I am a believer in the value of the real stories, and opinions, TA posters offer. It is an excellent resource for trip planning. However, I did not find Andy on TA, but rather through another tour guide who was not available during our trip. So, while I did not find all of the five star reviews posted here before engaging Andy's services, I am not surprised by the unanimity of thought about him.

My wife and I spent 4 1/2 days with Andy, asking him to pick us up in Glasgow, show us the Highlands, and return us to Edinburgh. As ones who prefer independent travel, and the preparation for it, we nevertheless did turn to Andy for his guidance long before we met him in Scotland. He always was prompt, thoughtful and frank when responding to our pre-trip inquiries. Essentially, he gave his time freely without asking for a penny (or pound) more than we would be paying him for showing us a good bit of his country. He prepared various iterations of maps showing itineraries we thought might work until we hit upon one that seemed to make the most sense given the time we had and the extent of ground we wanted to cover. Yet, as we worked on implementing our plan we made changes that Andy was happy to effect.

While guiding was not Andy's planned career, the circumstances that led him to it certainly were fortuitous, not only for him (he loves it) but those of us fortunate to hire him. He is warm and personable, and is happy to expand or contract his imparting of information and knowledge to accommodate the preferences of his guests. He is very much someone who is comfortable in his own kilt, but will conform to anyone who is not. We let Andy be Andy, kilt and all, and encountered more than a few tourists wanted to chat him up (and be photographed with him). Ever gregarious, Andy would oblige like a down-to-earth celebrity, but without losing sight of his guiding guests.

Using Andy's suggestions, we saw things worthwhile we likely would not have encountered on our own, stayed and ate at spots we probably would not have uncovered, and got to know a real Scotsman (and indirectly his family too!). One thing that particularly impressed us was how Andy came with us at all of our stops to share his in-depth knowledge of what we were seeing and its importance. He seemed to know more about the castles and their history than the docents who were there continuously (and he bought more from the chocolatier we wanted to visit than we did!!).

Andy is someone who wants to know your interests to enable him to tailor your experiences to them. In essence, he sincerely wants you to make the most of your time with him. To help you remember those times, after our goodbyes he sent a map reflecting the journey taken together. While it certainly is a nice keepsake, the real memories are those Andy helped create.

Andrew’s background of growing up in Scotland, living in many cities in Scotland, working as an anthropologist, his interest in history and world events and his passion for interacting with people makes him the perfect guide. We thoroughly enjoyed the 3 days we spent with him. He is very customer service focused, is full of great stories, and was an excellent driver. Always prompt and courteous, he treated us so well. We really enjoyed touring with him. Also, really enjoyed that he always shows up in a kilt.