Loch Lomond

A full day out of the city with a private guide and a separate driver, with pick-up in Glasgow or Edinburgh. It begins in Glasgow, where grand Victorian architecture and lively streets show the city's confidence at every turn, from the magnificent City Chambers to the bustle of Buchanan Street and the charm of Merchant Square.

Leaving the city behind, the road runs to the loch and the storybook conservation village of Luss, with its slate cottages, cobbled lanes and shoreline. Here your guide brings in the Gaelic folklore of the area before the day's true highlight: Loch Lomond itself, a sweep of glittering water and peaks where the Highlands meet the Lowlands.

That meeting is quite literal. The Highland Boundary Fault runs straight through the water, which is why the scenery changes so abruptly, and seeing it with someone who can explain it makes the whole landscape read differently.