224K views · 18K reactions | One of my favourite types of comments to receive is from people who say they feel homesick for Scotland, despite never having visited. At first, it sounds impossible. How can you miss a place you’ve never been? But the more I think about it, the more I understand it. Maybe it’s the landscapes you’ve seen in photos and videos. The sound of the waves crashing against our coastlines. The stories, the history, the music, the castles, the mountains, the tiny villages and the warmth of the people who call this place home. There’s actually a word that comes close to describing this feeling: hiraeth. It’s a word that describes a deep longing for a place, a home, or a sense of belonging that you can’t quite return to, or perhaps have never experienced at all. I think that’s what Scotland can be for some people. A place that somehow feels familiar before you’ve ever set foot here. A place that speaks to something deeper. A place that feels like home, even from thousands of miles away. As someone lucky enough to live here, it’s easy to take these landscapes and moments for granted. So reading your comments is a reminder of just how special Scotland really is. If you’ve never visited but feel that pull towards Scotland, I’d love to know what it is that makes you feel connected to this wee corner of the world. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 #scotland | johnmurrayjnr