Off-season? Not off duty
For tour guides in Scotland it is absolutely possible to work all year round - Rabbie’s & Timberbush still send buses all over the country right into the winter months, major tourist attractions still have visitors even on the dreichest of days. The truth is however, it is generally a seasonal job and I have found that to be the case. I have had quite a few tours in September and October, but once the clocks change, it does feel like it’s off-season. Fewer overseas visitors, no full day tours planned for the next few months and a feeling of taking a breath after a busy push through late summer and early autumn. But what does a tour guide do in the off-season? Things slow down, but I am far from idle…
The darker months are where I get to flex my creative muscles - long form blogs and deeper research, trying to find the next gem for tour guests.
A few years in and there is a bit of a rhythm to my winter office time now. A candle usually gets lit, because life is better when candles are lit. Music on in the background. Some days there will be a flurry of writing, and sometimes it’s a couple of scribbled out lines and back to the drawing board. I think, however, that it all adds up, is all worthwhile and is a key part of the off-season routine.
By the time the clocks go back, most overseas guests have flown home and the big day tours wind down. But guiding doesn’t really stop, it just slows and adapts.
Take Tales by the Fireside at the magnificent Aikwood Tower. There, beside the toasty fire, I share legends of the Clan Scott and the Ettrick Forest. These evenings are ideal for long shadows and flickering flames and are so intimate and atmospheric. Thank you Vicki at Aikwood for the opportunity to do these special events for guests at the tower.
Another example are my Peebles 900 Years in 90 Minutes twilight walks in December. All of these sold out double quick, showing an appetite for heritage walks, even in the darkest months. Hopefully the weather plays ball…
These off-season guiding opportunities are so important, helping me keep standards high year round and giving me the opportunity to adapt to the season.
Hill walking is my favourite pastime, and winter is usually where I get the most chance to do it. With short daylight hours, and that low winter sun, I find myself heading for quick blasts up hills, over moors or even through towns. It’s rarely an epic adventure (even in winter, time is short!), but it doesn’t need to be. I love the quiet, bare bones landscape of winter, with loads of room to notice what’s going on. Winter walks are a great reset. I feel ideas flow better when out walking, it’s a great way to get a knotty problem unravelled.
Hiking and exploring is fun, good for body and mind but also falls into my winter playbook as it helps me gather new ideas for tours and blogs. More than anything, it helps remind me why I do this job at all, the love of the land and the joy of connecting people to it.
Winter is my best chance to go out and look for new stories to enhance my tours. Half remembered fragments, local legends, surprise finds or personal memories. The distractions fade, and there’s time to follow hunches, or dive down full blown rabbit holes!
The truth is that I wouldn’t call this polished work. For every couple of hours spent in the library, I might unearth one or two anecdotes worth sharing on future tours, or perhaps none at all. But that’s sort of the point. It’s about staying open, enjoying the process and trusting that the hard work of looking for stories pays off in the long run.
I occasionally give presentations in care homes or speak at off season events with people of all generations. These are really wonderful, rich exchanges. It’s moments where stories are shared, not taken. I’m especially drawn to voices that risk being overlooked. Our older folk, in particular, have incredible experience, and often surprising pasts. I think it’s a bit of a tragedy how often those stories go unheard.
The bottom line is that to be a good guide, you have to be a good listener. Winter gives me the time and space to do that and honour those with a tale to tell, gathering what might otherwise be lost to time, or left on a library shelf.
So there it is. It might be winter, but I am still working and before we know it the snowdrops will be poking through…
Thanks for reading :)
