A few weeks spent on my home island allowed me the opportunity to check if its fictional counterpart in two novels I’m working on held up to a reality check. One discovery in particular had me reeling. #Scotland #writing talesfromascottishisland.substack.com/p/spooky-coi...
There are some hikers who don’t fully appreciate one of the most rewarding and interesting aspects of exploring the countryside on foot. It’s not a benefit AI lists when asked, further proof that R2D2 doesn’t know everything.
jackmontgomery.co.uk/2026/04/08/a...
#hiking #writing #hikingdirections
We’ve spent seven weeks of the year away from home. Now it’s time to knuckle down to some desk-based work. Basically, the bit of the iceberg below the surface of what's generally on view on social media.
jackmontgomery.co.uk/2026/04/01/b...
#writing #travelguides
Experiences over recent years have taught me there aren't as many real 'foodies' as social media posts might have us believe. jackmont.substack.com/p/the-world-...
After reading horror reports about queues, we weren't looking forward to flying into Tenerife South Airport. The experience taught us it wasn’t just new systems or a lack of staff that were responsible for the problems some passengers encounter. jackmontgomery.co.uk/2026/03/30/e...
#Tenerife
You may have read about problems of overtourism on Tenerife. But I’m willing to bet you won’t have read some of the information I’ve included in this article. Information that points the finger of blame away from tourists.
therealtenerife.com/posts/the-pr...
#Tenerife #CanaryIslands #tourism
Experiences in two Scottish bars recently made me realise just how absurd some outdated attitudes toward 'the English' can be. talesfromascottishisland.substack.com/p/zombie-in-...
Rain has featured a lot during our stay on Bute. But it’s been a rainy and cool winter across Europe, even in the Canaries. What’s interesting about destinations like the Canaries is how people respond to rain depending on where you are.
#Tenerife #CanaryIslands
jackmontgomery.co.uk/2026/03/08/r...
What happened at the BAFTA awards brought back memories of a man I worked with decades ago #tourettes talesfromascottishisland.substack.com/p/paddy-show...
I’ve only ever thought of Scotland’s Right to Roam as being positive. The envy of hikers in countries which don’t have such a progressive walking law. After a failed attempt at following a route, I realised there are downsides to being able to walk anywhere. jackmontgomery.co.uk/2026/03/04/t...
Partly switching from travel writing to fiction isn't easy, especially after reading statistics and hearing experiences from other writers. Initially, this was demotivating. But when I delved further, I realised it was also liberating. Here's why.
jackmont.substack.com/p/having-a-1...
#writing
My lifestyle habits were judged by a fellow shopper in the supermarket, just because I’d lived abroad. Well, that’s how I’m spinning it. jackmontgomery.co.uk/2026/02/08/i...
There can be poetic licence in travel writing, but when travel writers attempt to pass themselves off as specialists when they have superficial knowledge of a destination, it is a deception too far. #travelwriting jackmont.substack.com/p/travel-wri...
Bad romantic novels, great romantic novels, Chatfishing, and the big question of what is and what isn’t romantic in books and films. #writing jackmontgomery.co.uk/2026/02/02/t...
This might seem like a weird, even dodgy, post. But, apart from providing inspiration for a scene in one of the novels I’m working on, it’s another example of how little the internet, and AI as a result, knows.
talesfromascottishisland.substack.com/p/the-yearly...
#Scotland #writing
We created various walking holidays around Portugal, writing guidebooks to accompany them. These snippets are from our first visit to Minho when, among other things, we were introduced to pig’s blood rice.
curioustravellertales.substack.com/p/discoverin...
#Portugal #travelwriting
If I told you a neighbour was a spy & another a healer called Jesus, would you believe me? It's 100% true. The Banana Road, back on sale at a lower price, is about our life in the real Tenerife amazon.co.uk/Banana-Road-... #Tenerife #travel #memoir #CanaryIslands
Whenever anyone asks me my age, I have to think about it for a moment. That’s partly because I was born on the cusp of the year, so have to work it out. It’s also because I consider being defined by a number as meaningless. jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/12/08/a...
#writing
Having to catch a boat to get anywhere might sound romantic, and it is when the travel gods are smiling. However, for those who live on a small island, the ferry can also be a source of anxiety & frustration.
#travel #travelwriting #Scotland talesfromascottishisland.substack.com/p/the-rothes...
AI can produce lists of things to see and do for travel destinations. What it can’t do is provide the sort of personal memories that we, as travellers, connect with with the places we visit. #Coimbra #Portugal #travelwriting curioustravellertales.substack.com/p/recollecti...
The internet can distort the past. The word tinker was commonly used when I was growing up on #Bute, but not always in the way it's described online. Then, there's the tragic tale of tattie howkers that AI knows very little about. #Scotland talesfromascottishisland.substack.com/p/tragic-tal...
There’s a thing UK tabloids are guilty of which is cheap and an insult to readers. This practice is easy to spot and involves lazy travel articles that are more likely to mislead readers than provide them with accurate travel advice.
#travelwriting #media jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/11/24/t...
This is not something I'm proud of. In my defence, I was young & dumb at the time. But experiences like this usually end up in something I'm writing. talesfromascottishisland.substack.com/p/when-i-was...
#writing #Scotland
We visited the Eden Project in Cornwall shortly after it opened. This year, almost a quarter of a century later, we visited again. Was it as good as we remembered?
walkingways.uk/2025/11/10/t...
#theEdenProject #Cornwall #gardens
The first impression of a place often sticks. With Porto, it involved a speciality of the city, the messiest ‘sandwich’ I’ve encountered anywhere. There are many aspects of the city of tripe eaters I love, these five are just a snapshot. #Porto curioustravellertales.substack.com/p/a-personal...
I’m Speechless!
Not really. It’s just the title of a short story (sort of) which is a dig at a particular piece of writing advice that turns up now and again which, whether wearing my writer or reader’s hat, I don’t agree with.
jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/11/17/i...
#writing #fiction
I’m feeling chuffed. I got AI to contradict itself.
‘Why it’s risky to rely on AI’ includes how I used AI to prove to itself it was wrong, as well as a few other bot bloopers.
jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/11/03/w...
#writing #travel #AI
5 dishes to try in Alentejo. Until I saw one of these on many Alentejo menus, I'd always associated it more with Portugal's neighbour - curioustravellertales.substack.com/p/five-dishe... #Portugal #food
