9de45c046bc14fd8aec9eebcba45b38e

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

Mon, 04 May 2026 12:00:32 GMT

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.

Food, Farming & Local Produce

Aberdeenshire’s food story is rooted in craft, care and a deep connection to the land.

At Barra Berries , I was welcomed with berry picking, ice‑cream making and a generous gift of jams.

At Tullynessle Deer Farm , Janet offered tastings of venison and time spent with the female deer — a warm, genuine encounter that stayed with me.

At Inverurie Whisky Shop & The Foghouse Bar , Annette introduced me to a beautifully curated selection of local whiskies and producers. Her knowledge, warmth and passion for the craft made this a standout stop — the kind of personal, place‑led experience that fits perfectly with Scenic Scotland Select.

At Garioch Heritage Centre , local stories and industries were brought to life over lunch.

Dining & Hospitality Highlights

Food often tells the story of a place better than any brochure.

Lunch at The Balmoral Arms

During my visit to The Balmoral Arms in Ballater , I was kindly invited to choose anything from the menu. After being so well fed throughout the trip, I opted for something lighter — a comforting parsnip soup served with Balmoral bread . Simple, warming and exactly what was needed in the middle of a busy day.

Dinner at Maryculter House

On Thursday evening, I joined Carol Angus the Sales Manager of Maryculter House and Alanna from VisitAberdeenshire for a beautifully prepared meal: a katsu crab starter, halibut with roasted cauliflower, and a silky panna cotta. It set the tone for the days ahead — thoughtful, elegant, rooted in place.

Final Night Dinner at Thainstone House

Friday evening brought a classic Scottish finale:

• Haggis, neeps and tatties with an Islay whisky sauce

• A D‑cut rump steak with chunky chips and parmesan rocket salad

• Vanilla cheesecake to finish

All washed down with a cold Irn‑Bru.

And, as always, my Irn‑Bru consumption spiked the moment I crossed the border — a pattern that has become so reliable it practically counts as a market indicator. With 70 shares in AG Barr sitting quietly in my T212 portfolio, I like to think I’m doing my bit for the quarterly results.

These meals weren’t just delicious. They were a reminder that hospitality partners shape the emotional tone of a journey as much as the landscapes do.

Heritage, Craft & the Power of Place

Aberdeenshire’s heritage is rich, layered and deeply rooted in community.

At Castle Fraser , I explored one of Scotland’s most atmospheric tower houses — full of character, craftsmanship and stories that speak to centuries of life in the northeast.

At Fyvie Castle , a whistlestop tour with Stuart revealed centuries of stories and a depth of history that stays with you long after you’ve left.

At Braemar Castle , restoration work is breathing new life into an iconic Highland landmark, with the community‑led approach adding a powerful dimension to the experience.

At the Grampian Transport Museum , Louise guided me through exhibits that blended nostalgia with innovation — a reminder that heritage isn’t only about the distant past, but also about the evolution of everyday life.

Each visit reinforced something important: Scotland’s stories are not static. They evolve, adapt and continue to be told — and our itineraries must do the same.

And of course, no trip would be complete without distilleries:

Glen Garioch — short but full of character.

Glendronach — atmospheric, traditional, and the perfect end to a long day.

Each visit reinforced something important: Scotland’s stories are not static. They evolve, adapt and continue to be told — and our itineraries must do the same.

Deepening Partnerships: Crerar Hotels and Beyond

We have been working very closely with Crerar Hotels , who own both Thainstone House and The Balmoral Arms , and already enjoy excellent relations with several of their west‑coast properties — most notably Oban Bay , Loch Fyne Hotel & Spa in Inveraray , the Glencoe Inn & also Dunkeld House , which will be hosting our taster weekend in September . My association with Crerar, and with its forerunner, actually goes back to the late 1990s, so returning to their Aberdeenshire properties felt less like meeting new partners and more like reconnecting with a long‑standing part of my professional journey.

