'I was homeless and now I'm a tour guide. It's walking and talking - which I'm actually good at!'

Invisible Cities trains people with experience of homelessness or other hardships to be guides around the streets that they know inside-out. This year, it’s celebrating its 10th anniversary. Mandy is here to tell us about her tour of Galashiels, a town in the Scottish Borders famed for its textile industry.

Can you describe your tour?

Galashiels is just a cool little mix of how history and modern life can kind of work together. My tour includes a lot of local murals that depict the history of Galashiels, including The Flying Scotsman mural. We finish at the Scottish Tapestry, which is such a great venue. It has a lovely cafe and after the exhibition there is the opportunity to buy locally made gifts. It also includes modern history and nature paths, which are very important to me. 

What is one of your favourite stories on the tour? 

I tell visitors about Robert Coltart, aka ‘The Candy Man’. He was a Galashiels man and was a weaver, but he also made aniseed-flavoured sweets. He decorated his tray and his hat – he had a big tall hat – to encourage kids to come up to him. The song Ally Bally Bee [also known as Coulter’s Candy] is derived from that, which every Scottish kid should know.

You mentioned nature – how do you involve nature in your tour?

Nature’s part of where we are anyway, we’re surrounded by it. So it’s just nice to actually take
a little bit of time and go out in it. It seems silly not to have a walk that showcases some of the nice off-the-beaten-track paths. For example, we see the Policies, which is really a huge piece of woodland, part of Galashiels.

Read more:

• These walking tours with a twist let homeless people show you their city
• I’ve been homeless in this city. Now I’m helping tourists discover its hidden secrets
• A homeless tour of Liverpool: ‘We need to talk about people, real and raw. Everyone’s got a story’

How did you learn about Invisible Cities?

I was put onto Invisible Cities by somebody I know. And because it’s walking and talking – which are two things I’m actually quite good at – it was just a no-brainer to try the training.

Apart from setting up your tour, what did you learn from the training? 

Just to breathe. And keep developing skills. As somebody who’s had long-term mental health issues and been unemployed for so long, it is awesome to realise I’ve got stuff in me, skills there I can use. With the mental health, it’s just a brilliant opportunity to feel valuable and feel like you’ve got a space in society.

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more. 

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