Jack Montgomery
@jackmwriter.bsky.social
Author, travel writer, photographer, routefinder, Slow Travel specialist & enemy of most things magnolia.
The internet can distort the past. The word tinker was commonly used when I was growing up on #Bute, but not always in the way it's described online. Then, there's the tragic tale of tattie howkers that AI knows very little about. #Scotland talesfromascottishisland.substack.com/p/tragic-tal...
Tragic tales of tinkers & tattie howkers
The past is an uncomfortable place
talesfromascottishisland.substack.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:33 PM
The internet can distort the past. The word tinker was commonly used when I was growing up on #Bute, but not always in the way it's described online. Then, there's the tragic tale of tattie howkers that AI knows very little about. #Scotland talesfromascottishisland.substack.com/p/tragic-tal...
There’s a thing UK tabloids are guilty of which is cheap and an insult to readers. This practice is easy to spot and involves lazy travel articles that are more likely to mislead readers than provide them with accurate travel advice.
#travelwriting #media jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/11/24/t...
#travelwriting #media jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/11/24/t...
The Media and Lazy Travel Writing - Author and Travel Writer - Jack Montgomery
Examples of lazy travel writing in the mainstream and social media, including the trend of UK tabloids using social media streams for travel content.
jackmontgomery.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 2:07 PM
There’s a thing UK tabloids are guilty of which is cheap and an insult to readers. This practice is easy to spot and involves lazy travel articles that are more likely to mislead readers than provide them with accurate travel advice.
#travelwriting #media jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/11/24/t...
#travelwriting #media jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/11/24/t...
This is not something I'm proud of. In my defence, I was young & dumb at the time. But experiences like this usually end up in something I'm writing. talesfromascottishisland.substack.com/p/when-i-was...
#writing #Scotland
#writing #Scotland
When I was a Pimp
Confessions of a night porter
talesfromascottishisland.substack.com
November 19, 2025 at 2:18 PM
This is not something I'm proud of. In my defence, I was young & dumb at the time. But experiences like this usually end up in something I'm writing. talesfromascottishisland.substack.com/p/when-i-was...
#writing #Scotland
#writing #Scotland
We visited the Eden Project in Cornwall shortly after it opened. This year, almost a quarter of a century later, we visited again. Was it as good as we remembered?
walkingways.uk/2025/11/10/t...
#theEdenProject #Cornwall #gardens
walkingways.uk/2025/11/10/t...
#theEdenProject #Cornwall #gardens
The Eden Project Revisited
We first visited The Eden Project not long after it had opened in 2001. Returning in 2025, we were not prepared for how much it had grown.
walkingways.uk
November 18, 2025 at 3:53 PM
We visited the Eden Project in Cornwall shortly after it opened. This year, almost a quarter of a century later, we visited again. Was it as good as we remembered?
walkingways.uk/2025/11/10/t...
#theEdenProject #Cornwall #gardens
walkingways.uk/2025/11/10/t...
#theEdenProject #Cornwall #gardens
The first impression of a place often sticks. With Porto, it involved a speciality of the city, the messiest ‘sandwich’ I’ve encountered anywhere. There are many aspects of the city of tripe eaters I love, these five are just a snapshot. #Porto curioustravellertales.substack.com/p/a-personal...
A Personal View of Porto
Five things to enjoy in Porto
curioustravellertales.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:37 PM
The first impression of a place often sticks. With Porto, it involved a speciality of the city, the messiest ‘sandwich’ I’ve encountered anywhere. There are many aspects of the city of tripe eaters I love, these five are just a snapshot. #Porto curioustravellertales.substack.com/p/a-personal...
I’m Speechless!
Not really. It’s just the title of a short story (sort of) which is a dig at a particular piece of writing advice that turns up now and again which, whether wearing my writer or reader’s hat, I don’t agree with.
jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/11/17/i...
#writing #fiction
Not really. It’s just the title of a short story (sort of) which is a dig at a particular piece of writing advice that turns up now and again which, whether wearing my writer or reader’s hat, I don’t agree with.
jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/11/17/i...
#writing #fiction
I’m Speechless - Author and Travel Writer - Jack Montgomery
Writing websites advise against authors using too much dialogue. What if there’s a reason they want us speechless?
jackmontgomery.co.uk
November 18, 2025 at 3:29 PM
I’m Speechless!
