Overtourism in Scotland

I first heard of the 90/10 rule in an unexpected place - a recipe book. Written by the Chiappa sisters, it included as much lifestyle as food. Their roots were in Parma, and they suggested people visit the city - it was, in their words, as beautiful as Florence, but with hardly any tourists. (Advice we followed in the Italian Lake District!)

The 90/10 rule is the idea that if you can find somewhere 90% as nice as the famous places, it will have 10% of the tourists. It is a particuarly good idea in parts of the Mediterranean, where tourists have completely over-run places like Venice and Pisa, and where locals have mounted protest demonstrations against tourism in the Spanish islands. It seems that Scotland is now catching up. Edinburgh has been largely given over to tourists, the Royal Mile an uninhabitable drag of AirBnBs, the public facility of Princes Street Gardens turned over all winter to a commercial enterprise benefitting a few pockets. There is no longer any time of year when visitor numbers to central Edinburgh quieten down.

Likewise, the massive popularity of the narrow and twisty NC500 driving route has brought business to cafes and restaurants. But visitors tend to hire camper vans from outside the area, with a big supermarket shop to keep them going. Most locals see no benefit, just lots of traffic and littering problems on the roads which can't cope with the amount of vehicles now seen every summer.

So where can you go in Scotland that is 90% as lovely with 10% of the tourists? Here's a few alternatives:

Instead of Edinburgh's Royal Mile...

Stirling's Old Town, a city tumbling down a hill from a castle on a crag. Just like Edinburgh but smaller, more atmospheric, more authentic.

Instead of the NC500...

The NE250. A 250 mile driving route around NE Scotland, covering Speyside, the Banffshire coast, and Royal Deeside. This is whisky and castle country, and while it might not be quite as scenic as parts of the NC500, there's more to see and do.

Instead of the 'Harry Potter' viaduct at Glenfinnan... 

The Forth Bridge. Let's face it, the Forth Bridge is the GOAT. You can see it from the north or south shore, take a boat trip under it, or walk across the Forth Road Bridge and see it at eye level. If you are only going to look at one bridge in your life, it probably shouldn't be the one associated with the boy wizard.

Instead of Culross... 

Crail & Anstruther. Culross was made famous by the Outlander TV series, but Crail is, if anything, even more picturesque, and Anstruther has the Fisheries Museum and one of the best chip shops in the country.

Instead of the Isle of Skye... 

The Isle of Arran. Where do Scots go on their holidays? Arran isn't exactly untouristy, but like Skye before Instagram, it's manageable. There's beaches, forest and coastal walks, waterfalls, a couple of castles, some boating, and in the north of the island, hikes over hills as fine as anywhere in Scotland.

This post was inspired by an Italian idea. Italy is blessed with plenty '90%' places, and the more you think about it, so is Scotland. You might have seen the Fairy Pools on social media and a castle or two on TV, but take a punt elsewhere and chances are, you won't be disappointed.