I used to work in ethical tourism devlopment and I've travelled extensively in Europe and Africa as well as in North America, Canada, Asia, Scandinavia and the Middle East. I know Scotland like the back of my hand and reckon that the UK in general is a much underestimated holiday destination.

I once spent the day sitting on the very edge of Victoria Falls, and that wasn't a bad day at all... Some of my most wonderful travel experiences include sitting wrapped up in my sleeping bag on the back of a slow moving truck with a cup of tea as I watched the sun rise at Mount Kilimanjaro; getting soaked watching porpoises leap through rainbows to chase the ferry from Raasay to Skye; speeding through the streets of Bangkok in a tuktuk; blowing away the cobwebs watching orcas off of Vancouver Island; wandering along a midnight beach in Zanzibar...

My wish list includes: the Trans Siberian express, doing the proper old fashioned Grande Tour, New Zealand, Australia & Tasmania, and I have a sneaking suspicion that if I went to Madagascar or Borneo I might never come home again. Turkey and Jordan are next on my hit list. I'm desparate to get to Petra.

These days I plan my travels with two little guides in tow...