Not really. It’s just the title of a short story (sort of) which is a dig at a particular piece of writing advice that turns up now and again which, whether wearing my writer or reader’s hat, I don’t agree with.
jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/11/17/i...
#writing #fiction
Not really. It’s just the title of a short story (sort of) which is a dig at a particular piece of writing advice that turns up now and again which, whether wearing my writer or reader’s hat, I don’t agree with.
jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/11/17/i...
#writing #fiction
I’m feeling chuffed. I got AI to contradict itself.
‘Why it’s risky to rely on AI’ includes how I used AI to prove to itself it was wrong, as well as a few other bot bloopers.
jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/11/03/w...
#writing #travel #AI
‘Why it’s risky to rely on AI’ includes how I used AI to prove to itself it was wrong, as well as a few other bot bloopers.
jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/11/03/w...
#writing #travel #AI
Why it’s risky to rely on AI - Author and Travel Writer - Jack Montgomery
How I made AI contradict itself reveals why it’s risky to rely on artificial intelligence for answers to questions
jackmontgomery.co.uk
November 4, 2025 at 2:34 PM
I’m feeling chuffed. I got AI to contradict itself.
‘Why it’s risky to rely on AI’ includes how I used AI to prove to itself it was wrong, as well as a few other bot bloopers.
jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/11/03/w...
#writing #travel #AI
‘Why it’s risky to rely on AI’ includes how I used AI to prove to itself it was wrong, as well as a few other bot bloopers.
jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/11/03/w...
#writing #travel #AI
5 dishes to try in Alentejo. Until I saw one of these on many Alentejo menus, I'd always associated it more with Portugal's neighbour - curioustravellertales.substack.com/p/five-dishe... #Portugal #food
Five dishes to try in Alentejo
Regional specialities from Portugal's border with Spain
curioustravellertales.substack.com
November 3, 2025 at 3:04 PM
5 dishes to try in Alentejo. Until I saw one of these on many Alentejo menus, I'd always associated it more with Portugal's neighbour - curioustravellertales.substack.com/p/five-dishe... #Portugal #food
I admit my imagination might get carried away with itself sometimes. But only sometimes. There are occasions where flights of fancy are justified. Like recently, when we found something suspicious in our letterbox. jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/10/28/t...
#Somerset #maps
#Somerset #maps
The Mysterious Map - Author and Travel Writer - Jack Montgomery
What might it mean when a mysterious map listing certain properties in the Somerset village we live in turns up in our letterbox?
jackmontgomery.co.uk
October 28, 2025 at 3:50 PM
I admit my imagination might get carried away with itself sometimes. But only sometimes. There are occasions where flights of fancy are justified. Like recently, when we found something suspicious in our letterbox. jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/10/28/t...
#Somerset #maps
#Somerset #maps
A spooky but true tale for Halloween about the ghost who haunts an unusual castle in Scotland.
talesfromascottishisland.substack.com/p/the-friend...
#Scotland #ghosts
talesfromascottishisland.substack.com/p/the-friend...
#Scotland #ghosts
The Friendly Ghost of Kames
An amiable apparition on the Isle of Bute
talesfromascottishisland.substack.com
October 28, 2025 at 1:54 PM
A spooky but true tale for Halloween about the ghost who haunts an unusual castle in Scotland.
talesfromascottishisland.substack.com/p/the-friend...
#Scotland #ghosts
talesfromascottishisland.substack.com/p/the-friend...
#Scotland #ghosts
Continuing with snippets & tips from my book Camel Spit & Cork Trees, chapter 2 involved our first taste of Portugal, staying in a town famous for wine production where we experienced a strange culinary pairing. curioustravellertales.substack.com/p/first-tast...
#Portugal #travel #writing
#Portugal #travel #writing
First taste of Portugal
Extracts and tips from Camel Spit & Cork Trees
curioustravellertales.substack.com
October 16, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Continuing with snippets & tips from my book Camel Spit & Cork Trees, chapter 2 involved our first taste of Portugal, staying in a town famous for wine production where we experienced a strange culinary pairing. curioustravellertales.substack.com/p/first-tast...
#Portugal #travel #writing
#Portugal #travel #writing
I asked a literary agent and ChatGPT the same question. Want to know which answer was I most impressed with, and why? jackmont.substack.com/p/chatgpt-v-... #writing
ChatGPT v Literary Agent
How well did a bot perform against a human?
jackmont.substack.com
October 15, 2025 at 1:47 PM
I asked a literary agent and ChatGPT the same question. Want to know which answer was I most impressed with, and why? jackmont.substack.com/p/chatgpt-v-... #writing
These 'catch-up' snippets from my book Camel Spit & Cork Trees are designed to lay the foundation for the follow-up memoir. Camel Spit began at the point where we left Tenerife.
