Hi, I'm Alan Coppin.

I live in Inverness — up in Scorguie, on the hill under Craig Phadrig Forest — and since I arrived in November 2024 I've spent my time driving the roads, walking the loch shore, and figuring out which of the tour operators are actually worth your money and which are just good at marketing.

I started North & Ness because every guide I could find fell into one of two camps. There's the official stuff — accurate, but it reads like it was written by committee, because it was. And then there's the other kind: anonymous affiliate sites with no name attached, stuffed with the same generic "hidden gem" language you'd find written about anywhere from Bali to the Cotswolds, clearly never actually checked by the person publishing it.

I wanted something in between. Written by someone who's actually here, kept honestly up to date, and willing to tell you when something isn't worth your time — not just what's bookable.

What you'll actually get here

• Honest comparisons. When there are five ways to see Loch Ness, I'll tell you which one's worth the extra money and which one's just better marketed.
• Real itineraries. Not attraction lists — actual day-by-day plans based on how people really move through this area, whether you've got one day or five.
• Things kept current. Every guide has a date on it. If I haven't checked something in a while, I'll say so rather than let it quietly go stale.
• What's actually happening. Local businesses update events and openings directly, so you're seeing what's on this week — not what was on when the page was last written.

A bit more about me

We'd been planning to emigrate from South Africa for years, with England the long-standing target — we've family there. Scotland wasn't part of that plan at all, until a procurement role at the Port of Nigg came up out of nowhere. Scottish heritage on my side meant I already had a British passport, so we went for it. I arrived in November 2024 and had about four months here on my own before Kersty and our daughter Hannah joined me in March 2025, with our son Matthew following that October.

The place got us fast. We'd spent our last dozen or so years in South Africa living closer to the countryside than any big city — out near the bushveld — and that same pull toward open, rugged land is exactly what the Highlands turned out to be. Once we started properly exploring, that was it. This site runs alongside my day job as a procurement manager on construction projects — a hobby that's turned into spending most weekends finding out what's actually worth the drive.

Get in touch

Found something out of date? Know a business I should feature? Just want to say the Culloden itinerary saved your trip? info@northandness.scot — I read and reply to all of it myself.