Experience the rugged beauty, ancient legends, and captivating history of Scotland with Andy the Highlander. From standing stones and whirlpools to myths and famous battles, Andy shares stories that bring the Scottish landscape alive. Discover why Scotland is more than tartans and bagpipes in this fascinating discussion about culture, heritage, and a passion for storytelling.

In the introduction, I talk about my personal connection to Scotland (I am a quarter Scottish!), and how it inspired my monster horror, Catacomb, as well as featuring in Day of the Vikings, and the anatomical connection to Desecration.

Andy the Highlander is the bestselling author of Lochs and Legends, A Scotland Man’s Guide to the Heart of Scotland, as well as an actor and tour guide.

Show notes:

• 
  
• Andy’s journey to becoming “Andy the Highlander” and his experiences on the TV series Outlander
  
• The allure of ancient standing stones, including Clava Cairns and Callanish
  
• Historical intrigue from Culloden to the Body Snatchers of Edinburgh
  
• Eerie encounters in places like Culross and Scotland’s many haunted sites
  
• Rugged islands, beautiful lochs, and the distinct regional flavors of Scottish whisky
  
• The rivalry of Scottish clans and football teams, and the “Outlander Effect” on tourism
  
• Recommendations for books, films, and practical tips for traveling in the Highlands
  

You can find Andy at Highlander Tours and Lochs and Legends in all the usual places, or here on Amazon.

Transcript of the interview

Jo: Hello everyone. I am thriller author J.F. Penn, and this is the Books and Travel Podcast. And today I’m here with Andy the Highlander, the bestselling author of Lochs and Legends, A Scotland Man’s Guide to the Heart of Scotland, as well as an actor and tour guide. So welcome to the show, Andy.

Andy: Thank you for having me.

Oh, it’s great to have you here. So first up —

Why are you called Andy the Highlander?

Andy: I became Andy the Highlander back in 2015. I was fortunate enough to film on the hit US TV drama Outlander. I was one of Jamie Fraser’s men back in 2015. I filmed about 35 days on the show, and I then did a video in my garden demonstrating how to wear the plaid, the Filmore—the Great Kilt—and it got 5.3 million views in the first 30 days.

So that’s really where this journey of Andy the Highlander began. At the time I started investing in the swords, 18th-century clothing. My wife Anna thought I had lost the plot, and we had no idea this was going to become a business, but also very much who I am. I’m now more Andy the Highlander than I am old Andy. I don’t even know who he is anymore, to be honest. So yeah, it’s been some journey.

Jo: Yeah, ’cause you have a tour guide company as well, right?

That’s right. I run Highlander Tours, and I’m one of the busiest tour guides in the country, taking people from all over the world around Scotland. So that’s a very incredible job. Scotland is my office, and you know what they say: if you find something you love, then you’ll never work another day in your life.

Jo: That is true. So I guess on this show, I’d like to do things that maybe people don’t know, that are a bit less obvious, and you definitely have some of those in this book. So many people listening—maybe a lot of Americans, for example—have family connection to Scotland, even if that’s generations ago and maybe they haven’t even visited, but —

What are some of the historic places that resonate the most for you that are not necessarily obvious?

Well, one of the more well-known ones is Culloden, the last pitched battle fought on British soil, but not far from there you’ve got Clava Cairns.

These are 4,000-year-old burial chambers and standing stones, and they actually line up with the low-setting winter solstice on the 21st of December, and the sun’s rays go inside the chamber. This technology that people had 4,000 years ago—it’s quite an incredible feat of engineering. Like looking at the pyramids and stuff like that, it’s like, how did they know how to do this so perfectly?

I think today we still don’t understand how they cut these stones so precisely. So that’s a magical place. Scotland is absolutely full of gems like that, and they carry deep historical significance.

Jo: Mm. Well, the Highlander series starts in standing stones, doesn’t it?

Andy: That’s right. So Outlander—Diana Gabaldon is from Flagstaff, Arizona originally. She lives in Scottsdale now, but she wrote the first books in the 1990s. It’s quite an interesting story actually.

