Have pipes will travel

Ross OC Jennings is on a mission to become the first person to play the bagpipes in every country in the world

From the only piper in Shanghai to the only piper in, well, most places actually, Ross Jennings is on a mission to spread Scottish music across the globe.

The 27-year-old half-Scottish, half-Irish musician and traveller was brought up in China and learned to play the pipes at school, but soon found himself in demand for balls and whisky tastings in Shanghai. But he never dreamed that it would lead to a world record attempt to play the pipes in every country in the world, a quest that started in May 2014 and so far has seen the kilted wanderer play his pipes in 62 different countries.

The idea for his epic expedition came from a visit to an adventure travel show. ‘I saw all of these people setting records and going on amazing adventures,’ says Ross. ‘ But I’m not that hardcore. I decided that perhaps I could be the first person to play the pipes in Antarctica. So I rushed home and typed it into google and up popped a photo of a piper and a penguin in 1921. I think he was part of the Shackleton expedition! It blew my mind and made me realise that Scots have been absolutely everywhere.’

Ross started off playing traditional pipe music, but is branching out as his travels continue. ‘I’ve started learning pop songs and some national anthems because people like that,’ he says. Meeting people is an important part of the journey, but travelling alone makes photographing his adventures tricky at times. He sets up some of the scenic shots himself and often passers-by will capture interactions when Ross is playing in the streets and send on their pictures for him to use on his blog. ‘I do get the odd dig from people who think I’m punishing the world by travelling with my pipes, and the odd person who is confused by my gender when they see me in the kilt, but generally people enjoy my playing.’

Ross lists a visit to Ethiopia as one of his highlights so far. ‘I grew up thinking it was a country destroyed by famine, but the people are so lovely and the landscape is arguably more beautiful than the Scottish Highlands.’

‘To date, the kilted wanderer has played his pipes in 62 different countries’

Top Left: Meeting people in Dubai. Below left: At the top of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, in Dubai. Right: Ross even brought rain to the desert in Dubai. ‘The day I took this picture it couldn’t have been windier or more miserable,’...