If there is one guide you can count on to inspire you to get out and discover (or rediscover) all that Scotland has to offer, it is Peter Irvine’s Scotland The Best series. Irvine’s newest edition, in collaboration with several photographers, is Scotland The Best – The Islands. Ask at the Whisky Museum about the Malt Whisky Trail, a self-guided tour around the local distilleries. If you just have time for one, the Balvenie Distillery is a good bet, as it still uses a traditional malting floor – the smell is glorious! Fyne Ales has a strong environmental ethos. As Smith explains: "The envi­ronment, the land, the estate, is really important to us. Whatever activities we do, we always try to keep it neutral, either not taking from the land and if we can, trying to enhance it. All our brewing water is rainwater that collects on the hills." Spent grain is fed to the estate's herds of red deer and highland cattle. Equally popular with Scots and tourists, this is the biggest version yet of the book that helps you decide how best to enjoy Scotland. Food & Drink:Seek shelter at The Brig & Barrel . You’ll be served with a warm and exceptional service with delicious hearty pub fare. The pub is dog-friendly too so make sure to bring your beloved pooch along.

Planning tip: Come prepared for changeable weather though – when it’s fine, it’s very fine indeed, but all too often it isn’t. 4. Loch Lomond is the perfect day trip on the west coast Best place for a lakeside walkFood & Drink: Stop by Victoria's Vintage Tea Roomsfor tea and cake. Indulge in delicious chocolate brownies, freshly made scones and Victoria sponge, using only the best ingredients.

Queen Victoria fell in love with this area, and perhaps you will too? Situated on the eastern edge of the Cairngorms National Park, between the pretty towns of Banchory and Braemar and following the River Dee, it's a beautiful part of the country well worth exploring. Hillwalking is a big draw with easy access to the Cairngorms, but there's plenty at a lower level too - explore Linn O'Dee in the Mar Lodge Estate (near Braemar) for well-marked trails or wander among the Scots Pine trees and spot red squirrels at Glen Tanar National Nature Reserve near Aboyne. It’s not only the big islands that are covered. Wee isles like Easdale (which once supplied the world its slate) appears to maintain a precarious truce with the sea, judging from the epic drone picture by Iain Masterton. Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.Local tip: Shetland is one of the best places in the UK to spot orcas (and the Northern Lights). 13. Follow the River Spey on a Speyside whisky tour Best place for whisky tasting With a coastal outlook and train connections to Edinburgh, you can enjoy this seaside town and hop on the train to the capital too. Things to do:Visit Balmoral Castle, the Scottish residence of the British Royal family. From April until August, the grounds, gardens and exhibitions are open to the public. A trip to Scotland wouldn’t be complete without some whisky tasting. Enjoy a distillery tour at Royal Lochnagar Distillerywhere you’ll learn the history behind one of Scotland’s most exclusive whiskies. A ferry from Wemyss Bay delivers you to the Art Deco seaside resort of Rothesay with its kitsch ice cream parlours, palm trees and promenade. Bute is a small island in the Firth of Clyde full of character and dotted with heather-clad moorlands, beaches, and coves. It has reinvented itself as a popular location for outdoor holidays, offering hiking, cycling, and fishing spots. Hill walking is a popular pastime on the island, and one glance can tell you why. “Just look at those jaggedy mountains!”, Billy Connolly exclaimed from the ferry when approaching Arran on his World Tour of Scotland. When you get closer you realise the landscape flows around a succession of hills – four of them qualify as Corbetts, peaks over 2500 feet but less than 3000 feet.

The Kintyre Peninsula is home to a long stretch of deserted coastline, perfect for an escape from reality. Things to do:The new driving route, The Coig , is made up of five unique routes stretching from Ayrshire, Arran and Cumbrae to Inverclyde, Renfrewshire andBute. Peter Irvine is a director of two of the leading-edge events companies in Scotland who produce most of the major public events in Glasgow and Edinburgh, including the annual Glasgow Art Fair and Edinburgh's Hogmanay, which is now the biggest New Year festival in the world.In 2000 Peter Irvine was given the Thistle award for his personal contribution to tourism in Scotland and in 2002 gained another Thistle award for the Glasgow Art Fair.