Diana watched an episode of Doctor Who, and there was a young, handsome Highlander called Jamie McCrimmon in the show, played by English actor Frazer Hines, who’s a friend of mine. So Diana sees this young, handsome Highlander—a man in a kilt—and she thinks, “Oh my, I like that.”

So that’s what gave her the inspiration to go on and write Outlander. It’s historical fiction. Claire is a nurse during World War II and goes back to 1743, then touches these standing stones and goes back to the 18th century, and then they try and stop the Battle of Culloden happening. So it’s a fantastic story and, as we call it, the Outlander Effect. It’s a huge global audience.

Jo: Oh yeah, I’ve read several of the books. There’s some good romance in there. But on rocks as well—’cause my brother actually lives in Edinburgh and did a short film, STONE HUNTERS, about lifting these rocks, sort of as a Scottish tradition of going around lifting stones instead of lifting other weights. Is that something you—oh, it just came up as you were talking about stones there.

Andy: That’s quite interesting. So we say in Scotland, “Only leave your footsteps.

Take photos, only leave your footsteps.

What we don’t want is people lifting and building the little cairns, but what you’re talking about is something different and it’s really cool. There’s a big weightlifting community in Scotland.

You’ve got the Dinnie Stones, for example, and this strongman Donald Dinnie carried these massive stones across the Potarch Bridge and back. I can’t remember the combined weight, but there’s a whole community in Scotland. I’ve actually got a friend—I think he calls himself “The Highland Granddad” or something on Instagram—but he goes around and sets up maybe four or five different-size stones, obviously starting with the lightest one and then finishing with the heaviest one. So I’m all for that. That’s pretty cool.

Jo: So obviously the book is Lochs and Legends, so let’s talk about legends first. You mentioned kelpies, which I think is a fascinating one. So yeah, tell us about—oh, here we go, Kelpies. There you go.

Tell us about the Kelpies

Andy: So yeah, the Kelpies are one of my favorite myths, favorite legends. These ones here are actually the world’s largest equine sculptures. They’re 30 meters high—approximately a hundred feet—and they were done by Scottish artist Andy Scott.

I was actually lucky enough to attend the 10-year anniversary last year. They represent two different things: it’s a mixture of Scotland’s industrial past—our Industrial Revolution here was 1760 to 1830—and the Clydesdale horses would pull the wagons and the barges along the canals. These big, heavy horses mixed with Flemish warhorses.

So it’s a mixture of an industrial past, but also our folklore. Kelpies were mythical, shape-shifting horse spirits that would lure you to the water’s edge and drown you. This was a very real way to keep your children away from the water’s edge.

Jo: It seems odd though to have horses and water drawing you into the water, right? Shouldn’t they be mermaids or something?

Andy: That’s right. Yeah.

Jo: What are some of the other darker elements of legend that fascinate you?

Andy: You’ve got the Corryvreckan, which is a legendary whirlpool. My brother Ian used to do a lot of diving off the west coast of Scotland, so this whirlpool is between the Isle of Jura and Scarba, and it’s one of the most dangerous tidal whirlpools in the world.

But there are also dark tales of the Celtic warrior Fingal, and you’ve got Fingal’s Cave as well. In the book, you’ve obviously got the Kelpies, but there are so many other legends in there as well: the Blue Men of the Minch, stories about cannibals and body snatchers as well. Oh yeah, loads of that.

Jo: Well, let’s talk about the body snatchers, because if you go to Edinburgh, you’re gonna do the body snatcher thing, right? Or at least people like me want to do the body snatcher tour. Tell us about that.

What about the body snatchers?

Andy: Yeah, Edinburgh was once one of the foremost cities for anatomy, and people like Burke and Hare—as I’m sure you know—would initially sell fresh corpses to Robert Knox for his anatomy lectures, but that was too time-consuming and not profitable enough, so they thought, “Well, let’s just murder people instead.”

