biography

I am a writer and photographer, specialising in travel and the outdoors, these days mainly doing guidebook revisions.

I have a wide range of interests, but I started writing about the countryside and landscapes of the UK in the 1980s, and today have a raft of walking guidebooks in my portfolio. When foot and mouth kyboshed that pursuit in 2001, I focused more on travel, mostly in France and went on to edit all the Michelin Green Guides to the regions of France, along with the guides to Scotland and Britain.

I have written or contributed to over 100 books including Ireland with your Family, AA British Leisure Guide, The Magic of the Scottish Islands, The Dales of Lakeland, AA Essential England, Colours of Australia and guidebooks to several of the UK's long-distance trails, especially the West Highland Way, the Coast-to-Coast Walk, the Severn Way and the Dales Way. 

The Collie-Mackenzie Memorial, Sligachan, Isle of Skye

In 2006, I gained an MA with Distinction in Lake District Studies from the University of Lancaster researching the history of the guides to Morecambe Bay Sands, and in November 2013 was awarded a PhD in Historical Geography for my thesis: 'Rooms with a View: The development of tourist accommodation in the Central Lake District, 1770-1914'. 

In recent times I have turned my hand to writing fiction, focusing on genealogical mysteries, a genre that reflects my keen interest in family history.

Tobermory lighthouse, Mull