Travel Kindly. Sustainable Holidays in Scotland.
Want to find your way to kinder, more sustainable holidays in Scotland? Ginspired Scotland’s Travel Kindly campaign has loads of ideas to help you! We’re signposting the most environmentally sound ways to enjoy Scottish Gin as part of your next day trip, short break, or full scale holiday, in the world’s most beautiful country.
Be Kind To Yourself.
And To Scotland.
After all, travelling kindly is not just about burning less fossil fuel, or ensuring you recycle what you can, it goes much deeper than that these days. Travel Kindly means you can take sustainable holidays in Scotland and directs you to a whole range of ways to make your impact on our planet just that little bit sweeter. Like all great cocktails, it’s the small things added together that make fabulous results!
Think about supporting local businesses. It’s a great way of meeting new people, finding food and drink you may never have tried before, and getting hints and tips to serve them in the tastiest ways. Some of Scotland’s wonderful gins are not (yet) internationally known, and you mightn’t have encountered them close to your home, so take advantage of being in the worlds best known distilling nation, and make sure you sample them on their own territory, Maybe take a bottle or two home with you. Check out on-line sales here.
Sustainable Holidays = Slowing Down…
Don’t rush off! Although it’s tempting to travel quickly across our stunning land, it’s so much kinder to everyone to slow down. Breathe the wonderful fresh air, absorb those views, the atmosphere, the silence (or the buzz). Take time to watch for eagles, spot a whale, spy a distant red deer stag, or just watch the waves on the sea or the ripples on a crystal clear Highland loch.
Spend time out of doors at night. In the summer it barely gets dark, so don’t imagine the fun needs to stop because the clock says it should! West coast sunsets are legendary, and the sunrises fight hard for the best Insta shot prize. Winter brings the Northern Lights’ eerie glow. An epic light show you’ll never forget. But you’ll miss all of this if you’re too busy heading off. Stay a while. Be still. Relax. After all Scotland in her majesty will be here when you come back, which you will!
Sustainable Holidays = Using Public Transport To Travel Kindly in Scotland
Use public transport. It may not be the highlight of your everyday life, but getting about with the locals when you’re on holiday gives you a chance to really see the countryside or cityscape around you. It’s much kinder to the planet of course, but it also allows you to mix with folk, strike up a conversation (we’re a friendly lot), ask your questions, find out what’s going on. (I once got invited to an amazing ceilidh in a tiny village hall in the Highlands, simply by asking directions! I’ve never danced so much or with so much energy. It was the best work out ever!) Click here to check out our Transport page for more information.
‘Take only memories and leave only footprints’
The saying goes, ‘Take only memories and leave only footprints.’ Absolutely right of course, but I’m sure you’re not the litter-leaving type. After all, why come to a stunning country, known all over the world for it’s pristine wild landscapes and clean pure air, and then pollute it! It also applies to less obvious things though, and in essence means ‘leave it as you found it’. So while it may be tempting to make stone towers on pebbly beaches as others have done, please don’t. They topple on sea birds and other creatures (and children), and remove protection from the sand and small plants which are then blown around by the wind or dislodged by high tides.
You’re basically changing the habitat, and without realising, you may be causing damage. Close gates behind you if that’s the way you found them, or open, if that was. Don’t take flowers, take photos instead. They’ll last a lot longer and stay beautiful for ever.
Quiraing, Isle of Skye
Valley Sunset in Scotland
Shop locally. And I don’t just mean for gin and other local specialities. Give the supermarkets a body-swerve for a little while. Spend your money at the shops you discover on your route. It might cost a little more, but consider how much your custom is valued by these smaller businesses which can be such a vital part of the fragile rural economy. You’ll rediscover the joys of personal service, a friendly chat, maybe even a hand to carry it to your vehicle. Many also stock locally produced meat, fish, vegetables, and crafts too – not to be missed!
Sustainable Holidays = Finding Your Perfect Piece of Paradise
Take the road less travelled. So many people think they’ve ‘done Scotland’ if they’ve visited Edinburgh/Loch Ness/The Isle of Skye, but there is SO MUCH MORE! That’s not to say you should skip those places, they do have a lot to offer, but they also see a lot of visitors. So why not find your own perfect piece of paradise by discovering a different island (we’ve over 700 to choose from), another historic city (we have 5 main cities plus a Royal Burgh and a Kingdom too), and finding a fresh loch to dabble your toes in will not be a problem. Consider going to a part of Scotland you hadn’t known about.
You’ll take home new stories to share with friends, and discover a hundred things you didn’t know before. Spreading our visitors around helps everyone. You get the peace and space you’re looking for. The local businesses appreciate your custom, and the roads and other facilities are not overwhelmed by crowds of folk arriving all at once.
So, be kind to yourself, and to Scotland, Travel kindly. Take more sustainable holidays in Scotland, and you’ll find Scotland smiles right back at you!
