The First Piper

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The First Piper

🗺 Performing in every country (115 so far!)
🍍 Origin stories of ordinary things
🎥 So Where’s it From?(on YouTube!)

I'm aiming for a record to play the bagpipes in every country of the world! In January 2014 I met a group of adventurers who inspired me to kick-off my own journey, and a couple of months later I packed up my life and booked a flight to North Africa. I've now piped in over 100 countries, played on top of the tallest building in the world, and I've even performed for Bhutanese Royalty. Without sounding too cheesy, it's been the most life-changing adventure!

07/08/2025

The Land of Spices! 🌱

One week in Kerala is nowhere near enough. There’s so much to see, do, and eat, but at the start of July, we had one mission (and not a lot of time): SPICES 🙌

From the port city of Kochi to the cardamom hills of Kumily, it was crazy to see how diverse this state is, and even crazier to learn how many of the spices we use today have been grown and traded here for thousands of years 🤯

11/07/2025

Song-Kul, Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬
Three days of rolling green hills, flower filled meadows and some tender...🍑 ...legs! 🐎

04/07/2025

Arslanbob 🇰🇬
A couple of months ago, I stumbled across a story involving Alexander the Great, the Silk Road, and… walnuts!
It centred around this beautiful mountain village - Arslanbob - home to the world’s largest & oldest walnut forest.
Ok, the story isn’t entirely fact-based, but it was exciting enough to get us here to film another episode of So Where’s It From?
We spent 4 days here exploring, wandering through flower filled meadows, this giant walnut forest and drinking plenty cups of chai!
A great big “rahmat” to Hayat & Pizal (our walnut experts) for showing us around. Whatta start to our trip in Kyrgyzstan! 🇰🇬

11/06/2025

Queen of the Night! 👑🌸🌵

Last week I got to film at a dragon fruit farm in the Philippines and it totally changed how I view this fruit.

Don’t hate me... but I often think that dragon fruit looks better than it tastes. It’s kind of bland - especially the white one! However, this team grow over 200 varieties with some INCREDIBLE flavours and names, like Super Shenron and Giant Red.

To top it off, dragon fruit grows on a CACTUS (what?!) and the flower only blooms at night and only once. Hence the name: Queen of the Night! How incredible is that?!!

And its origins…? You’ll have to wait for the episode 😉

Big Salamat to the team at for hosting me!

27/05/2025

We’re off to Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬🎥🎶
Next month we’re headed to Central Asia for the first time ever!

I’ll be filming a couple stories for ‘So Where’s it From?’ And of course bagpiping (this’ll be country number 115 🥳)

If you have any recommendations or know any walnut and apricot farmers, I’m ALL EARS 😅

15/05/2025

Vietnam memories 🇻🇳

Revisiting places feels strange. Familiar and nostalgic all at once.

Vietnam is particularly weird coz when I first visited in 2016, my laptop was stolen on my last day. I was gutted and for years, that’s what I remembered, which is a shame because I was an incredible trip.

This week, being back in Hoi An, had me digging through old hard drives and rediscovering these gems! 📸

Fruit vendors I kept on bumping into, spontaneous bagpipe-breakfasts with strangers, and even a revamped sporran 🙌

It sounds cheesy, but it is true: one bad moment shouldn’t get to define an entire memory.

I’m glad I got to come back, and oh to simpler times! (I look such a kid in these videos 😂).

Vietnam, thank you for the bagpipe memories. Cảm ơn! 🇻🇳

08/05/2025

Sacred cities, tonnes of tea and a whole lotta hoppers! 🇱🇰
Leaving Sri Lanka with some lovely memories and newfound respect for cinnamon farmers 🌱 🙏🏼

16/04/2025

Ever eaten something and thought: “Where is this ACTUALLY from?!”

Well, that simple question is what’s kicked off my newest venture:

‘So Where’s It From?’

…my new YouTube channel exploring the origin stories behind ordinary things.

Episode 1 is out and I’d love to hear your thoughts! Comment with a CASHEW and I’ll DM you the link 🙌

08/04/2025

🎥 So Where’s It From?

From Guatemala, cardamom, and bagpipes… to a big idea!

I’ve finally launched my YouTube channel 'So Where’s It From?' - about the origin stories behind everyday things (link in comments!!)

It all started 10 years ago when someone asked where bagpipes originally come from… and I couldn’t answer. Spoiler: they’re not Scottish!

But the real spark? GUATEMALA!

While filming in Barillas (Huehuetenango), I found loads of cardamom farmers, which puzzled me, because Guatemalans don’t really use much cardamom.

Three months later I saw Guatemalan cardamom in a spice shop in DUBAI… and my mind was blown!

Turns out we rarely stop to ask where things are actually from - so I started a channel to find out.

If you fancy supporting, you know what to do (on YouTube!).

🎬 I promise there'll be subtitles in Spanish/Chapin

31/03/2025

Fancy a free swim? 🏊‍♂️ Read on!
Last year I did the most beautiful open water swim off the coast of Camiguin Island in the Philippines. Part of the race involved getting dropped at a sandbar and swimming back to shore, using the volcano as the sighting marker. It was flippin’ stunning! 🌋

I’ve just found out I can’t make it this year… SO! I’m paying it forward and covering the entry fee for one swimmer.

Know someone still on the fence about joining? 
Tag them below👇and I’ll pick a name at random on 2nd April, 12 noon (Manila time).

Deadline to register is midnight, 2nd April 📅

07/03/2025

Guatemala City isn’t famous for its green spaces… but don’t worry, this place has got you covered. 🌿☕

Tucked at the base of Volcán Pacaya, you’ll find Finca El Barretal a little coffee & ecotourism farm. Bring your dogs, sip on some local coffee, or rappel down a waterfall! Yep, they’ve got that too.

For anyone craving a weekend escape without the full volcano hike - this one’s for you! ✨

03/03/2025

Bagpipes, Borders & A Slight Detour 🎶🌍

If you’ve been here a while, you’ll know I set out to play the bagpipes in every country (started in 2014!). If you’re newer, you might just think I randomly pipe in different places… or that I exclusively make Guatemala videos.

Truth is, the bagpipe journey has taken a back seat - and I’m very okay with that. It’s still a life goal, but at this rate, I’ll probably be TheSecondPiper

Bagpipes have taken me to wild places - playing for royalty in Bhutan, piping on volcanoes, and performing for the British Embassy in Azerbaijan. They’ve opened doors (and closed a few!), pushed me to learn new skills, and even got me into video-making.

But while the kilted adventures continue, bagpipes aren’t the only reason I travel anymore. This year, I’m focused on building my YouTube channel and I promise, it’s not just bagpipe vlogs.

Watch this space for some sneaky new content! 👀🎥

Oh and if you guess where all these photos were taken, I’ll give you my old kilt! 😂

Address

Castlehill
Edinburgh
EH12NG

Website

http://thefirstpiper.com/

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