The writer set out to follow the route taken by Dr Johnson and to write a similar narrative to his ‘Journey to the Western Islands’. He describes Scotland and its people, noting particularly what is strange to an Englishman, relates his personal experiences, and tells many historical anecdotes and legends, some of which he declares to be new to him. The journal is illustrated with images copied from Adam De Cardonnel’s "Picturesque Antiquities of Scotland".