What a night we had on the 14th November, as Anne, Emma & Paul headed off to Prestonfield House for our second year as nominees for a Visit Scotland Thistle Award- the Scottish hospitality and tourism “Oscars”.
Following Emma’s win as Regional Ambassador in 2019, Anne was nominated as Tourism and Hospitality Hero for Lothian and the Borders.
To be in the company of the cream of Scottish tourism businesses, was reward enough, and it was great to hear about the other nominees, their businesses and initiatives going on in the sector. The broad theme of the evening was sustainability and collaboration, both of which sit perfectly with Mary’s Meanders’ ethos.
It came as a bit of a surprise to see that Anne had a full page in the event brochure to herself- once again thanks to Graham at www.ghgraham.com/ for the lovely photo.
We were delighted when our Table partners Edinburgh Festival Fringe won Best Festival and that set the tone for the evening. The personal awards come right at the end, so again it was a long wait.
Anne was over the moon to be awarded Tourism and Hospitality hero and you can hear why she was chosen here.
“To be recognised for doing something I love is fantastic. At Mary’s Meanders we just want to give all our guests the best experience, from the minute they first contact us, through to their arrival and experience of our Scottish culture and traditions. We treat everyone as friends and what you get is authentic Scottish hospitality”
There are a huge number of tour companies to choose from (most of whom sound wonderful), so it can be difficult for the public, and indeed travel agents, to select the right fit for their trip of a lifetime. Winning these awards (and as there was no new Regional Ambassador appointed this year, Emma remains the current holder of the title) shows clearly what type of tour company Mary’s Meanders is-
- We really care about our guests: arrive a visitor, leave a friend
- We will go out of our way to provide you with your dream trip
- Sustainability has always been at the heart of our business (indeed Anne retains her @gogreenanne Twitter handle from a time before Mary’s Meanders)
- We don’t try and be everything to everyone- we firmly believe in collaboration, where someone else can do it better.
- We are recognised for our areas of expertise: Outlander, as evidenced by taking Diana Gabaldon on tour; Mary, Queen of Scots; Film location; and Ancestry tours.
As always, these awards are never for a person, in isolation. We want to take this opportunity to recognise, and thank, just some of the many colleagues, and friends who help to make the Mary’s Meanders experience special.
Our amazing transport provider, Paul Cruickshanks and his company Tayforth Travel. Paul now has his own fan club- and next year we should be lobbying for a “Best Bus Driver” category- no competition there. https://www.facebook.com/tayforth
All our location friends, guides and staff at Historic Scotland, National Trust, Hopetoun House, Glencorse Kirk and Drummond Castle Gardens. You do a fantastic job.
Our friends who extend a warm welcome to all our visitors: Graham at his gallery in Culross, Tim at the Cottage Craft Centre in Falkland,
Our numerous cafes and “pit stops”. This year in particular, The Railbridge bistro in South Queensferry have provided fantastic service and great food for our lunches therailbridgebistro.com/
Deanston Distillery– whether for a wee dram or the fabulous Coffee Bothy for lunch. And Thank you for our great packed lunches. www.deanstonmalt.com/
Williamscraig Cottages where we base our 5 day tours. Thank you to Findlay and all the staff who take good care of us www.holidaycottageslinlithgow.co.uk/
The Torphichen Inn: where Kenny and his team provide the most authentic Scottish evening you will find. torphicheninn.net/
Boorach – our fun, friendly band who will give you a great, fun night of entertainment www.facebook.com/boorachband
Gillibride MacMillan – Gwyllyn the Bard, from Outlander, who always is very generous with his time, spending a great informal evening with our guests on our 5 day tour
Anne Millar who runs our Kilt workshop
Ronnie Bamberry from Kingsfield Events who has always championed us
Some of our favourite, local accommodation, that our guests particularly enjoy:
www.strawberrybank-scotland.co.uk/
www.champany.com- we have particularly enjoyed collaborating with The Champany Inn on our Mary, Queen of Scots package.
Not forgetting the rest of the Mary’s Meanders team:
Severine, our French Peaker (Sam Heughan’s MPC well- being programme) – who will deliver tours in French and German
Debby- Jo– our Canadian Outlander fan, who loved Scotland so much, she is now living the dream and moved here.
Julie– recently retired from her full-time career, Julie is another Outlander fan, from nr. Glasgow
We ALL look forward to welcoming you very soon.
Mary’s Meanders Tour With Diana Gabaldon
