Instagram is a wonderful thing. It provides a way of connecting people, of sharing a glimpse of life (often a well manicured glimpse), it allows you to see things, people and places you would otherwise never encounter. For me, it inspires me, shows me all the amazing places I am yet to visit, makes me want to forget about the long term plan and leave it all behind now, today.

Recently, Instagram has changed for me, as some of the people whose pictures I peruse have become real to me, they exist in a form other than a snapshot of their adventures. Each city seems to have its own collection of IGers, but those in Edinburgh are something special. Every now and then this community of individuals gets together to document a shared experience – yesterday was one of those days, and I tagged along.

The House of The Binns is a rather oddly named National Trust for Scotland Property between Edinburgh and Linlithgow. With the original family still in residence the house was not open when we arrived, but you can wander around the garden and surrounding land and enjoy great views of the River Forth; that is, if it isn’t pouring with rain. I have learnt this weekend, that instagrammers are a hardy bunch, with 23 people turning up on Saturday morning, in the rain to take pictures of snowdrops. To be fair, this is Scotland so rain cannot cancel play and the very nature of snowdrops means that you have to head out in the cold to see them.

On the top of a hill, overlooking the River Forth there sits a tall tower, unoriginally named ‘The Tower on the Hill’, apparently built as a result of a bet, of the best way to waste £100. Personally, I can think of better ways to waste money, but perhaps there were less options available in 1826.

We were fortunate to have two National Trust for Scotland Rangers with us who guided us around the snowdrop filled site, answering our questions and sharing their knowledge with us; I learnt that snowdrops are poisonous, that they are part of the onion family and that it is illegal to dig them up without the owners permission.

In walking anywhere with keen instagrammers, one must be aware of the time it takes to actually get anywhere, as everything is a possible shot. I have grown used to the constant interruptions when my husband and I take a walk, if you go on a instameet, you can times this by the number of people attending. However, as long as you don’t have an actual destination in mind, you can pick up top tips for how they take their pictures, and through the use of a shared tag, you can check out their efforts (#snowdropinstameet). Not only that, but you get to feel part of something bigger, it is a reminder that those pictures online are the result of real people experiencing something and sharing it with others. So much of the online world is derided for promoting isolation; the instameet counters this by introducing the humans behind the pictures. For me, part of travel is experiencing the people, the culture – instameets do just that.

Check out more pictures at: http://www.instagram.com/luxuryexplorers