I’ve got a fascination with visiting these old cemeteries, places like the Canongate Kirkyard or Greyfriars Kirkyard. I’ve had a couple of chilling experiences there—goosebumps on my arms.

Jo: Well, I did one of those ghost tours around that area, and people take the equipment to try and sense things. So tell us what you felt there.

What happened in the graveyard?

Andy: Well, I did a tour a few years ago, and I was standing in front of George Mackenzie’s mausoleum. He was the man responsible for the persecution of the Covenanters—those who rose up against the signing of the covenant after the Battle of Bothwell Bridge. I’m standing in front of his mausoleum, and a few photos were taken. The first one was completely normal, but the second one had this green glow behind my head, and I will never ever stand there again. I was told later that green is a healing energy, but no.

Why is Culross so chilling?

Andy: I think one of the most chilling places—one of the most special places—in Scotland is the town of Culross, which is actually, I think, the first chapter of the book. It’s spelt R-O-S-S, but it’s pronounced “Coo-russ.” This was featured in Outlander as Cranesmuir, but it dates back to the sixth century.

It was the birthplace of Saint Mungo, who’s the patron saint of Glasgow, and it was founded by Saint Serf. So in Culross you have the town hall, which dates back to 1626, and then a clock and the bell tower were added in 1783. But in Culross alone, during—for example—the witch trials, there were over 30 men and women tried for witchcraft in this town, and it’s said to be one of the most haunted towns in Scotland. I’ve got goosebumps right now talking about it again. I get goosebumps every single time I visit that place.

And in the book I mention one particular story I’ll tell you quickly. It was about 15 years ago now: a mum and dad and their little girl visit Culross Palace, which dates back to 1597. The mum and dad are in the laird’s bedroom, and the little girl sneaks under the rope and into the strong room. Back then they never had banks; they had strong rooms to keep the important documents and the money inside the coffers, inside the safes.

Anyway, the mum hears the little girl talking to someone. “Who are you talking to, sweetie?” “The man, Mummy.” Goosebumps again, right? She’s like, “What man?” I’ve got goosebumps all over. The mum looks in the strong room and there’s nobody there, and she says, “Come on, let’s go upstairs.” So they go upstairs into the Painted Chamber. As soon as they walk in, the little girl looks up at the wall to the painting of George Bruce with a funny collar, and she says, “That’s the man there, Mummy. That’s who I was talking to downstairs.”

So that’s the first part of the story. I visited about five years ago with an Australian couple, and it was the day before Halloween, the day before the palace closed for the season.

The staff had bay leaves stuck on the wall to ward off the evil spirits, ward off the witches. And the very second we walked up to the room and I said, “That’s George Bruce there, the man with a funny collar,” the bay leaves that the staff had pinned to the wall fell on the floor, and there was a little chair with a mannequin doll—white linen gown and a white linen hat. The hat flew across the room to the other side of the room. I’m standing looking at my clients, and the wife was like, “You guys did that?” I was like, “No, we didn’t.”

So I ran downstairs to tell my friend Linda, one of the employees of the palace. Things like that…and since then I’ve had numerous things happen to me in that place. So yeah, I definitely recommend if you get a chance, you have to visit there.

Jo: I haven’t been there. And well, I wondered—what do you think? I mean, obviously this is not a religious show or a particularly spiritual show, but I do wonder sometimes when these violent things happen—I mean, obviously I’m English, you’re Scottish, we’ve got some bloody history between our countries —

When there is something violent that happens, something really wrong, or just something emotional, so you think there’s some kind of imprint left on the environment?

Yeah, I think I definitely believe in something.

They say when you visit these ancient places frequently, as I do—I visit old castles, old cemeteries, old graveyards late at night—they say these entities, these energies, follow you around.

I have loads of different people on tour. I’ve been given pyrite, I’ve been given black obsidian. I’ve got so many little things in my wardrobe to protect me. So many people are interested in the same thing. But I do have a fascination, and of course there might be an explanation, as you know, for something like that hat flying across the room. I mean, there’s no explanation for that—it might be a creaky floorboard, or you know, there’s something. There’s definitely something there, I think.

