Let's get the confessions over and done with straight away. I'm a bit of a novice at these blog things and rather out of practice. As it happens, there is a very positive excuse for being out of practice and not having posted a blog for an age; the touring season in 2022 has been extremely busy ! This is a great boost for Scotland's Tourism Sector and certainly a great boost for me personally. It does wonders for the sense of job satisfaction and of course the self-esteem, which had taken its toll during the restrictions of the pandemic over the previous 2 years.
Having cemented relations with the best & trusted travel agents, I was truly delighted to be meeting many new clients and welcoming some familiar, long-standing 'clients', otherwise known as friends. It was a real joy to spend a week on Skye with a favourite Australian who has been visiting Scotland ever since I started my tours in about 2004. They were thrilled to be back here and we were blessed with some fantastic weather in early September.
With the weight of my tours being towards the West Highlands & Islands, I have not been the most frequent visitor to Aberdeenshire & Royal Deeside. Thus it was an especially blessed coincidence that I finished a week's touring with 2 days in Braemar just after the sad news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II. What's more is that I was travelling with some younger generation connected with my Australian friend; they took the opportunity to leave a floral tribute at the gates of Balmoral and furthermore they amended their onward travel plans to catch a train from Aberdeen to London so that they could be there on the day of the State Funeral.
It's great that folk now feel safer to travel again and I look forward with anticipation to many more touring adventures in 2023.
