25/05/2026
We often look across the ocean for our holidays. Sometimes though, if we look closer to home, there is so much to see, enjoy and learn about.
I’m sitting here reflecting on travelling 1,100 miles on a road trip to Scotland and back, taking in Airdrie, Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen, Inverness, Dunbar and Newcastle. Somewhere along the way, I rediscovered something.
Not just my love for the A1 and England’s east coast, but the way roads and bridges tell the story of place.
The A1, with its long movement through towns, coastline and history, is so full of intrigue.
The A90, opening up the east of Scotland and carrying you through a different landscape, different weather, different rhythm.
The Queensferry Crossing, not just a bridge, but a statement about connection, engineering and national confidence.
Then, there was the granite strength of Aberdeen and the coastal air around Dunbar.
Gateshead and Newcastle, with the Millennium Bridge reminded me how infrastructure can become identity, not just utility.
Good infrastructure does more than move people. It shapes how we experience a place, gives us views, enable us to create memories and connects communities.
It also helps places tell their own story. Travel does not always have to be about escape. Sometimes it is about attention. Journeys can sometimes teach us so much about the country we sometimes rush through without really seeing.
