The Falls of Foyers are a mustsee on any visit to Loch Ness. Robert Burns, visiting the area on the then newly built military Wade road, called the Falls a “horrid cauldron”.

The 17 miles between the Ayrshire towns of Troon and Ardrossan are what simple, stress-free coastal walking should be all about.

Glasgow and Edinburgh may get more visitors, but it’s Stirling that can arguably claim Scotland’s greatest historical monuments within its confines and I am not just talking about Stirling Castle and the Wallace Monument.

Some of Scotland’s finest hills and mountains lie south of the Highland Boundary fault line, with the Borders home to some excellent walking.

To step on to Kerrera is to step back in time. A two-minute ferry journey across the Sound of Kerrera transports you into a tranquil, bygone world. Unless you’re a resident, no vehicles can be brought on to the island and so a peaceful, fume-free and beautiful walk is guaranteed.

The Ring of Steall, above Glen Nevis, is a classic mountain day- trek, taking in seven mountains over 914m/3,000ft – four of them Munros (An Gearanach, Stob Choire a’ Chàirn, Am Bodach and Sgùrr a’ Mhàim).

The Pentland Hills run southwest for some 32km/20 miles from the outskirts of edinburgh towards the Scottish Borders, and provide some remarkable walking and great wildlife – as well as exquisite views over the city.

St Abbs Head, which lies along the magnificent Berwickshire Coast, is renowned for its dramatic coastal scenery. The sheer cliffs, offshore stacks and narrow gullies are home to the largest colony of cliff-nesting seabirds on the south-east coast of Scotland, including kittiwakes, guillemots, razorbills, shags, herring gulls, fulmars and puffins.

There is something special about combining island walking with climbing mountains. Goat Fell is the obvious mountain to climb when on Arran, but Cir Mhor and Caisteal Abhail also provide a wonderful walk with astounding views of Scotland’s celebrated west coast.

The island of Lewis is the northernmost, largest and lowest lying of the Outer Hebrides. It is characterised by peat moorland and freshwater lochs, where starlings and black-headed gulls skim over the still waters. Gaelic is widely spoken and, along with strict Sunday observance, makes Lewis a real, living, island. There are few second homes and tourism, as a source of income, is behind tweed weaving, crofting and fish farming…