Robbie Hanbidge

Local Legend

Luxury vehicle

Mercedes ML250 AMG

Favourite place in Scotland

Callander. Landscape of mountains with a dusting of snow descending to crystal clear waters.

Favourite Scottish Legend

The origin of the expression 'armed to the teeth'. From a gifted pistol maker in the 18th century in the little village of Doune, which is surrounded by the river Teith.

A Bit About Robbie

My name’s Robbie. I was born in Scotland, raised in South Africa, and - fair warning - my accent tends to confuse people. Think Scottish roots with a sunny southern twist. I’ve always believed that places are best understood through stories, and Scotland has been telling me hers since I was a wee boy. By the end of the tour, you’ll have heard a fair few of them.

I moved to South Africa as a toddler, but Scotland was never just a holiday spot or a postcard destination. Every school break, every chance I got, I came back to Pitlochry where my family lived. While other kids collected souvenirs, I collected muddy boots, scratched legs, and stories. The Highlands were my backyard. I wandered old paths that never made it into guidebooks, climbed among ancient trees that have outlived empires, and turned over stones that hinted at lives lived long before ours. I got to know Scotland the way locals do - by walking it, touching it, listening to it, and, more often than not, getting rained on.

"I’ve always believed that places are best understood through stories, and Scotland has been telling me hers since I was a wee boy."

Back in South Africa, I grew up close to the land. I worked in the hunting industry, learned respect for nature the hard way, and eventually opened a wholesale butchery. Hunting taught me more than patience and precision. It taught me how to read the land, how to notice the subtle signs that lead to lost or forgotten places. That instinct for discovery is exactly what I bring to exploring Scotland’s hidden corners today.

Life was full and grounded. I married a South African woman, and together we raised three kids who, just like me, were regularly brought back to Scotland to roam lochs, forests, and quiet corners far from the crowds. Those journeys became my favourite kind of storytelling - passing places and their meaning from one generation to the next. Eventually, Scotland called us home. What began as visits became something deeper, until the land we kept returning to felt like it was quietly asking us to stay for good.

Now, I bring people into my Scotland. Not the tick‑box landmarks or the bus‑stop viewpoints, but the places you feel in your bones. Hidden lochs. Forgotten paths. Stories passed down rather than printed. If you’re after tartan clichés, I’m not your man. But if you want to see Scotland the way I’ve loved it my whole life - wild, local, and a little rough around the edges - then journey with me.

The best parts of Scotland aren’t on the map. They’re in the stories. And I know where to find them.

Robbie's Wheels