In 1796, Sarah Maurray, a 52-year-old widow from Kensington, set off on a journey to Scotland at a time when few visitorsventured there. The marvellously entertaining account of her trip – A Companion, and Useful Guide to the Beauties ofScotland – reveal her to be a witty, wise and outspoken observer. It was instrumental in creating the romantic image ofthe Highlands of Scotland as a place of wild, untamed beauty, thus paving the way for floods of tourists in search of the'sublime'.

In this book Paul Murton follows in the footsteps of this extraordinary woman to evoke her Scottish adventures, putting herobservations into context and counterpointing them with his own experiences of the places she visited.



Paul Murton is well known as a documentary film maker whose work includes Grand Tours of Scotland and Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands (4 series). He grew up in rural Argyll and has been an inveterate traveller since his teenage years. He lives in Aberfoyle.