Hello and welcome again to my website. My name is Simon Varwell and I am a sort of travel writer from Inverness, in the Highlands of Scotland. I’ve written three books and am slowly but surely plotting further ones.
I’m interested in the curious and unusual lurking among the everyday; and I enjoy finding unexpected beauty in the mundanity that lies far off the typical traveller’s bucket list.
Perhaps this comes from growing up on an island, or hunting for otherwise unremarkable places threaded together by obscure and arbitrary connections. Or maybe it’s because I live in Inverness, a city that, technically speaking, doesn’t exist.
By way of quick biography, I was born in Dingwall in 1978, grew up on the isle of Benbecula in the Western Isles, and studied at Aberdeen University. I am married (to Nicole), am a parent, and live in Inverness. For a day job I work in education, though beyond that it’s too complicated to explain. It does enable me to travel around the country from time to time, however, and sometimes further afield.
Besides writing and photography I also love travel and the outdoors – not least rail travel, hillwalking and exploring abandoned or often overlooked places. While I’ve visited over thirty countries I never cease to be amazed at what my own backyard in Scotland has to offer. I’m a Christian, supporter of Scottish independence, more or less fluent speaker of Esperanto, and more. You’ll probably find that this site and my various social media spoutings reflect all these different things. Do feel free to drop a line.