Despatches From David:

The Long View

Welcome to the founder’s desk. 

A Founder’s Reflections on a Lifetime in Travel, TML and the Road Ahead

Welcome to Despatches From David — The Long View, a space where I step out from behind the itineraries and day‑to‑day operations of TML to share the thinking that shapes our journeys. After nearly three decades in travel, I’ve learned that the real story often sits beneath the surface — in the long view, the quiet signals, and the shifts in how people want to experience the world.


This page is where I share the long view: the lessons learned over 37 years, the shifts I’ve seen coming long before the industry acknowledged them, and the thinking behind the evolution of TML today. It’s also where you’ll encounter Moneypenny, my mischievous Virtual PA, who brings her own brand of charm and commentary to the TML universe. We hope you find viewing TML through her eyes both entertaining and endearing.


These Despatches aren’t announcements. They’re reflections — on Scotland, on travel, on change, and on what it means to build a company with care, clarity and purpose.


Settle in. There’s a lot to share, and even more still to come.


If you want to understand not just what we do, but why we do it, this is the place to start.

FOUNDER’S BLOG - Returning to Aberdeenshire After 25 Years: Reflections, Relationships and the Road Ahead for TML Travel Group

by David Arkell - Founder & Managing Director • 4 May 2026
For more than three decades, Scotland has been the landscape where I’ve built journeys, relationships and memories — both for myself and for the guests who travel with us. But every so often, it’s important to step back, get out on the road, and reconnect with the places and people who shape the experiences we create. The last time I visited Aberdeenshire was in 2001 — twenty‑five years ago. A full quarter‑century. A different era in Scottish tourism, in my own career, and in the life of the region. Returning after so long was a powerful experience. The landscapes are still unmistakably Aberdeenshire — granite, forests, rolling farmland and the quiet pull of Royal Deeside — but the region itself has grown in confidence. Its food scene is stronger, its hospitality more refined, its storytelling more intentional. Communities have invested in their heritage, distilleries have expanded their reach, and hotels have evolved to meet the expectations of today’s travellers. Coming back after 25 years wasn’t just a nostalgic moment. It felt like reconnecting with an old friend who has grown, matured and found their voice — and it reminded me why Scotland continues to sit at the heart of TML Travel Group’s future. A Visit Long in the Making This visit had been many months in the planning. In fact, Alanna from VisitAberdeenshire had spent more than two years trying to get this trip into my diary. The timing was never quite right — until now. With the future direction of TML Travel Group finally clarified and the next chapter of the business taking shape, this felt like the right moment to return to Aberdeenshire. Not just as a visitor, but as a founder ready to reconnect, re‑evaluate and reimagine what this region of Scotland can offer our guests. Three Days of Discovery with VisitAberdeenshire This past week, I spent three days travelling across Aberdeenshire with VisitAberdeenshire — a journey that was part research, part relationship‑building, part inspiration‑seeking, and entirely worthwhile. What I discovered wasn’t just a list of venues or attractions. It was a reminder of why TML Travel Group exists, and where we’re heading next.

A New Chapter for TML — Rooted in Scotland, Shaped by Experience

by TML Travel Group HQ • 18 March 2026
On the eve of our Dunkeld House Taster Weekend brochure release, I wanted to share what lies behind the company, product and brand repositioning now taking shape. For more than twenty‑six years, Scotland has been at the heart of my work. From my first Iona pilgrimage in April 2000 to the journeys we lead today, Scotland has shaped me as much as I’ve shaped itineraries. It’s a place that has always felt personal — a landscape of stories, hospitality and quiet meaning. But my relationship with Scotland goes back even further. Scotland first appeared in my itineraries in 1997. They were very different days — a different industry, a different pace, a different set of expectations. Even then, I could see that the way people travelled would need to evolve. The signs were there, quietly but clearly, long before the industry was ready to acknowledge them. Events of the past twenty years have only cemented that view.