An Ode to Scotland with Amy Bell

Scotland is a place very close to our hearts. Not only is it filled with unique rural landscapes and rich natural beauty, it’s also where the Barbour family’s roots are planted, and where our Founder, John Barbour, was inspired to create the very first of our iconic waxed jackets.

So, we decided to create an ode to Scotland with the help of Scottish fashion and travel blogger, Amy Bell (aka The Little Magpie) to take us on a tour of this magical place she calls home.

Everywhere’s a Playground

Scotland was a lovely place to grow up. I was quite an outdoors-y child so would rush home from school to get changed so that I could head straight back out to the park or out on my bike (and wasn’t above fiddling with the hands on my watch so that I could get an extra hour outside). Weekends were often spent outside, before coming home to enjoy – as stereotypical as it sounds – an Irn Bru float.

Always Something New to Discover

The beauty of Scotland is, there are great hotspots all over! I’ve started going on a different hike each weekend, exploring different areas, and each one’s been just as beautiful as the last. Going a bit further afield, I visited both Tain and Lochinver for the first time this year and fell in love with both – for being a relatively small country, the landscapes in each part of Scotland are totally different and never fail to make me shout ‘look how beautiful that is!’ to whichever unlucky person I’m with.

Coming Home

You’ll often find when you arrive in Glasgow and hop in a taxi, the driver immediately starts chatting away and you’ll have yourself a new best friend by the end of the journey. When I arrive back from a work trip and that happens, I always get a real overwhelming sense of ‘ahh, I’m home’. The Scottish accent does the same thing for me; I was living abroad a couple of years ago and heard a Scottish accent in a café and had to hold myself back from running over and hugging the man.

Surrounded by Nature

What I love most about Scotland is that, wherever you are – even in the middle of a city, you’re never more than half an hour’s drive from being right in the heart of nature. So many parts of Scotland still feel so untouched, Assynt can feel like you’re walking through Jurassic Park and the hills of Glencoe roll on for miles and miles. There are so many wonderful places to escape to and immerse yourself in where you can forget about day to day life for a while.

Tartan: The Fabric of Scotland

The new Tartan Women’s collection had me at ‘tartan’ to be honest. As cliché as I’m about to sound, tartan’s one of my favourite prints to wear so I absolutely loved this collection when I saw it.

Each piece is both classic and wearable, so they’d see you through the entire winter. The Armadale Jacket is a really lovely piece to dress up, whereas the Orchy Quilt jacket is the perfect cosy number for a drizzly day.

Great Scottish Style

From the collection, I guess the most outlandish of my outfits would be the Bredon shirt with the Isla trousers — I absolutely love how they look together, they make the perfect pairing. The peanut butter and jam of the tartan world.

For my second outfit I went a bit more classic, pairing the Armadale jacket with Elena boots for a dressed-up look. The last outfit is one I’d tend to wear on a drizzly walk that ends with a pub lunch – a pair of Barbour wellies have been a staple in my wardrobe for the last few years!

The Barbour Way of Life

To me, Barbour always makes me think of adventure, the outdoors, and escaping from day-to-day life to head out into nature. The Barbour Way of Life is about enjoying those small moments, making sure you take the time to slow down to appreciate life and the calm amidst the chaos. I find the best way to do that is to get back to nature – to leave my phone at home and go on a big walk in the countryside and to take the time to think through the things I’m grateful for or that have made me smile each day.

Learn more about Amy’s adventures around Scotland and discover the Barbour AW20 Women's Tartan collection.