Jo: So in the book, you also mention a summer solstice at Callanish I—or maybe you pronounce that differently—and you said it was a spiritual feeling and a connection to the land, which sounds different to the stuff you’ve been talking about.

What is at Callanish and what was that experience like?

So Callanish standing stones are similar to Clava Cairns near Culloden, but they’re even older. They say they’re older than the pyramids of Egypt, so we’re talking 5,000 years old, and it’s just a very historical place. I was there on the summer solstice as the sun started to set, and it’s a kind of outer-body experience.

There were people playing music, there were drummers there playing the drums slowly—boom, boom, boom—as the sun set. I felt so privileged to be there in this ancient site. We’re not sure why they built these places, but it’s just fascinating to me. I absolutely love visiting places like that.

Jo: Well, what’s interesting—you mentioned there the drums, and of course in terms of sounds and music, people think about the bagpipes when they think of Scotland, and I wondered —

Why do Scottish people play the bagpipes? Like what is it about the pipes?

Andy: Well, they were classed as a weapon of war until fairly recently. Imagine you were the enemy, and in the distance you hear this drone of the bagpipe. It really stirs up the blood.

But whether they came from Scotland or not is widely debated—some say China, some claim other countries—but it’s our sense of nationalism here, isn’t it? The sound of the bagpipes gives me goosebumps every single time, and even if you’re not from here, I have a lot of clients who come on tour and they don’t know why either. It just hits them, and they start crying and get very emotional. Lovely.

Jo: Yeah, there’s definitely something about music that does that. I’ve been to the Edinburgh Tattoo, which is lots of pipes and bands and marching around, which is pretty good. But I wanted to come back to water. I mean, obviously the book is Lochs and Legends, so we’d better talk about some lochs. There are quite a few.

What are lochs and which are your favourite?

Andy: Yeah, on the front cover of the book you can see behind me—that’s actually Urquhart Castle, and the legends on Loch Ness date back to the sixth century.

This is when St. Columba settled at Glen Urquhart, not far from where the castle is, and it’s the first record of the Loch Ness Monster. The first written record is from the seventh century. It’s obviously on a fault line as well—a very deep fault line. There’s more water in Loch Ness than all of the lakes in England and Wales combined, including the Lake District. So who knows what’s in there, if there’s a Nessie or not.

But one of my favorites is probably Loch Lomond—the “Bonnie, Bonnie Banks” of Loch Lomond, like the song. My mom and dad, before they got married, spent a lot of time hill walking, and they joined the Youth Hostel Association. They didn’t have a lot of money back then, but Loch Lomond isn’t far from Glasgow at all.

In fact, we are actually doing the West Highland Way with some friends in May, which is 97 miles approximately, from Glasgow right up to Fort William. We’re going to camp the whole way. My mom and dad, as I say, spent time there. My sister got married in the beautiful little town of Luss, so that’s a very special place close to my heart.

Jo: And I guess staying with water—I mean, you mentioned the island of Jura. I’ve written about Iona.

Tell us about those islands off the west coast. Why are they so special?

Andy: The west coast of Scotland is just ruggedly beautiful. I’ve been lucky enough to see it from a boat. We used to have a lovely big Broom–type powerboat, 43 feet long. We could go anywhere. W

e’ve been to Ireland on it, we’ve been to Fingal’s Cave, we’ve been to Staffa, Rum, Iona, Jura—absolutely stunning beauty. Some of these places you can’t access with a vehicle, so they’re just beautiful. You can anchor the boat and take the small tender to these isolated, remote beaches—truly special, steeped in legends, steeped in history, with the most outstanding scenery. Islands like Islay, for example—it’s often mispronounced. People say “EYE-lee,” but it’s “ILL-uh.” That’s obviously one of the main whisky areas in Scotland as well. If you like peaty, smoky whiskies, that’s the island for you.

Jo Yes. We hadn’t even mentioned whisky, so you mentioned one there, but —

Why is Scotch whisky so famous? Is it really super amazing, and where should people go if they want to try some?

