Ruth Boreham Tours

19/09/2026

First public Mary Queen of Scots walking tour done! A tour I’ve previously done with uni students but now am offering as part of the suite of tours I do. Walking from Castle to Palace in 2.5 hours talking about Mary and some of the people she knew, as well as things like the Burning of Edinburgh in 1544 and the impact that would have had on the locals. Brilliant time had with 11 lovely people! Am doing it again next Saturday afternoon if you’re interested?

Not bad for someone who has Glue Ear (which mainly only children get 🤦‍♀️😂) and who can’t hear well as a result!

12/09/2026

I have been ill for a couple of weeks now, and still battling an ear infection, so things have been a little quiet on the tour front. But I did manage to get out on Wednesday night to do a tour for a very lovely group of Girl Guides and got a badge as a thank you!

I've also made a couple of changes to upcoming tours.
- From Castle to Palace which was due to be held on Sat 10 Oct is now being held on Sun 11 Oct
- Give Us The Vote suffrage walk that is taking place on Sun 25 Oct is now taking place in the morning 10.30am-1pm
- New Town tour which was due to be held on Sat 24 Oct is now taking place on Sun 25 Oct at 2pm.

Maybe see you at one of them?

28/08/2026

Hello! I have had some new followers in the last wee while so I thought I would do a wee post to tell you a bit more about me and what I do!

🌈 I am a tour guide based in Edinburgh, specialising in women’s history tours, looking at different areas of the city centre, or different topics. I weave the history of this amazing city into a tour while highlighting some of the women that have worked/lived/walked here. I currently have 8 different tours I offer, though I am always working on more! You can see the dates and book on via Eventbrite – link in my bio.

🏆 For two years running I have won a Tripadvisor award for the reviews I get from people who have been on my tours – thank you!

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 I also give talks on Scottish and women’s history – I have a number of different topics and, like my tours, am always working on more! Sometimes I get to give the talks in historic places like at Gladstones Land.

💻 I have also spoken at conferences – and some of my talks have been recorded and are available on YouTube to watch.

📖 In November 2025 a book was published ‘Women Who Dared’ by Edinburgh University Press that I have an article in! It is about a 19th century scientist called Mary Somerville, whom I am currently writing a biography about.

👩‍🏫 I am a lecturer for The Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), teaching visiting uni students from the US about Scottish history from 1707 to the present. I have also taught a course for St Andrew University’s Open Association.

🎙️I love talking about history and sometimes people want to record me! I have been lucky enough to appear on some podcast episodes, like this one that the amazing Dr Karen Malley creates.

🪑I am also a chair – for online events and in person events. Like when I got to chair the incredible Kirsten MacQuarrie about her fantastic book on Kathleen Raine.

🐻 I work fulltime for Scottish Book Trust on their Bookbug programme, and am lucky enough to get to run Bookbug Sessions on occasion.

🗞️ Through working for SBT I also get to review Middle Grade books every few months for The Scotsman newspaper.

🇳🇵I have been lucky enough to visit Nepal 3 times so far and love it.

22/08/2026

Who inspires you? I’m not sure I could pick one - it often depends on what tour I’ve just done! But I’m particularly inspired by the women who keep going to make life better for others, or fight for causes in whatever they can

Whose story inspires you?
In the past, some women faced barriers because of their gender. Others faced intersectional barriers because of who they loved, where they lived, what resources they had access too, or facing multiple challenges at once

History hasn't remembered them equally.

That's why recovering Scotland's herstories is fundamentally about making space for the stories that were overlooked, forgotten or barely recorded in the first place.

At Protests & Suffragettes, we're building a community of people who believe more women’s stories deserve to be remembered.

📖 Together, we're recovering forgotten voices and ensuring future generations inherit a fuller, richer picture of Scotland's past.

💜Whose story inspires you? Perhaps it's a grandmother, a neighbour, a local campaigner or someone else whose contribution deserves far greater recognition.

👉Share their name in the comments below. Let's help keep their story alive!

22/08/2026

A lovely time on my suffrage tour today. The woman who I was talking to did her dissertation on the suffrage movement in the islands but still hadn’t heard of many of the women I mentioned. That’s what I love about this tour in particular - taking a topic many people know a little about (suffrage) and showing how many women were involved. And I only mention a small number!

Like Flora Stevenson, who lived with three of her sisters (Jane, Eliza and Louisa) in the house in the second photo - there is even a plaque to them! But how many people notice the plaque or go on to find out who the Stevenson Sisters were?

Ps if you know the person who has bought the house please introduce me to them! I’d love to have a noisy! 😁

20/08/2026

Did you know I also do private tours? Whatever the reason - staff away day, school group, birthdays, just because - get in touch to discuss! I recently did one for someone's big birthday and her family and they left a lovely review on Tripadvisor ❤️

15/08/2026

Just been to see a great show called ‘Rebellious women’ about suffragettes. But while I enjoyed it, it also frustrated me, as yet again it was all about women down in London.

Scottish women wanted the vote too!!! And committed crimes up here, as well as protests and peaceful means, to try and persuade the men in charge to give them suffrage.

Why not join me next weekend for my suffrage walking tour to find out more?

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1991860056047

09/08/2026

In Edinburgh for August for the many festivals? Why not also come on one of my women’s history walking tours, to hear about a different history of this amazing city? As recommended by Sara Sheridan Writer!

Sat 15 Aug, 2.30pm, 1.5 hours, Canongate

Sun 16 Aug, 10.30am, 2.5 hours, New Town

Sat 22 Aug, 10.30am, 2.5 hours, Suffrage movement in Edinburgh

Sat 22 Aug, 2.30pm, 1.5 hours, Canongate

Sun 23 Aug, 10am, 2.5 hours, New Town

03/08/2026

For those of you who have been on my Enlightenment tour, you may remember me talking about an amazing artist called Katherine Read, who was often paid more than her contemporary male artists like Gainsborough, but so many of her portraits have been wrongly attributed after her death to the male artists.

Well I just want to highlight an episode of ‘Fake or Fortune’ on BBC that features a painting that may or may not be by Katherine! A really interesting watch - thanks to Rachel for letting me know.

Two women lost in time: an enigmatic Indian woman and an 18th-century Scottish artist. Will this quest uncover a double attribution leading to a six-figure price tag?

02/08/2026

A fab little group on my suffrage tour today. So many interesting conversations and lots of ‘I didn’t know that’. One was wearing a necklace in WSPU colours but had never heard of the NUWSS or WFL - I love getting the chance to tell people about so many lesser known (to us) women involved in the suffrage movement!

And at the end I give each person their own suffragette/suffragist (not one mentioned on the tour) to take home from the Trumps card pack. This is one I had left over - have you heard of Dr Mary McNeill before?