What struck me most is how closely Crerar’s vision aligns with our own future direction. Their focus on warmth, authenticity, local connection and a strong sense of place mirrors exactly what we are building within TML Travel Group. Our hope is to develop the same depth of relationship with their Aberdeenshire hotels as we already enjoy with their properties in the west of Scotland.

Of the other hotels I visited, Maryculter House really impressed me — a property with character, heritage and a genuine sense of welcome. Meldrum House also stood out, with its elegance, history and potential. Both feel like natural fits for the new TML product structure, and I look forward to exploring how they might sit within our evolving portfolio.

Reading the Room Correctly

One thing that became abundantly clear from the many meetings of recent days is that TML Travel Group is reading the room correctly . Our new direction isn’t just timely — it’s exactly what partners and suppliers across the region want to help us deliver. Again and again, the message was the same: the future lies in smaller groups , experiencing more immersive, more premium, more personal journeys .

Our meetings with Maryculter House , The Balmoral Arms , and several of the castles and experience providers were particularly telling. There was a genuine enthusiasm for what we are setting out to achieve, and a clear willingness to support us in bringing this new chapter of TML to life.

How This Trip Shapes the Road Ahead

This wasn’t just a familiarisation trip. It was a strategic reset.

The insights gathered over these three days will directly influence:

TML Travel Group

A renewed focus on meaningful, place‑driven group experiences — not tours, not excursions, but journeys shaped by story, hospitality and connection.

TML Group Experiences

Aberdeenshire revealed several opportunities that align beautifully with our long‑standing group travel clients.

The visit to The Gordon Highlanders Museum in Aberdeen offered a powerful blend of military history, storytelling and human experience. The museum’s ability to bring regimental history to life — through objects, personal accounts and immersive interpretation — would resonate strongly with many of our established groups.

The visit to Freemasons’ Hall in Aberdeen offered a fascinating blend of architecture, symbolism and social history that would resonate strongly with many of our established groups.

The Grampian Transport Museum — with its mix of nostalgia, engineering and storytelling — also feels like a natural fit for future Group Experiences itineraries.

TML Heritage Journeys

Our heritage and pilgrimage strand is built around depth, reflection and a sense of continuity.

The visit to St Machar’s Cathedral — atmospheric, historic and quietly powerful — felt like a perfect match for future Heritage Journeys, where story, faith and place come together.

Scenic Scotland Select

Scenic Scotland Select was developed with the Crerar Hotels portfolio very much in mind. Their focus on warmth, authenticity and a strong sense of place aligns perfectly with the Select ethos.

Thainstone House and The Balmoral Arms now sit alongside our existing west‑coast favourites — Oban Bay , Loch Fyne Hotel & Spa , and the Glencoe Inn — strengthening the Select foundation across Scotland.

Scenic Scotland Xplorer

Energetic, on‑the‑move, story‑rich days for travellers who want to see more, do more and feel more.

Both Tullynessle Deer Farm and Aberdeenshire Sheepdogs would sit beautifully within the Xplorer brand — hands‑on, characterful, rooted in place, and full of energy. They would also work well for Group Experiences, depending on the audience.

Aberdeenshire will play a key role across all five strands of the business.

A Note on What I Didn’t See

A Founder’s Reflection

Travelling through Aberdeenshire reminded me why I started TML Travel Group in the first place — and why the direction we are now taking feels not only right, but necessary.

Those days are long behind us.

We’re not here to run tours.

We’re not here to fill coaches.

We’re not here to chase volume for the sake of it.

Our future lies in something more personal and more intimate.

To go deeper.

To slow down.

To create journeys that feel thoughtful, crafted and rooted in place.

Journeys where guests feel welcomed, not processed.

Where the people matter as much as the places.

Where stories are shared, not delivered.

Where hospitality is genuine, not transactional.

Where Scotland feels personal — because it is personal.