Andy: So remember, our whisky doesn’t have an “e” at the end of it—there’s no “e” in Scottish whisky. It’s very unique.

Every whisky is different, whether it’s a blended whisky or whether it’s a single malt. There are different regions of Scotland: you’ve got Highland whisky, Lowland whisky, you’ve got Campbeltown— which is a whole separate region—you’ve got Skye, you’ve got whisky from the Isle of Skye as well, Speyside. There are smoky, peaty whiskies from Islay, or a nice Highland whisky, or a Speyside—it’s more of a caramel, vanilla, maybe citrusy, fruity flavor. So people often ask me what my favorite whisky is, and there is no definitive answer for that. It just depends what mood I’m in at the time.

Jo: Yeah, I mean, I must say I’m not particularly a whisky person, but my husband is, so nice—he would enjoy those. In terms of—obviously you’ve mentioned the West Highland Way, and when…maybe just give people a sense of the size of things.

So a lot of people might fly into Edinburgh or Glasgow, and then you say ‘the Highlands,’ and they might think, ‘Oh, I could just do a day trip,’ or whatever. So maybe just talk a bit about that, about the scale and what’s up there, up in the Highlands.

Andy: Yeah, there are a lot of areas that are really unspoiled. The population of Scotland is only about 5.3 million people, so we’re a small country, but to give you an idea, many people will fly into Glasgow or Edinburgh. To get to the Highlands, you’re talking three or four hours.

If you are coming, I’d recommend you plan your routes and make sure you spend at least a decent amount of time in each area. I mean, Edinburgh is the capital city, but Glasgow is actually the biggest population.

As soon as you start heading towards the Highlands, you could arrive at one of these secluded Highland beaches, and it really looks like you could be anywhere in the world—you could be in the Caribbean until you dip your toes into the water. Then you know you’re not in the Caribbean. But sometimes you can arrive at these places and there’s nobody there.

One of my favorite places as I head up to the Highlands is up past Loch Lomond, past the haunted Drovers Inn—the Drovers pub—and up past Glencoe. That’s one of my most favorite places in Scotland.

You know, the Three Sisters mountains in Glencoe were formed about 480 million years ago when the two continents Avalonia and Laurentia collided. They say they used to be four times the height they are today, and the valley of Glencoe was carved during the Ice Age about 12,000 years ago.

You’ve got the legends up there, you’ve got the Massacre of Glencoe—the 13th of February, 1692—the MacDonalds and the Campbells. There’s just so much history and just beautiful scenery.

Jo: Yes, there’s still rivalry, isn’t there, in Scotland? Maybe talk a bit about—I made the mistake once: I flew into Glasgow, and I was in a taxi and I made the mistake of mentioning the wrong team.

Tell us a bit about the historic rivalries.

Andy: I mean, there’s clan rivalry, particularly between the MacDonalds and the Campbells. So I always, of course, stay neutral on these subjects, but I have people coming from Canada or from the States, and they get in the car and they’re like, “Listen, we are Campbells, we’re sorry.”

And I’m like, “Listen, it’s more complicated than that. It wasn’t just the Campbells—that’s a very short, small part of the story.” So we’ve got that kind of banter. In fact, if you visit the Clachaig Inn in Glencoe, if you walk through the front door, there’s actually a sign at reception that says, “No Campbells or hawkers, no salesmen.” So take that with a pinch of salt.

Then of course you’ve got the soccer rivalry, the football rivalry. You’ve got teams like Celtic and Rangers, and that’s to do with religion, and it is deep-rooted. But then we have the banter of rugby games, for example—I used to play rugby for Scotland under-18, and I just love going to a Scotland–England game of rugby. It’s very different; it’s very different from football, right? If you go to a football game, they want to hate each other, they want to kill each other, but rugby—you can be together and have a dram of whisky; it’s a gentleman’s sport. So yeah, it’s that old rivalry.

