Suzy Pope

Suzy Pope

I'm an Edinburgh-based freelance writer and editor specialising in travel, food and drink. Since graduating with an MSc in Creative Writing from Edinburgh University, I've had features published by The Guardian, Bradt Travel Guides and National Geographic Traveller and have worked as a restaurant reviewer and Food & Drink Editor at The List magazine. 

The Independent •

Iceland’s Diamond Circle: Escape the crowds to find natural wonders

Iceland has been something of a victim of its own beauty. Every day you’ll spot convoys of minibuses, coaches and hire cars trundling along the Golden Circle, with tourists taking whirlwind trips into the ‘wild’ from Reykjavik. At times, you’re more likely to be poked in the eye with a selfie stick at Reynisfjara Beach than encounter a puffin. Or trip over a tripod at the mighty Stokkur geyser than marvel, wide-eyed at the eruption. Like other tourist favourites – Amsterdam, Bali, Venice and Te
inews.co.uk •

The fast-changing European city which is a perfect £200 budget break this Spring

I’m at the nucleus of one of Europe’s most intriguing cities. In the polished expanse of Skanderbeg Square, as the sun illuminates the Dajti mountain range that encases Tirana, I sense the change. My knowledge of the Albanian capital had been based on decades of closed Communist dictatorship and film depictions of Soviet-style block housing, dark alleyways and a lot of grey. But I can see that things have moved on. Tirana’s glossy, modern centre feels like it’s developing as fast as the desert
Fodors Travel Guide •

There’s a Shocking Ingredient Included in This Whiskey

Iceland’s first and only whiskey distillery uses a traditional technique that raises a few eyebrows. Iceland’s relationship with alcohol is rockier than the lunar lava plains of the Reykjanes Peninsula. This isolated island in the North Atlantic was under strict prohibition for most of the 20th century and the untamed, near-Arctic landscape doesn’t lend itself to verdant farmland for hops or grapes. However, pure glacial water streaming down from vast ice caps, the hardiness of Norwegian barley
Sustainable Journeys •

Low Food Miles: The City Restaurants Embracing the Natural Bounty of the Baltics – Sustainable Journeys

The natural bounty from the cold-water seas, rivers and forests has fed the people of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia for centuries. Realising the best way to keep food miles low is to embrace the cooking techniques and traditional ingredients of their ancestors, innovative farm-to-table restaurants have cropped up in Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn, creating a sustainable food scene akin to Scandinavia’s New Nordic movement. This editorial reflects experiences you can enjoy on Sustainable Journeys 12
The Independent •

How to spend a day in Portobello, Edinburgh’s swinging seaside suburb

Three miles from the tourist-trodden Old Town of Edinburgh, Portobello has a completely different feel from the medieval spires and haunted snickleways the Scottish capital is famous for. The shoreline here has been on a rickety wooden rollercoaster of rebrands over the centuries, from a thriving industrial base in the 18th century to an upmarket seaside destination for the Victorians and then a slightly neglected suburb of faded grandeur at the turn of the millennium. Slowly and quietly since,
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