In Aberdeenshire, that truth met me at every turn: in the warmth of the welcome at Barra Berries , in the quiet dignity of St Machar’s Cathedral , in the craftsmanship of Castle Fraser , in Annette’s passion at Inverurie Whisky Shop , in the pride of the teams at Maryculter House and The Balmoral Arms .

Every conversation, every meeting, every handshake reinforced the same message:

go deeper, be more immersive, stay personal — this is where the future lies.

This trip didn’t just reaffirm our direction.

It strengthened my commitment to building a business that reflects those values — a business where smaller groups, richer stories and more meaningful experiences sit at the heart of everything we do.

Aberdeenshire reminded me of the founder I set out to be.

And it showed me, unmistakably, that we are on the right path.

And Finally… Moneypenny

Looking Ahead

My sincere thanks to VisitAberdeenshire and to every partner who welcomed me so warmly.

The road ahead for TML Travel Group is clear:

More meaning.

More connection.

More Scotland.

And more journeys that feel personal.

Aberdeenshire has helped shape that vision — and I look forward to sharing what comes next.

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

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 11:11:31 GMT

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.

Why now?

For years, the traditional coach touring industry has been caught between two worlds: the old model it clung to, and the new expectations travellers were quietly moving toward. Overcrowding, rigid schedules, generic experiences, and a growing disconnect between what people wanted and what the industry continued to deliver — the cracks were visible decades ago.

The market that still accepts the traditional coach touring model is shrinking. The generation that embraced it is ageing, and younger travellers want something very different. They want space, comfort, authenticity, flexibility, better accommodation, better food, and experiences that feel personal rather than packaged. They want Scotland delivered with care, not crowds.

We’ve followed the marketing reports, the intelligence data, and the long‑term trends — and they all point in the same direction. The future belongs to thoughtful, higher‑quality, experience‑led travel. But our message has too often been lost in the noise of the mainstream, drowned out by a sector still clinging to an outdated model.

That is why we’ve chosen to step away and reposition the business: so that our message, and our product, can be clearly heard.

TML has chosen to evolve.

We’ve chosen to listen.

We’ve chosen to adapt.

We’ve chosen to build something that reflects the way people actually want to experience Scotland now — not the way they travelled in the 1990s.

This is why we’ve taken the time to refresh and reposition our Scottish programme — not as a departure from what we’ve always done, but as a natural evolution of it.

Embracing the future — with a little help from AI

Alongside the repositioning of our Scottish programme, we’ve also been modernising the way we work behind the scenes. Over the past year, we’ve introduced a number of AI‑driven tools across the business — not to replace the human touch, but to enhance it. One of the most visible (and entertaining) examples is Moneypenny , my cheeky, sassy Virtual PA who has quickly become a brand asset in her own right. She helps keep our communications sharp, our tone consistent, and our admin running smoothly, all while adding a little humour and personality to the TML universe.

We hope you find viewing TML through Moneypenny’s eyes both entertaining and endearing.

AI isn’t a gimmick for us. It’s part of building a more agile, more responsive, more creative business — one that can spend less time wrestling with paperwork and more time crafting thoughtful, meaningful travel experiences.

A partnership shaped over decades

I’ve worked with Crerar — and with its forerunner company — since the very late 1990s. Back then, it was a very different organisation, as were its hotels. The product was simpler, the expectations were different, and the industry was still firmly rooted in the traditional coach touring model. But even in those early days, one thing stood out: the food was always good. There was a pride in Scottish hospitality that ran deeper than the décor or the format of the tours.

Between 2000 and 2018, we used Crerar’s Isle of Mull Hotel to host our Iona Pilgrimage tours for private groups. The hotel we last used in 2018 is very different from the one that stands there today — but the building blocks were already there. You could see the potential, the direction of travel, the early signs of what Crerar would eventually become.

