The Best of Edinburgh: Curated by Hidden Scotland

Founded by Jack Cairney in 2016, Hidden Scotland began as an Instagram account created to showcase the beauty of Scotland. After travelling through South East Asia with his partner Karla Hall in 2015, Jack returned home with a renewed appreciation for Scotland and the realisation that there was still so much of his own country left to discover. What started as a way of documenting those discoveries quickly grew into a community of people looking to explore Scotland beyond the usual tourist trail.

”I’ve come to realise that if you approach travelling at home in that humble sense, with the knowledge that there’s always more to discover, you can easily pack an entire year with brand new adventures.”
— Jack Cairney, founder

The platform soon expanded from Instagram into a dedicated website, offering inspiration, recommendations and practical tools for planning Scottish adventures. Jack and Karla built Hidden Scotland around the idea of slow, conscious travel, encouraging visitors to take their time, connect with the places they visit and discover the people, makers and stories that give each region its character.

During lockdown, Hidden Scotland launched its bi-annual magazine, creating a physical extension of the brand that could bring together the landscapes, creative talent, history and culture that had always been at its heart. Today, the magazine sits alongside a growing digital platform, with curated itineraries, travel guides and stories designed to help people explore Scotland at their own pace.

The Hidden Scotland Shop in Milton of Crathes, Aberdeenshire, followed as a natural progression, bringing together carefully selected products from Scottish makers and designers discovered through the team’s travels. From the magazine to the shop, the brand remains focused on championing Scotland’s landscapes, independent businesses and creative communities.