Scotland

Neil was born in Scotland and, save for a few years spent in England and Australia, has lived there for most of his life. When he was 14 he relieved the boredom of a rainy school holiday by leafing through a book about the Scottish mountains. The photographs of mist-veiled ridges, yawning cliffs and distant sea lochs opened the door to a lifelong enthusiasm for the great outdoors, and since then he has hiked, biked, climbed, sailed or snowboarded in almost every corner of the country. Neil has been a full-time writer and photographer since 1988 and has written around 45 guidebooks for various publishers, including Lonely Planet's guide to his home town of Edinburgh. Neil wrote the introductory chapters (except History and Environment), Edinburgh, Northeast Scotland, Southern Highlands & Islands, Central & Western Highlands, the Skye & Outer Hebrides section of Northern Highlands & Islands, and the Transport chapter.