Niamh Mackinnon is reeling off a list of the small joys that bring her happiness: nature, outdoors, quiet spaces, cosy vibes, simplicity. A proponent of “slow living”, who has caught the imagination of the global TikTok and Instagram generation, she would be the first to admit that things have been feeling a tad busier than usual lately.
In her debut BBC Alba series Rudan Beaga Bòidheach – Life’s Little Things – the digital content creator and now TV presenter turns her hand to a raft of activities.
We variously see her making a rustic suncatcher from sea glass, baking scones and foraging for wild ingredients, doing yoga and cold-water swimming. All against a cinematic backdrop of the beaches, mountains, rolling glens, forests and rivers on her native Skye.
The 23-year-old has amassed a growing fanbase on social media, with close to half a million followers on TikTok alone. Mackinnon also has some 313K followers on Instagram and 166K subscribers on YouTube.
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“I feel like there’s this perception that young people should be living it up in the city, when actually there’s this other way of life too, which is nice and simple,” she says. “That’s what I've been sharing on my own social media channels.”
For TV, the format of her short-form videos has been expanded into six episodes, each around 15 minutes long. These delve into some of her favourite pastimes, such as upcycling, cooking and outdoor adventures, in greater depth.
The key difference is that, unlike the lion’s share of her social media posts, Rudan Beaga Bòidheach is presented in Gaelic – with the series following her as she meets with other young people from across the Highlands and Islands.
This is an element that Mackinnon is particularly delighted and proud about. “I’m hoping that non-Gaelic speakers will watch it as well and hopefully get a wee insight into the language, our culture and reach a new audience,” she says.
“On my socials, I have an audience outside the usual Gaelic bubble and I’m hoping that will be the same for the show too.
“Being with all the other young Gaels, it opened my eyes to how many of us are still using it and communicating in it,” she continues. “It felt so natural talking to each other in the language and doing these activities immersed in nature.
“It is nice to show that young people do converse in the language still. I actually speak to a lot of people in Gaelic within my day-to-day life and it was great to have the opportunity to share that.”
Mackinnon began making bite-sized clips to post on social media during her final year of studying law at the University of Glasgow. Initially, she says, it was a way to “romanticise” her life and better appreciate the rich tapestry of tiny-yet-magical moments each day.
A profound homesickness for island living had cemented that a corporate job in the big smoke wasn’t what she craved. After graduating, Mackinnon decided to pursue a full-time career as a digital content creator, spending the past two years steadily building an audience.
It is easy to see why her work has become hugely popular, with Mackinnon’s dispatches a veritable balm for the soul, as she shares shoreline walks, encounters with wildlife, favourite coffee stops and other general nuggets.
Mackinnon exudes a natural warmth and enthusiasm. While an adept communicator, there are occasional, endearing glimmers of underlying shyness, which only adds to her genuine and down-to-earth persona.
She seems like someone you could have a pleasant natter with in the Co-op queue – a refreshing antithesis to many so-called “influencers” on social media, who you get the feeling would happily hawk their granny to farm views and engagement.
Her vlogs and posts are arguably akin to a 2026 equivalent of erstwhile telly staple Why Don’t You Just Switch Off Your Television Set And Go And Do Something Less Boring Instead? which aired on the BBC from the early-1970s to mid-1990s.
“I think one of the reasons that my social media has done so well is because society and life these days are so hectic and full on,” says Mackinnon. “People need that escapism and reminder to slow down and strip it back to simpler things.
“If you get off your phone and go outside, there are so many different ways that you can find peace and little moments of happiness.”
She is a fierce advocate for all things analogue, yet curiously it is via a digital platform that Mackinnon connects with her audience – something she cheerily acknowledges can feel like an odd juxtaposition.
“It is a bit ironic because I often use my social media platforms to encourage people to get off their phones and go outside,” says Mackinnon. “If I can have a positive influence in the online space, I’m going to try to use my platform for that.”
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Last year, she devised an insider’s guide to Skye. The onus, says Mackinnon, was to ensure that “care for the land, the culture and the community” remained front and centre.
“Growing up here, obviously, I’ve seen the way that the tourist industry has changed the island,” she says. “It is such a controversial debate, there’s pros and cons.
“It is sad to see the impact it has had on the place and there’s a part of me, when I started creating content on social media, that felt guilty for feeding that system because sustainability and sustainable travel are really important to me.
“I was at this crossroads where I was thinking, ‘OK, I’m promoting the island, so am I feeding this monster?’ I wanted to try and turn that round and use it for good – almost like a bridge between locals and tourists.
“It is about saying, ‘enjoy the island, but here is how you can do it to support the locals and feed back into the community.’ I’ve had such a positive reaction to it. When people come to visit, they want to be sustainable, they just sometimes don’t know the best ways to do that.”
That sentiment, adds Mackinnon, also sits at the heart of Rudan Beaga Bòidheach when encouraging people to find beautiful, lesser-trodden locations to explore.
“It is about not following a tick list,” she says. “It is so much more fun and rewarding when you discover a place on your own – not just because Google has listed it as a top five destination.
“I was careful in my guide to find a balance between promoting that idea but not using hidden gem spots as examples. In the show, we don’t name the locations because, again, I want to promote the idea of people using initiative and going out to find places on their own.”
Something else Mackinnon feels passionate about is the tradition of oral storytelling within the Scottish islands. She is keen to find contemporary ways to preserve that for future generations.
“When I was younger, I loved when my papa would tell us stories – it was the best thing ever,” she recalls. “It makes me sad because I wish now, I had recorded them.
“Even though it has only been a few years since he passed away and it hasn’t been that long since I last heard them, it is crazy how quickly you can lose the details. I've been sitting down with my mum and dad, trying to piece bits together.
“My mum and dad keep telling me I need to speak to different people and record them telling the stories,” she adds. “That’s when it clicked for me, we have these digital resources and need to use them to keep the storytelling alive.
“I have a platform and the opportunity to share the stories and continue keeping them alive because storytelling is such a big part of our culture. That’s something that I would love to explore more and do a series on.”
Mackinnon isn’t short on ideas in this vein. “I want to work on my own YouTube series, which is kind of similar to the BBC Alba one, but in English,” she says. “I would love to do it about the Gaelic culture.
“This show was in Gaelic but not necessarily about the culture. I would like to flip it and do it in English, really diving into the culture and shining a light on it, how it is thriving and not just a bit of history.
“Growing up, the Gaelic videos I watched in school, it felt like it was history – old and boring. I want to create content from a young perspective, showing it thriving and alive now. There’s so much going on in the Gaelic scene.”
Watch all six episodes of Rudan Beaga Bòidheach on BBC iPlayer and BBC ALBA’s YouTube channel now
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