Scotland Beyond the Bagpipes

Like so many people who live south of the border in England, Helen thought that she knew all about Scotland. It was a part of Britain after all, a place that was surely more the same than it was different. But then she actually went there - and everything changed.

Helen discovered a place altogether different from her home country down south. Over a few days in Edinburgh, she was charmed by Scotland's magic. A spell was cast on her undulating walk across ancient volcanoes - the story of getting from one side of the city centre to the other - and as she was bewitched by the landscape she also found herself charmed by the country's famously chatty people.

Helen left wanting more, and so in 2017 - after the sudden loss of her mother - she returned to explore properly. Over three months Helen undertook a personal journey around Scotland, uncovering stories about the history, geography and people of this peerless, magical country.