A weekend spy adventure – touring Scottish film locations

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This blog is quite topical as there has been a lot of recent press and hype surrounding the launch of the latest 007 film Spectre. As an ex-Royal Navy Officer, I have always had an interest in 007 films and the creative treatment scriptwriters often give to reality.  Since returning to Scotland last year, I’ve wanted to visit the  Skyfall location where Daniel Craig and Judy Dench stop for a chat in the Highlands during their escape from the evil Silva…. Continue reading

Maggie’s Culture Crawl Edinburgh 2015

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The words ‘culture’ and ‘crawl’ are not often used together, but in the case of cancer support charity Maggie’s, Culture Crawl has been an annual event in London for 10 years now.   On Friday 25th September, Culture Crawl is coming to Edinburgh for the first time. I am blogging about this because I am a board director for Maggie’s – plus I am taking part in this unique event, which will take participants round some of Edinburgh’s hidden cultural gems …. Continue reading

NorthCoast500 Day 5 – Brora to Nairn

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I woke up with that sinking “Oh, it’s the last day of my holiday” feeling.  The past few days seemed to pass very quickly, yet I had packed so much in and seen a lot of the Northern Highlands driving North Coast 500.  Once at Brora, I felt I was in more familiar territory.  I pulled back the curtains, and it was a beautiful clear day.  I looked out at the Moray Firth towards my home town, Nairn. Continue reading

NorthCoast500 Day 4 – Scourie to Brora

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This stretch of North Coast 500 took me to part of the UK I had never seen before.  I had previously visited Kinlochbervie and Thurso, but not between the two. I was going “over the top” or “the roof of the UK”.  First stop was the beach at Oldmoreshore, which is a bit of a little sister to Sandwood Bay.  It is much more accessible too – just a short 10 mile round trip detour off NC500 with parking a couple of hundred metres from the beach. Take the B801 to Kinlochbervie – it’s worth it … Continue reading