems, which were dedicated to plenty of things (a mouse and louse included!), but what many people don’t know is that he wrote more songs than he did poems! 🎶

17/01/2024

The 1Billion Summit! 🎬
Last week I was invited to host a panel at the 1 Billion Followers Summit - قمة المليار متابع in Dubai. From serial entrepreneurs & global shapers to PR gurus & spiritual gangsters, the guests were a selection of mighty impressive individuals! A great big shukran to everyone that attended and to Mina Al Sheikhly / Sara Al Madani / Lal Bhatia / Nicolas Nath for such an insightful and entertaining session 🙌
And lastly, a huge thank you to 1BillionSummit & أكاديمية الإعلام الجديد teams for putting together another cracking event. See you all next year! 💃

09/01/2024

IT’S MY BIRTHDAY! 🥳
The past year has been utterly wonderful. I cannot tell you how lucky I feel to be able to work in the travel industry and get to meet such wicked people. This year I’ve spent my birthday at a Waste Management Plant just outside of Dubai 😂 🤷‍♀️ but you know what they say: “when life gives you waste water, make lemonade” 🚽🍋🚿

08/01/2024

Reason 50: The best crispy chicken in the Americas?! Pollo Campero couldn't be a better Reason to fall in love with Guatemala 🤤🍗

19/12/2023

8 years later and we’re back where we first met! We’ll send ya a rusk if you can guess this photo was taken 😉 🗺️ 🐧

14/12/2023

2 weeks, 4 countries and a tonne of history! 🗺️
Back in October I was sent on an adventure through Moldova, Serbia, Romania & Hungary. I barely scraped the surface of those countries, but I had a great intro thanks to EUROPE (visiteurope.com) 🙏🏼

🇲🇩 Moldova:
1: Carpets of Moldova!
2: Country Number 108! A bagpipe session at hill.and.valley.farm on the outskirts of Chisinau.

🇭🇺 Hungary:
3: The iconic yellow Budapest trams.
4: A selfie form the citadel above Budapest.

🇷🇸 Serbia:
5: Belgrade Fortress. A historical symbol and monument in the capital of Serbia.
6: The national dress of Serbia!

🇷🇴 Romania:
7: The Bega River, city of Timișoara. 2023 European Capital of Culture.
8: A shot from Timișoara's Liberty Square.

13/12/2023

Reason 49: Guatemala’s mangrove forests 🌱

12/12/2023

Hosted my first ever Guatemalan adventure! 🙌
From volcano hikes and hot tub sessions to Mayan ceremonies and market days, it’s been an incredible month working with friends and introducing people to my second home, Guatemala. I’m gutted to leave, but I’m hoping to make this an annual thing! Who’s up for a 2024 adventure?! 🌋
Huge big MALTIOX to Isa Toledo for being such a great co-host 🙏🏼

02/11/2023

Whilst some cultures celebrate Halloween (or versions of it!), at this time of year, Guatemala has this incredible tradition! 🪁

09/09/2023

When in Zurich, take to the Limmat River!🇨🇭
Sometimes you have really random (but amusing!) days when working with Tourism Boards. This was definitely one of those days! 😂
So, some context. These “Weidling” boats were once used for transport & fishing, and they’re a bit of a cultural icon in Zurich. Nowadays, they’re mostly used for leisure, and for a pretty unusual Swiss sport, which is basically jousting on boats! The kit I’ve got on is Zurich “Tracht” (traditional dress) - it appeared out of a box and I thought, why not?! 👗
Thank you to Greg from Limmat-Club Zürich for taking us out and getting all kitted up! Also a big shout out to Uliana from Zürich Tourism who put this all together - we had a great morning serenading the town centre 🚣‍♀️🎶

05/09/2023

Nomads World Cultural Festival 🇲🇳

On our last day in Mongolia we went to this Nomads’ festival, an hour outside of Ulaanbaatar. It felt like a county fair that you might get in the UK (or other countries!), but with way more Yaks, traditional dress and fermented horse milk! Given that nomadic traditions are a huge part of Mongolian culture, it was a really cool way to experience everything a bunch of cultures at the same time.

Roughly 30% of the population of Mongolia lead a nomadic (or semi-nomadic) way of life. However, with urbanisation & modernisation, the culture is changing and traditions are at risk of being lost. I left the festival feeling a little sad, but also hopeful for festivals like these that celebrate nomadic folk culture 🙏🏼

UK in Mongolia - British Embassy Ulaanbaatar TRAVEL MONGOLIA Mongolia

29/08/2023

The Storr! ⛰️
It’s hard to miss the Old man of Storr when you’re visiting Skye! They’ve now repaired a lot of the trail up, so a few months ago I brought a group here. It’s always pretty special getting to pipe for guests at this viewpoint - the scenery mixed with the natural amphitheatre shape of the landscape. Uff incredible! In about two weeks I’ll be repeating this with Atlas Obscura and I’m hoping the weather will hold out for the walk to the top! 🤞
Big thank you to Stefanie Reindl Photography for the snaps 📸

11/08/2023

Zermatt! 🏔️
I never thought I'd visit Zermatt. I don't really ski (yes I know I'm missing out), but it didn't occur to me that it would be such a lovely town. Even the train ride up is beautiful. It does help that the setting is nuts (hello Matterhorn!), but aside from that, there's plenty cute places to walk and there's a little museum with a big boot (and other more noteworthy artefacts!). Word of advice: wear sun serious sun cream 😂 🦞
Switzerland.

08/08/2023

The Tracht or the Kilt?!🇨🇭
Switzerland might not be a big country but its diversity in traditional dress or “Tracht” is mighty impressive. Gives Scottish Highland Dress a run for its money! A big “Grazcha Fich!” (thank you in Romansh) to Flurina & Waldhaus Sils for the introduction to the Engadin Tracht! 💃🏔️
Switzerland. Sils Im Engadin

01/08/2023

Happy Swiss National Day! 🇨🇭
We had 10 days exploring with Switzerland. and this was absolutely a highlight! Thank you to the legend Werner Erb (Alphorn Player!) for the musical hike and to Zermatt Matterhorn for looking after us! 🏔️
MySwitzerland

20/07/2023

Kicked off our time in Switzerland with an awesome 5 days in Geneva! 🇨🇭
Lake swims, fondue making, hikes, wine tasting and plenty of chocolate. Geneva is pretty damn great 🤩
Huge thank you Geneva Tourism | Switzerland & Switzerland. for hosting us! 🙏🏼

16/06/2023

Take notes 📝 ⬇️

1. Drop into Philae Temple
2. Go for a dip in the Nile
3. Wander through the Nubian Village
4. Head out on a Felucca
5. Take in the sunset from Bigeh Island

15/06/2023

Welcome to the Scorpion House in Luxor, Egypt! 🇪🇬

This unique homestay near the Valley of Kings is not only an unforgettable place with its architecture and views, but the host will make you feel right at home!