Your Driver Guides

Meet our greatest asset – the renowned, friendly, 5-star reviewed driver/guides who work hard to make every tour unique, interesting and enjoyable! With over 50 years of experience between them we hope you enjoy these short bios and some commonly asked questions plus a selection of their amazing online reviews.

We can’t wait to meet you on the Wee Red Bus!

EUAN

“Born in the Royal Burgh of Linlithgow pre colour television (Scottish invention) but after the discovery of penicillin (Scottish invention), I have over 7 years experience as a driver/guide on our scenic tarmacadam (Scottish invention) roads. I look forward to meeting you and showing you around this lovely country. Don’t forget your waterproofs…(guess what, another Scottish invention!)”

Q – What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

Spending quality time with friends and family, preferably outdoors when weather permits. ‘Quality time’ is really Scottish code for PARTY!!

Q – What’s the name of the tartan you are wearing? Is it your clan tartan?

On tour I wear a random kilt I picked up in a charity shop despite my surname being Alexander. There have been three King Alexanders of Scotland and until I can somehow prove I might be King Alexander the 4th you have the pleasure of me as your driver/guide!

Q – Are we going to see highland cows?

They have become almost mythological and harder to find than Scottish unicorns but l’ll do my very best…!

Q – What time do we get back to Edinburgh/reach our destination?

A – The website return times are accurate and I’ll always let you know if there might be delays. I understand you may have connecting travel / want to be fed at a reasonable time and I will try my best to make sure everything runs smoothly.

JAMES

“I have been guiding for 15 years and still love meeting people from all four corners of the world and showing off my Heart of Scotland. A child of the Western Isles my Scottish heritage runs deep – music, whisky and the great outdoors!”

Q – What’s your favourite Scottish music?

All Scottish folk music which I play throughout our travels.

Q – What’s your favourite Scottish food?

Well you can’t start your day without a good Scottish breakfast!

Q – What’s your favourite tour?

I don’t really have a favourite, each tour has something special.

Q – What’s your favourite place in Scotland?

I have many favourite places in Scotland, for many different reasons. We are so lucky to live in a country with many hidden gems.

Q – Do you always wear the kilt?

As often as possible…unless it’s very windy!

KEITH

Q – How long have you been a guide?

Since 2011

Q – Are you a native Scot?

I come from the South West of Scotland, the town of Ayr. According to Robert Burns, it’s a town of honest men and bonnie lassies!

Q – What’s your favourite time of year in Scotland?

Autumn: amazing colours and full flowing waterfalls.

Q – What’s your favourite Scottish tour?

I love to visit the islands, especially Mull and the Outer Hebrides but it’s really difficult to say. Scotland is magical wherever you go!

Q – What’s on your tour playlist?

All-sorts of Celtic music. Artists such as Breabach, Daimh, Emily Smith, Alasdair Fraser and music from Cape Breton.

Q – Do you believe in the Loch Ness Monster?

Of course I do! I’ve seen her many times, usually after a glass or two of Glenlivet.  But it’s more important she believes in herself!

ANGELA

“I was born in a small village in the Lowlands and have lived in both the Highlands and Islands as an adult. I have started to learn Gaelic and am particularly interested in what our place names mean.

I was a bus driver before I was a tour guide and got into guiding somewhat accidentally. Most tour guides have done other things in their working lives so we all bring different perspectives to our tours. As guides I think it’s important we have travelled ourselves and are sympathetic to our passengers needs and concerns.

Perthshire is one of my favourite parts of Scotland and I’m glad that Heart of Scotland have always run a signature tour to this area. Before being a tour guide I didn’t know the English county of Northumberland, but it has so much to offer (not least Hadrian’s Wall, Lindisfarne and Alnwick Castle), and I’m proud that we were the first Edinburgh company to start running tours there.

I do different jobs in winter-time (when there are less visitors to Scotland) and it’s always a pleasure in the Spring to return to guiding. I genuinely can’t believe that I get paid to show people all the lovely scenery and history that Scotland has to offer!”

Q – Will we stop for bathroom breaks?

Yes of course. I always outline at the beginning of a tour what the plan for the day is; where we’ll be going, drive times involved and where refreshments will be available. I try to plan the day so we don’t drive more than two hours without a scheduled bathroom break.

Q – Is the cost of entry to attractions included in the tour price?

Entry costs are not included primarily because many of the stops have a free alternative activity or there are a choice of attractions. You are then free to choose what activities or sites you want to visit.

Q – Can we leave things on the bus?

Yes, it is usual to leave things on and around your seat if they are not needed but I always recommend you take valuables with you.

Q – How much snow do you get?

This varies considerably around Scotland. Whilst Edinburgh gets a disappointing amount because it’s so close to the sea, the Highlands has several snow skiing areas. Generally there is snow visible on the mountains for about 7 months of the year.

Q – Why do you drive on the left side of the road?

It was the norm in history to approach and pass strangers with your right hand (and hence your sword) closest to you in case of danger. Horses with riders would pass the same way, and eventually horses pulling carts did the same. Many other countries’ road systems are on the same side as the UK, including Japan, India and Australia. Countries who drive on the right, however, are copying the international maritime code where boats pass left side to left side (port-side to port-side).

