A GREENOCK tour guide is treating tourists to a taste of the area - without anyone having to leave the comfort of their own homes.

Catriona Stevenson lost a year worth of bookings with her business, Slàinte Scotland Tours, when Covid-19 struck.

It wrecked a summer that should have been filled ferrying thousands of cruise ship passengers around Scotland.

In a bid to keep her business ticking over and Scottish tourism alive despite travel restrictions, the 34-year-old decided to launch 'virtual tours' which have attracted people from all over the world.

After running a number of successful Outlander-themed virtual tours, Catriona, who lives in Braeside, has been offering tours of places a bit closer to home.

She told the Tele: "Our bookings basically disappeared overnight, which was quite worrying - any income we had planned was totally lost.

"I think now more than ever it is important to try and keep interest, the tourism industry has been totally destroyed this year and we've all had to adapt.

"I thought the virtual tours would be a good way to give people options and access to places they might not get to see this summer.

"I've had people tune in from America, Australia and Canada and as close as Glasgow - it's suitable for anyone looking to hear the history of Scotland."

Catriona hosts the live tours via video platform Zoom and for anyone who misses out for reasons such as a time difference, she makes them available online for the price of a cup of coffee.

Her most recent ventures were the Greenock Town Trail and the Greenock Cut, both which received a good response.

Catriona told the Tele: "I had 14 people tune in live to the Greenock Town Trail and another 10 requested the YouTube link as they couldn't make it.

"I do them at all times depending on what the demand is, so the Greenock Cut tour is live at 10pm.

"Over lockdown I was hosting live 'love from Scotland' events and also doing special broadcasts where I spoke about Scottish history and ghost stories."

With restrictions easing slightly, Catriona is organising getting back to operating proper tours - however she'll be limited to bookings of just one household.

You can find out more at www.slaintescotland.com