Jo: Yeah, exactly. I mean, yes, we are watching on Netflix the Six Nations rugby thing, and of course Scotland and England always play each other. But let’s just come to Glasgow, because I feel like, again, Edinburgh—people go to Edinburgh and then they forget Glasgow. It was the European City of Culture a few years back, wasn’t it? And there’s lots of really interesting stuff in Glasgow.

Tell us about Glasgow and some of the things people might want to see there.

Andy: Yeah, Glasgow is often overlooked, but there are so many things you can do there, and a lot of them are free as well. I actually like to do the Glasgow Mural Trail.

It’s a stunning art installation which starts at George Square—some of them have been knocked down since, and they update it quite often—but it takes you on a full tour of the city. It can take maybe four hours to do the whole thing. It takes you up past Strathclyde University, and there’s a big mural of a lady: she’s been crying, her nose is red, and she’s holding a little baby. That’s Mungo as a baby with his mother carrying him.

Then you walk up to Glasgow Cathedral, which dates back to the 12th century, so it predates the whole city by hundreds of years. Across the road, you’ve got the oldest house in Glasgow. You’ve then got the Glasgow Necropolis up on the hill with some beautiful old gravestones. You’ve got the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, the Glasgow Transport Museum—there are so many things to do. You’ve got Pollok House, Pollok Country Park, the Burrell Collection. It’s a very cool city.

Jo: Isn’t it Rennie Mackintosh as well? Maybe explain that to people.

Yeah, Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The House for an Art Lover—that’s very beautiful if you like your Rennie Mackintosh. It was actually a friend of mine who lives in Kilmacolm who wrote a book about it. He was the guy in charge of designing The House for an Art Lover—Graham Roxburgh, his name is. One of the last times Lily, my co-writer, was in Scotland, I managed to get a little private tour with Graham, and he gave us both an autographed copy of his book. So really cool.

Oh, cool. Yeah, people—a lot of people will recognize the Rennie Mackintosh types of designs, you see them on lots of things.

This is the Books and Travel show, so apart from your own book, what are a couple of books you would recommend about Scotland or about Glasgow in general?

One of my favorites has to be Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson, and that’s one of my old favorites—I reread that fairly often. There’s one that I see in many of the gift shops here called Scottish Folk and Fairy Tales—that’s a good one. That’s by Gordon Jarvie, I think his name is.

There’s another one called Beneath the Surface—that’s by Fiona Neill, and that’s a mystery set in the Highlands. I read that one recently as well. There are loads of great short stories you can get if you go around the bookshops, the Historic Environment Scotland sites, or the National Trust sites.

Jo: I’m sure people can find your book all over the place, but I do also want to say, what is your favorite movie, since that would seem appropriate?

Andy: Well, yes, I think it probably has to be Highlander. I don’t know if you know—they’re actually making a remake with Henry Cavill.

Jo: No! They are? Oh my goodness, I didn’t know that.

Andy: They are! It was my absolute favorite film growing up, with Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery, so maybe I’ve kind of morphed this whole Andy the Highlander thing from watching Highlander. You know:

“From the dawn of time we came, moving silently down through the centuries, leading many secret lives, struggling to reach the time of the Gathering, where the few who remain will battle to the last,”

you know? Absolutely brilliant. I always loved open spaces—mountains, rivers, waterfalls, beaches.

Jo: Yes, so that’s fantastic. And of course there can be only one Andy the Highlander! There you go.

Where can people find you and your books online?

Andy: So the book has just been released in North America. You’ll find it in Barnes & Noble, and you’ll find it at Walmart and Target online. You’ll find it on Amazon. I’ve also done an audiobook as well, which you can get on Amazon. That was a no-brainer. HarperCollins asked me if I would like to do the audiobook, and it had to be me—it couldn’t be anybody else, you know? Some of the comments I have: “We can really hear your voice telling the story,” first of all through the book, but they love hearing the voice in the audiobook.

Jo: Brilliant. Well, thanks so much for your time, Andy. That was great.

My pleasure. Thank you so much for having me.

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