TikTok: Scottish camping pensioner is TikTok hit age 74

The Wander with Mac YouTube channel now has more than 400,000 subscribers

For two years Scottish pensioner Pat McErlean has been posting videos about his camping trips on YouTube - with limited success.

But the 74-year-old's Wander with Mac channel has gone viral overnight after catching the attention of an influential TikTok account.

In his whimsical films, he takes viewers on tours of the countryside near his home in Dumfries and Galloway.

One TikTok promoting his videos has been viewed 12 million times.

Pat told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland that he enjoys his new nickname of "grandad" from the "young yins" who watch his videos on TikTok.

"I got a message from one of the guys that has a holiday home in my village saying 'Pat get on to your YouTube channel, something's happening'," he said.

"I think they like the way I put things. Instead of being called an old git or something they say 'that's my grandad'."

Pat and Morag have documented their travels around Scotland on the channel since 2021

Pat's lifelong passion for camping was inspired by the gift of an Ordnance Survey map when he was 10 years old.

He created his channel two years ago to document his camping trips with his dog, Morag, with a storytelling style inspired by Scottish film maker John Grierson and presenter Tom Weir.

"I've been in camping off and on since I was a laddie," he said.

"When I was 10 years old I lived near Edinburgh and I used to disappear up the Pentlands at night and go for long walks."

Now retired and living in Garlieston, he said: "I wanted to do something - something different, something that I'd enjoy - something that was a bit of an adventure so I thought well let's do some camping and I've enjoyed every minute of it."

Pat has camped since he was young, starting out with long walks at the Pentland Hills in Edinburgh

His channel has found greater success after it was promoted by musician Kristian Keenan on TikTok.

Keenan wanted to promote a channel with "little to no views" on YouTube. His video about Pat has now been viewed more than 12 million times.

The number of subscribers to Pat's YouTube channel has jumped to more than 400,000 as a result of the endorsement.

Pat has now set up his own TikTok account, also called Wander with Mac. It already has more subscribers than the creator who promoted him.

With help from donations, Pat can continue travelling in his campervan

Pat has since been in touch with Kristian Keenan who was equally surprised by the success of the video.

"I'm not that tech savvy but I managed to get on TikTok and find out who the guy was, he said.

"I contacted him and we've exchanged messages and he was gobsmacked as well.

"He thought 'I might get this old guy 500 or maybe a couple of thousand extra subscriptions and get his channel monetized'. He couldn't believe it either."

Pat has had to put his camping hobby on hold recently due to health problems, so Keenan has helped raise more than £1,000 to help with the cost of running a campervan.