#Tenerife #Portugal curioustravellertales.substack.com/p/a-new-life...
#Tenerife #Portugal curioustravellertales.substack.com/p/a-new-life...
A new life in Portugal
Extracts from Camel Spit & Cork Trees
curioustravellertales.substack.com
October 15, 2025 at 1:39 PM
These 'catch-up' snippets from my book Camel Spit & Cork Trees are designed to lay the foundation for the follow-up memoir. Camel Spit began at the point where we left Tenerife.
#Tenerife #Portugal curioustravellertales.substack.com/p/a-new-life...
#Tenerife #Portugal curioustravellertales.substack.com/p/a-new-life...
Today is Ada Lovelace Day. Earlier this year, we followed a path from Porlock Weir to see England’s smallest church. En route, we passed the ruins of old tunnels, the ‘Fairy Tunnel’s’ of Lord Byron’s daughter, one Ada Lovelace, constructed so Ada could access the beach below without being seen.
October 14, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Today is Ada Lovelace Day. Earlier this year, we followed a path from Porlock Weir to see England’s smallest church. En route, we passed the ruins of old tunnels, the ‘Fairy Tunnel’s’ of Lord Byron’s daughter, one Ada Lovelace, constructed so Ada could access the beach below without being seen.
While I’m editing the sequel to Camel Spit & Cork Trees: A Year of Slow Travel Through Portugal, I’m sharing snippets from Camel Spit on Substack, along with the occasional tips. curioustravellertales.substack.com/p/welcome-to...
#Portugal #writing
#Portugal #writing
Welcome to the Curious Traveller
Why launch my Curious Traveller substack now?
curioustravellertales.substack.com
October 13, 2025 at 2:28 PM
While I’m editing the sequel to Camel Spit & Cork Trees: A Year of Slow Travel Through Portugal, I’m sharing snippets from Camel Spit on Substack, along with the occasional tips. curioustravellertales.substack.com/p/welcome-to...
#Portugal #writing
#Portugal #writing
Have you ever been in a lift (elevator) which doesn’t take you where you want to go? This might be the reason.
#writing #shortstory #Scotland
talesfromascottishisland.substack.com/p/the-lift-e...
#writing #shortstory #Scotland
talesfromascottishisland.substack.com/p/the-lift-e...
The Lift (Elevator) With a Mind of its Own
What goes up must come down, and down, and down
talesfromascottishisland.substack.com
September 29, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Have you ever been in a lift (elevator) which doesn’t take you where you want to go? This might be the reason.
#writing #shortstory #Scotland
talesfromascottishisland.substack.com/p/the-lift-e...
#writing #shortstory #Scotland
talesfromascottishisland.substack.com/p/the-lift-e...
Flash Fiction - Mass Grave. Sometimes it is necessary to do terrible things to save the people you love.
#shortstories #writing #flashfiction
jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/09/24/m...
#shortstories #writing #flashfiction
jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/09/24/m...
Mass Grave - Author and Travel Writer - Jack Montgomery
Mass Grave. Sometimes it is necessary to do terrible things to save the people you love. A 250-word short story.
jackmontgomery.co.uk
September 24, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Flash Fiction - Mass Grave. Sometimes it is necessary to do terrible things to save the people you love.
#shortstories #writing #flashfiction
jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/09/24/m...
#shortstories #writing #flashfiction
jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/09/24/m...
Having listened to advice from various authors, I've finally set up a substack account, with publications having a tighter focus. My first post is related to the #Scottish books I'm #writing but is a true story and features a monster of a teacher.
The Wrath of Miss Muh-ller
A friend from an upper middle-class background is responsible for this compilation of true-as-far-as-I-can-remember-them tales from growing up on A Scottish island.
open.substack.com
September 16, 2025 at 2:55 PM
A debate in a writers' group had me wondering why authors who are unfamiliar with a specific language/dialect attempt to have their characters speak it? jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/09/15/t...
