My 2025 travel wish list (UK based)

Tips for your own slow travel adventure 🧳

Van trip last autumn (overlooking the Isle of Skye)

Hello, I’m Molly, a full time creator based in the Scottish Highlands. Subscribers can enjoy weekly posts around the themes of slow living, thriving in a creative career, books & nature. Members get access to ALL my content, including video tea times, slow letters and seasonal book reviews.

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The travel bug has come to me late in life.

I wasn’t one of those young people eager to take a gap year to travel the world. Instead, I preferred to focus on pursuing my career as a conservationist, (which incidentally took me to some wild places all over the UK, but it certainly wasn’t relaxing!).

You see, I’m not a holiday person. Certainly not in the traditional sense. The thought of a resort trip abroad, where it would be too hot to do anything but sit by the pool fills me with abject horror.

I’m a homebody at heart and like nothing better than pottering around my tiny home, or going on hikes in our local area, with our dog Skye by my side.

However, now I’m 32, things seem to be shifting. I intentionally set the word explore as my word of the year for 2025, following this urge to indulge my adventurous whims and see what the world really has to offer.

Much of this shift has been inspired by the fact that I now have my own wee camper, a long held dream and, with spring approaching, I can’t wait to start going off on adventures all over the UK (you can watch a tour of this camper HERE).

As usual, I will be doing this in a way that suits me, and I have included some mindful tips for slow travel at the end of this post.

My 2025 travel wish list

(Caveat that this is an aspirational list rather than firm plans at present but I’m going to do my best to make it happen!)

Ullapool & Scotland west coast (mainland)

The west coast of Scotland has so much to offer, not least the picturesque town of Ullapool. I’m hoping to visit in early spring, before the dreaded midges arrive!

Moray coastal trail

I started walking this stunning trail last year (documented on my YouTube HERE) and can’t wait to go back. The coastal location is lovely in summer and being further east means I’m less likely to encounter midges (this is a serious consideration for all my Scottish travel!). Moray also has some hidden gems and I’ve found it to be quieter than other places in Scotland.

Alnwick

I will be travelling through Northumberland on route to visiting a friend and Alnwick is probably the stop I am most looking forward to seeing. As well as this stunning castle, it’s also home to Barter Books, one of the largest second-hand bookshops in the UK. Hours of bookish fun to be had…

Orkney islands

Orkney has been on my wish list for years and I’m determined to finally step foot on these islands in late spring, just in time to see the first of the seabirds arriving.

Kirkcudbright

I’m hoping to explore Scotland’s ‘Artist’s town’ with my mother (who is also an artist

Fiona D Artisan

) at some point this year. It looks simply delightful!

Bristol

A friend has kindly invited me to visit her and provided the perfect excuse to explore this vibrant city. We may also take a wee meander to Hay-on-Wye, a charming book town in Wales, which is calling my name…

Isle of Lewis & Harris

I’m desperate to start visiting more Scottish Islands and Lewis and Harris are at the top of the list! I’ve pencilled in September, so fingers crossed the ferry sails!

Edinburgh

I’d love to explore more of the Scottish capital and autumn is the perfect time to do it. I’m already making a list of the bookshops I want to visit…

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Slow travel tips

I’ve embraced a slower pace of travel over the last couple of years, and found my adventures are far more fulfilling for it, so I thought I’d share some tips to slow down your own travel -

• Choose places you really want to visit, even if they don’t appeal to everyone. This is why I love solo travel so much!

• Create a manageable itinerary with plenty of gaps for spontaneous adventures (or time to rest!)

• Take the scenic route. Its not always about getting everywhere as quickly as possible and this can also be more environmentally friendly e.g., choosing trains over planes.

• Explore your local area with day or short trips. I’m sure there is plenty to offer right on your doorstep that you may not even be aware of.

• Spend more time in one place so you can really get to know it and reduce that travel fatigue.

• Avoid too many tourist stops or visit outside of peak hours so you feel less rushed.

• Don’t share pics on social media, at least not during your trip, so you can really be in the moment. Memories are more important than Instagram.

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Until next week,

Molly xx

More from my slow life….

What frugal living ACTUALLY looks like

An exclusive insight into my nature diary

Habits from my low screen life

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