CALUM

“I was born and bred in Edinburgh and have been a driver/guide for 4 years. I still can’t believe I get paid to share my passions and drive through some of the most beautiful countryside in the world. I wish I’d done it 10 years ago! 

My favourite time of the year is Autumn when the colours change and the weather stirs up a magical world, perfectly framing the scene for all our history and nature.

I like reading, camping, history, music, rugby and whisky and would love to learn the bagpipes except I don’t have a musical bone in my body!”

Q – Do you drive the same tour all the time? 

No, we have a variety of day tours, multi day tours and bespoke/private tours. It’s one of the joys of guiding for Heart of Scotland; it’s never dull and there always seems to be something new.

Q: – What’s your favourite place in Scotland? 

I drive all over Scotland and it’s beautiful. However, Glen Etive lives in my heart and I love a ferry ride to the Islands…

Q – If you could live anywhere in Scotland, where would that be? 

I currently live just outside of Edinburgh in East Lothian but I would love to live on the far North West coast, north of Ullapool. It’s wild and stunning in all seasons (though I suspect my family might disagree…!)

Q – Is there any place you’ve not been in Scotland? 

I’ve never been to the Orkney Islands, a group of islands a few miles off the north coast of Scotland with a rich prehistoric and Viking history.

Q – What do you like about your job? 

I love this job as there’s never a dull moment and every trip is different. The road is full of wonderful sights and surprises but most of all I get to share my passion for Scotland with customers from all over the world.

Q – Do you eat haggis?

Of course. It is eaten all year round, traditionally with mashed potatoes and turnip. Our national bard Robert Burns even wrote a poem about it (Address to the Haggis) which is read aloud every Burns Night on 25^th January and toasted with whisky. If you want to see a haggis with your own eyes there’s one in Edinburgh Zoo…

Q – Can you recommended good music or books from Scotland? 

Scotland is a brilliant place for young and established musicians. Skye has a great summer festival called Skye Live and I’ve seen some great acts there – Valtos, Skerryvore, Fireworks, Peatbog Faeries, Manran , Ho-Ro and Breabach to name but a few.

Edinburgh has some amazing bookshops and Scotland has a wealth of incredible authors, past and present. Windswept is my favourite non fiction book about rural Scotland – poetic, real and inspirational.

Fiction wise, anything by James Robertson or Kirsty Logan.

Q – What would you recommend to do in Edinburgh?

I always recommend the National Gallery and the interior of Mansfield Place Church at the bottom of Broughton Street. Go underground at The Lost Close and if you’re not squeamish visit Surgeon’s Hall.

For refreshments Bannerman’s Bar in the Cowgate or the Bow Bar on Victoria Street. There is often live music at Sandy Bell’s bar on Forrest Road and the Royal Oak bar on Infirmary Street.

RODDY

“I was born in a small village called The Glebe in rural Northern Ireland, one mile from the border with the Republic of Ireland, the third child of six. It was a lovely place to grow up, filled with fun, which continued during my student years in London at the University of Westminster. It was during my time there that I met a Scottish girl and moved to Scotland. I now live in Dunfermline, the ancient capital of Scotland and burial place of our most famous king, Robert the Bruce.

I have 4 children, am a qualified accountant, ran my own accounting practice for 16 years and have been a driver/guide for Heart of Scotland Tours since 2024”.

Q – Why did you change from accounting to being a tour guide?

I have always loved travel. I left home to study in London in 1989, inter railed around eastern Europe in 1990 after the fall of communism, enjoyed a year in Australia and further trips to south east Asia and Malawi. I followed the silk road from Tashkent to Samarkand in Uzbekistan and walked across Missouri with my son as part of his 3,400 mile walk from Los Angeles to New York! Becoming a tour guide just seemed the natural thing for me to do,

Every day is different. From the history steeped within the walls of our castles and abbeys to the 2000 year legacy left by the Romans at Hadrian’s Wall. Plus, of course, Scotland’s own incredible natural beauty.

Q – Have you got a favourite place in Scotland?

That’s a tough one as there as so many. The misty Isle of Skye, the beautiful rolling hills of the Borders and the fishing villages of my home county of Fife are all wonderful but I have to say Glen Coe is spectacular. The scenery on the road trip from Callander to Glen Coe just gets better and better as you travel up through magnificent Glen Ogle to Rannoch Moor and Glen Etive before arriving at historic and beautiful Glen Coe.

Q – What’s the best time to visit these places?

That’s also a tough one as the views and tour experience magically changes with each season. In spring the fields are full of yellow when the gorse bushes and canola crops are in full bloom. Summer has the best chance of sunny weather and in Autumn purple heather covers the hills and the trees turn all shades of copper, red and gold. Winter usually offers some weather-related challenges for a driver/guide but we are surrounded by picture-postcard snow capped peaks. Honestly, there isn’t a bad time to visit. It’s just different!

Q – What’s the best part of the job?

Seeing beautiful Scotland and having the privilege of showing it off to people. Each group I take is different but I absolutely love it when I hear people saying “wow” as we drive through Bonnie Scotland.