Walter Scott travel tips

Oct 30, 2024 • 9 min read

Jun 30, 2024 • 6 min read

Exploring Yorkshire’s coastline on two wheels is about to get a whole lot easier. Route YC, the organisation which promotes the Yorkshire coast, has teamed up with leading adventure cyclists to launch a series of new cycle routes in January. Ranging from nine to 260 miles, the routes are designed to help visitors of all abilities get off the beaten track on gravel, touring and road bikes.

On a sunny June day in Edinburgh, I went to see where my ancestor lost his head. A bagpiper in full regalia played tunes on the Royal Mile, and tourists took selfies beneath the castle, as I surveyed the scene at the Mercat Cross—the site where, on March 26, 1697, Sir Godfrey McCulloch was one of the last people beheaded by the Maiden, a grisly device that forced the doomed to face upwards to watch the falling blade.

Yodeling has been practiced probably for as long as humans have expressed themselves through song. But the singing style synonymous with Switzerland and its Alpine neighbors hasn’t always been a crowd-pleaser.