Driving tour of Scotland

• Aberdeen Airport

• Glasgow Prestwick Airportmainly serving Spain and Italy.

• Inverness Airport

By train

Colin

• From head north-west up the A82 towards Fort William, along the side of . At the visitor centre at admire the view down the loch. Stop off at the small kiltmaker's cottage, signposted off the road near . At , just after the hydro-electric pipelines, park up for more loch views.

• Just beyond , at stop and try your hand at gold panning.

• After , the A82 heads out across , one of western Europe's largest remaining wilderness. Barren, spectacular landscapes!

• At the , head into the lounge and admire the view through the picture window - framed like a portrait is the view out to Buachaille Etive Mor, the great herdsman of Etive, an archetypal mountain.

• The road descends into . Admire the waterfalls at the Meeting of Three Waters. Admire the stone bridges on General Wade's military road. And more than all of these, admire the skyline above - a line of mountains to the left, and to the right the snaky spine of the Aonach Eagach ridge. Finally, at the bottom of the glen, stop and look out across the loch at mist-covered islets.

• From you can climb , the highest peak in the UK.

• Take the Road to the Isles, the A830, to the - an atmospheric spot at sunset. Optionally carry on to (interesting museum), view the , or visit the port at , with options to continue on ferries to the islands, including the .

• Backtrack to the A82 and take the A87 to . Cross the bridge to the for a tour of the island.

• Head north to and walk some of the fine mountain paths here.

• Head north via and , maybe stop off at Poolewe Gardens. This coast enjoys warms waters from the gulf stream, and on a sunny day the beaches seem tropical. Ullapool is a small pocket of civilisation in this wilderness.

• Keeping on northwards along the coast there's a spectacular landscape of mountains rising from a rumpled blanket of ground - evocative names like Suilven and Stac Polly. See bananas growing in northern Scotland at the Hydroponicum at .

• Return south and eastwards along the A835 toward the highland capital of Inverness. Perhaps stop in on the Victorian spa resort of for a break to enjoy the architecture.

• , on the Black Isle (so named for its peaty soil) offers excellent (and free) distillery tours.

• In , walk along the mighty river Ness, cross the pedestrian suspension bridges, stroll by the cathedral.

• Drive east along the A96 to visit Moray. The sheltered waters of the offer dolphin spotting boat trips, or visit the - an eco-community complete with houses built from recycled whisky barrels and a hobbit-hole meditation room built into the ground. At the market town of see the statue of the Wolf of Badenoch.

• Head south along the route of the River Spey into the depths of . Stop at for a drink in the hotel's whisky room, then on to for a free tour of the or the .

• Continuing south the placenames read like labels in a whisky cabinet - , , , .

• Down again from the hills and you're at near . Take a castle tour. Or time your visit right and visit the Braemar Highland Gathering in early September.

• Optionally, head down the Glen Muick road from and take a walk through the Balmoral Estate to the summit of . (Remember Prince Charles' book "The Old Man of Lochnagar"?) Anyway, this is a fine Munro to climb - much more rewarding than nasty old Ben Nevis. An easy ascent via estate track and good path leads you to a dip in the C-shaped summit ridge, giving fine views across the Grampians.

• Drive south through the pass, to .

• Optionally detour to (pronounced "Glaarms"), childhood home of the Queen Mother and a great castle to tour. Returning back onto the A93 you pass the , the tallest row of trees in Britain.

• From continue down the A9 to - turn off beforehand into and visit the , a grand memorial to William Wallace. (And learn how inaccurate Braveheart really was!)

• Visit , Scotland's capital. Take a walk up to view the city, see the around the (try the eerie pubs) and the just to the north of - together a World Heritage Site, or walk up - an extinct volcano and now a public park.

• Finally, an hour's drive back to , renowned as the second city of the British Empire, and use any spare time enjoying this city's architectural sights. See some Charles Rennie Mackintosh buildings - , , or the at are a good starting place. For some Victorian splendour visit the free museum at the at , or take in the free museums at .