Ewan McGregor’s Unlikely Tips for Traveling Scotland Like a Local

Ewan McGregor maintains a home in sunny Southern California and enjoys in-demand status in Hollywood after 30 years in the biz (he’ll next star in A Gentleman in Moscow, out on Paramount+ with Showtime this month). Even so, the Scottish actor started to feel a “pull” back home as he reached his 50s. “I never saw it coming, it’s weird,” he tells AD. “I spoke to [comedian and TV personality] Craig Ferguson about it, he’s moved back to Scotland, and when I called him up he told me, ‘Oh yeah, you’re just at that age. You just reach an age when it’s time to go home.’”

That time drew nigh about a year and a half ago. McGregor and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, purchased a house in Scotland, which presented an opportunity not only to reconnect with his homeland but also with his family. Living across the globe and managing his career meant the Emmy winner hadn’t had much regular quality time with his brother, Colin McGregor, over the years, and though they’ve made a few documentaries together, they hadn’t lived in the same place since the brief period decades ago when the pair were roomies in a Hampstead, London, apartment with Jude Law and Jonny Lee Miller. When the chance to explore the Highlands, where they vacationed with their family as young boys, presented itself via Expedia’s Local Lens video series, they seized it.

“I knew this would be such a lovely thing to do with him, because it just gives us an opportunity to hang out together, which is not always the case when you’re both working and living in different places,” McGregor says. “Something I realized I’d been missing all my adult life, really, is just being able to pop around to see my brother whenever I wanted to.”

The footage of their Highlands adventure shows that McGregor approached the journey with the zeal of a tourist who had never before laid eyes upon the rugged landscape. Beaming at his surroundings as he cruises through the streets, a trace of true belief is detectable as the actor remarks with a laugh: “I think whoever made the world started with Scotland, got it right.” Below, McGregor shares his travel tips for making the most out of a visit to his home sweet home.

For the full experience, choose a cozy cottage

McGregor loves when folks regale him with stories of their travels in Scotland, though he feels the average traveler would be served well by straying a bit further off the beaten path.