Behind Nomadic Scotland: Matt and Patti Rio Green

After recently having the pleasure of taking one of Nomadic’s iconic Defenders north into the Highlands ourselves (which we seriously loved) we knew we wanted to dig deeper into the story behind the business. Earlier this month, we sat down with owners Matt and Patti to talk about road trips, rooftop tents and their shared passion for Defenders and exploring Scotland. It’s clear their journey into adventure travel is driven by a genuine love of exploration, and our Scottish homeland and we loved hearing their story. We hope this Q&A inspires your next road trip off the beaten path. 

Nomadic Scotland is an adventure travel business. Our vision is to help create memorable experiences that are authentic and true to nature and place. We want to bring this type of travel to a growing range of guests. The core of our offer is our fleet of iconic Land Rovers equipped with roof top tents and a curated range of camping gear, packaged with our team’s knowledge of Scotland and a service level akin to a hotel - it’s a really fun and flexible way to see this beautiful country!

Patti and I are both accountants by trade and have been involved in running businesses in the Private Equity and Real Estate space. We wanted to leverage that experience but in a field we are passionate about. After travelling around Scotland in our own Land Rover for several years, we hit upon the idea of providing that type of experience as a service to others. That’s where our journey started and we haven’t looked back, we have lots planned for the business and we’re excited to share some of those developments soon. Watch this space…

Patti grew up in Bedfordshire but her mum is Scottish so came here to visit family growing up, she also did her degree at Stirling University. Matt has been coming to Scotland since he was a kid and was drawn in by the mountains and landscape. We’ve never been a couple to sit still and stay put, we’ve lived in quite a few different places since we’ve been together so the Nomadic ethos is very much in our blood!

This wee country has everything you could want - history, amazing cities, iconic castles, folklore, mountains, lochs, forests and the sea all in a very accessible and relatively compact package. There are few places on earth that have so much to offer without having to cover too much distance, which make it accessible for weekends, weeks or longer. This diversity means that you could come here 5 times and have 5 very different holidays. Our distinct seasons and varying weather (challenging at times) can make the same place look and feel very different at different times of year (or day in some cases). This is just part of the rich tapestry of the place. We love it and so will you! 

Very few of our guests have a firm plan for where they want to go when they arrive. Most have probably seen photos of a few places online that they’d like to see but normally that’s it. Our broad range of itineraries, all of which have been researched and personally tried and tested by us, are part of what makes guests choose to travel with us rather than someone else. We pride ourselves on curating routes aligned to our guests interests, desired pace of travel and our local knowledge of hidden gems.

We have a broad range of itineraries we’ve developed over the years varying by length, geography and theme (foodie tours, activity based, movie locations etc). Our Custom Nomad itinerary is where we start from scratch and design something based on the guests particular interests, the size and ages of the group and any particular places that are must see. Part of this offer is that we look after everything including the booking of any campsites, hotels, outdoor activities, even restaurants! It’s a full concierge service, not just a recommended route. This proves to be a very popular option for many who are time poor!

We are fortunate to be based near Dunkeld in Perthshire which is one of the most beautiful small towns around. We first came here about 5 years ago in autumn and were immediately smitten with the colours, landscape and people. There’s a lot to see and do in this area with several iconic Lochs, Munro’s and great places to eat and drink - always a priority! Outside of this we’ve recently started exploring more of the Islands - Harris and Lewis, Mull and of course Skye. All have something different to offer and we love the feeling of being off the mainland whilst being in the same country!

I’ve always wanted to own one from a very young age for their ruggedness, iconic looks and practicality. In truth, rationally, there are much better modern cars available but it’s impossible not to fall in love with them! They have personality, quirks and flaws that you just don’t find in more modern cars. They’re incredibly capable and suited to what we use them for as well as many other tasks. We love the analogue driving experience and the fact that they are very easy to fix and simple! They’re a key part of the Nomadic experience because they genuinely help you to slow down and enjoy the journey. There is no point rushing in a Defender and that’s the point of this type of trip. Many of our customers live in cities and have busy lives, the Classic Defender with a camping experience in a beautiful place, away from screens and technology lets them escape from their day to day life and be more present as a family, couple or with friends.

Yes we do! We’re really lucky to have been very busy in 2025 and were fully booked for many months so we’re adding 6 new vehicles to the fleet for 2026. These will be more Classic and New Model Defenders as well as a couple of Suzuki Jimny’s. The Jimny’s are brilliant little vehicles and have lots of similarities with the Defender but in a smaller and more economical package! The Defender is our dream model so we plan to keep adding more of these, perhaps with a few new twists though!

Our roof tents are all by iKamper who we think offer the best products. The tents are robust, comfortable and incredibly easy to put up. It takes less than a minute to pop up the tent and start getting cosy for the night. You don’t need to have camping experience, in fact 60% of our guests have never camped before! Our team will take you through how everything works when you pick up your vehicle and support you throughout your trip. Sleeping high up above a Defender and unzipping the tent to look out at the view in the morning is an experience not to be missed.

We want travellers to return to their lives with a renewed thirst for adventure. This isn’t an ordinary holiday, it’s something more unique that most will never forget - remember that time we spent the night on the shores of a loch, on the roof of a Land Rover! There might be challenging times on that trip (it does occasionally rain in Scotland, you can come across midges in summer) but it’s all part of what makes the trip memorable - being out in nature with nothing to distract you from the experience!

A huge thank you to Matt and Patti for taking the time to chat with us about all things Nomadic Scotland! If you've caught the travel bug, you can check out all of their amazing Scottish getaway options now by heading to the Nomadic Scotland website. Even better, Nomadic Scotland are offering a 10% discount for any online bookings made before 14th February 2026 with code MEANDR10.

Don't forget to tag @nomadic.scotland and @meanderapparel on Instagram, and use the hashtag #everydayadventures!