Crerar began its own repositioning journey in 2005, stepping away from the traditional coach tour market for many of the same reasons I had identified in the late 1990s. They recognised that the future lay in a higher‑end product built on excellent accommodation, thoughtful cuisine and genuine Scottish warmth.

How Oban 2021 shaped our future thinking

Our first post‑Covid tour in October 2021 — to Oban — played a pivotal role in shaping the direction we’re taking today. It was the first time we experienced the current Crerar product in person, and it was immediately clear how far they had come. The standard of accommodation, the warmth of the hospitality, the quality of the cuisine — it all spoke to a Scotland that had quietly evolved while much of the traditional touring industry had stood still.

That trip reaffirmed everything I had believed for years: that travellers were ready — and that Scotland was ready — for a more premium, more intentional, more personal way of touring.

Scenic Scotland Select is the natural continuation of that realisation.

Introducing the Scenic Scotland family

Our refreshed Scottish portfolio brings clarity, purpose and identity to the different ways people can travel with us. Under the Scenic Scotland umbrella, we now offer:

• Scenic Scotland Select — premium mid‑size touring (16–34 guests)

• Scenic Scotland Select Discovery — private, chauffeur‑driven touring

• Scenic Scotland Xplorer — small‑group immersive journeys

• Short Escapes — two‑ to four‑night Scottish breaks

• TML Heritage Journeys — faith‑based and cultural heritage travel

Each strand has its own character, but they all share the same foundation: care, curation and a deep respect for Scotland’s landscapes and communities.

Scenic Scotland Select — the first step in a new era

Scenic Scotland Select is the first strand to be unveiled not because it stands alone, but because Scotland is our most developed region in terms of hotel partnerships, relationships and long‑standing expertise. It’s where our foundations are strongest, and where the evolution of the company naturally begins.

But this is only the start.

Behind the scenes, a wider company rebrand and repositioning is underway — one that will bring greater clarity to all parts of TML Travel Group. Scenic Scotland Select is simply the first expression of that new direction: a more intentional, more personal, more premium approach to travel that reflects who we are today and where we’re heading.

Over the coming months, you’ll see this evolution unfold across our other regions and product strands. Each will be shaped with the same care, the same storytelling, and the same commitment to thoughtful, well‑paced travel.

Scenic Scotland Select is the beginning of a new chapter — not the whole book.

Honouring our heritage

Some journeys stay with you. For me, one of those is our Iona pilgrimage — a tour I’ve been leading since 2000. It remains one of the most meaningful experiences we offer, and it now carries a refreshed title that reflects its depth:

Iona: A Pilgrimage to Scotland’s Holy Isle

The tour includes two full days on Iona — a guided pilgrimage walk, a pilgrimage Eucharist at the Abbey, and the option of a boat trip to Staffa — as well as a full day exploring Mull, including Duart Castle and Tobermory.

Alongside this, we’re developing new heritage itineraries including:

• The Fife Pilgrim Way

• The Trail of St Ninian & The Whithorn Way

These journeys honour Scotland’s spiritual landscape while offering travellers space to reflect, connect and breathe.

A moment of shared discovery

This Thursday, we launch our Scenic Scotland Select Taster Weekend, taking place at Dunkeld House Hotel this September under our Short Escapes brand. It’s a small but significant milestone — the first public expression of the new era we’ve been shaping behind the scenes.

Short Escapes is designed to offer well‑paced, beautifully curated introductions to Scotland, and this Dunkeld weekend is the perfect way to showcase what Scenic Scotland Select stands for: calm, care, storytelling, and a sense of place. It gives travellers a glimpse of the future — a future where touring feels personal, spacious and thoughtfully designed.

This weekend isn’t just an event.

It’s a beginning.

A beginning rooted in Scotland.

A beginning shaped with care.

A beginning that reflects the evolution of TML Travel Group.

Thank you for being part of the journey — whether you’ve travelled with us for years or are discovering us for the first time. I’m excited for what comes next.

David

Founder, TML Travel Group