#writing #writingfiction #writingdialogue
#writing #writingfiction #writingdialogue
The Accent Thieves - Author and Travel Writer - Jack Montgomery
How does it feel to witness the way you speak being hijacked and tortured? I found out this week.
jackmontgomery.co.uk
September 15, 2025 at 1:36 PM
A debate in a writers' group had me wondering why authors who are unfamiliar with a specific language/dialect attempt to have their characters speak it? jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/09/15/t...
#writing #writingfiction #writingdialogue
#writing #writingfiction #writingdialogue
It has to be seen to be truly appreciated - the marvel in Britain's smallest city.
#StDavids #Cathedral walkingways.uk/2025/08/25/s...
#StDavids #Cathedral walkingways.uk/2025/08/25/s...
St David's Cathedral in Britain's Smallest City
Lying almost hidden in a green meadow basin by the side of the River Alun in Pembrokeshire, St David's Cathedral is in Britain's smallest city.
walkingways.uk
August 27, 2025 at 3:38 PM
It has to be seen to be truly appreciated - the marvel in Britain's smallest city.
#StDavids #Cathedral walkingways.uk/2025/08/25/s...
#StDavids #Cathedral walkingways.uk/2025/08/25/s...
Imposter syndrome is something that affects many writers. Suffering from it, I used AI to check whether my experiences of living abroad justified writing a travel memoir. What it came up with seems a sensible and handy checklist. jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/08/24/r...
#travel #travelwriting
#travel #travelwriting
Reasons to Write a Travel Memoir - Author and Travel Writer - Jack Montgomery
Who am I to Write a Travel Memoir? I use AI to check the essential ingredients for any travel memoir to see whether I have the credentials or not.
jackmontgomery.co.uk
August 27, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Imposter syndrome is something that affects many writers. Suffering from it, I used AI to check whether my experiences of living abroad justified writing a travel memoir. What it came up with seems a sensible and handy checklist. jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/08/24/r...
#travel #travelwriting
#travel #travelwriting
Normally in UK seaside resorts, it’s the seagulls you have to protect your chips from…
#Exmouth #dinosaurs
#Exmouth #dinosaurs
August 18, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Normally in UK seaside resorts, it’s the seagulls you have to protect your chips from…
#Exmouth #dinosaurs
#Exmouth #dinosaurs
Is there a danger long hikes alongside a canal can be too samey? We pondered this while walking the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal from Abergavenny to Brecon. walkingways.uk/2025/08/18/w...
#hiking #MonmouthshireandBreconCanal #Abergavenny #Brecon #Crickhowell
#hiking #MonmouthshireandBreconCanal #Abergavenny #Brecon #Crickhowell
Walking the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal - Walking Ways UK
A journey into the past. Walking the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal in two stages from Abergavenny to Crickhowell.
walkingways.uk
August 18, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Is there a danger long hikes alongside a canal can be too samey? We pondered this while walking the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal from Abergavenny to Brecon. walkingways.uk/2025/08/18/w...
#hiking #MonmouthshireandBreconCanal #Abergavenny #Brecon #Crickhowell
#hiking #MonmouthshireandBreconCanal #Abergavenny #Brecon #Crickhowell
People who work hard like to lie around a pool all day on holiday. It’s posh folk who don’t work hard who prefer cultural/activity holidays.
The responses to a recent travel article in a UK tabloid provided numerous examples of this stance.
#travel
jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/08/12/p...
The responses to a recent travel article in a UK tabloid provided numerous examples of this stance.
#travel
jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/08/12/p...
People who enjoy active holidays don’t work hard - Author and Travel Writer - Jack Montgomery
People who work hard like to lie beside a pool, whereas people who don’t work hard enjoy active holidays.
jackmontgomery.co.uk
August 12, 2025 at 1:56 PM
People who work hard like to lie around a pool all day on holiday. It’s posh folk who don’t work hard who prefer cultural/activity holidays.
The responses to a recent travel article in a UK tabloid provided numerous examples of this stance.
#travel
jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/08/12/p...
The responses to a recent travel article in a UK tabloid provided numerous examples of this stance.
#travel
jackmontgomery.co.uk/2025/08/12/p...
Lost gardens, a book quiz, Portuguese nosh, green Spain, and a working-class loner all feature in my August newsletter. It’s issued at 4pm (UK), so there’s still time to subscribe. jackmontgomery.co.uk
August 7, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Lost gardens, a book quiz, Portuguese nosh, green Spain, and a working-class loner all feature in my August newsletter. It’s issued at 4pm (UK), so there’s still time to subscribe. jackmontgomery.co.uk