Andreina Cordani tries seafood out of a loch and avoids the hordes.

cc. Flickr.com / mike138

About two hours’ drive away from Glasgow, is the virtually uninhabited valley of Glencoe, where mountains soar into the sky as spring water pours down their sides. Deer roam the pastures, and you can even see the occasional eagle. For a quick weekend escape, there’s nothing better, and if you want to stay longer, there’s plenty more to discover. Travel in spring or Autumn and you’re taking a risk with the weather, but you’ll be avoiding the tourist hordes – and let’s face it, when it come to Scotland, you’re always taking a risk with the weather.

This is our must-list for the Glencoe area…

Walk the Hidden Valley
In previous centuries the Hidden Valley was used as a hideout for sheep rustlers or quarrelling clansmen, but now it’s one of the most popular walks in the area. Walk, clamber and occasionally bum-slide along the two-mile path through a beautiful forest, crossing a sparkling burn which looks clear enough to drink (although don’t!) until the valley finally opens out in front of you. Leave mid-morning and you’ll get there in time for lunch in the valley, before heading back.

Visit the Clachaig Inn
Want to drink whisky, listen to live music, chat up outdoorsy Scottish men and carouse until the early hours? The Clachaig is for you. It’s the best place to party for miles around and if you’ve been to the Hidden Valley that morning you’ll see all the people you met along the way in the bar that night. The Clachaig also offers simple but very welcome accommodation including deliciously hot showers. The food is simple and hearty, perfect after a hard day’s walking and there’s even a drying room for your soaking-wet walking gear. (clachaig.com)

Sandwiches at Crafts and Things
OK, when it comes to freshly-made lunches you’re not exactly spoilt for choice. It’s Crafts & Things or… well, Crafts & Things. Luckily their rolls and cakes are excellent, they make packed lunches to go or you can eat in, surrounded by books and various crafty-crystally type gifts.

Seafood feasts
If there’s one problem with Glencoe it’s that there aren’t enough good places to eat. Local eateries vary from the tartan-tablecloth-mixed-grill variety to the beautifully decorated places which garnish everything with ‘jus’ and charge a fortune. One exception is the Lochleven Seafood Cafe, which serves deliciously fresh, simple fish dishes straight from the loch.

Land Rover safari
The National Trust at Glencoe runs ‘safaris’ around its land from April to October. Incredibly enthusiastic guides drive you around, teach you to spot wild deer on the mountainside and give you a real insight into the landscape around you.

Get paddling
See nearby Loch Linnhe from different point of view by booking a kayaking session (we went with Rockhopper) Paddling silently along the flat water, we saw a seal pop its head out of the water and follow us. A perfect moment – and it’s great for the biceps, too. www.rockhopperscotland.co.uk

Photo Attribution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/72486075@N00/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

Edinburgh is like Christmas everyday. There’s the constant scent of malt (so deliciously reminiscent of gingerbread) and the whiskey to start with, and the excitement of August, when the Edinburgh Festival hits town, offering the chance to see any one of thousands of world class acts. It’s a perfectly compact city where you can glide through the mazes and nooks and crannies and walk almost anywhere. For reference, Edinburgh is to London as Boston is to New York. It is quite like London’s smaller, more genteel cousin. You might call it quaint – I would.

Even when the Festival has finished for the year, in this historic Aladdin’s cave you’ll never have a dull moment. Try a daytime visit to the spectacular castle, where the steep, cobblestone streets wind their way upwards towards ancient stone buildings.

At night, haunting lights and shadows dance over the medieval stone castle. Take in the cathedrals, the infamous Royal Mile and the original Hogwarts. Brave the ghost walks if you dare, complete with their authentic and fictionalized stories about the spine-chilling poltergeists, witch burnings, cemeteries and the hell that fell upon the prisoners of old.

Along with all this history,  Edinburgh also has the New Town – a buzzy, cosmopolitan shopping area, diverse enough to fulfill every retail therapy fantasy.

If you hate touristy places, you’ll love Edinburgh. It’s stunningly beautiful, magical, and I’ve never seen anything quite like it. It’s worth going just to see the castle. And you’ll never get bored with the array of restaurants and bars and beautiful green places .  If you want pure glamour and decadence on your trip, consider The Witchery Restaurant, right by the Castle, a place where you are as likely to rub shoulders with JK Rowling or Catherine Zeta Jones – as any of the ghosts of Edinburgh.  For more information visit www.thewitchery.com/celeb.html

Fans of the film, or the book, should go to the real-life locations haunted by Irvine Welsh’s heroes Sick Boy, Renton and the rest. Tim Bell is your guide. For more, visit leithwalks.

Every image you have in your mind of Northern Scotland is probably true. I experienced it all last summer, when I stayed with a schoolfriend in Ineverness: kilts, bagpipes, haggis and grouse shoots.

I was imagining luxury in the extreme that weekend, as I was staying in a cottage owned by Mohamed Al Fayed. Oh, how wrong I was. The cottage itself was comfortable enough, but everything else was severe. Cold swims were just one of the features on the menu.

The minute I arrived in Inverness I was taken to a reeling (Scottish dancing) practice. There were about fifty people of all ages in the hall but only three of us who didn’t know how to reel, and it was immediately obvious.

As everyone else paired off into couples I found myself without a partner; not only did I not know how to reel, I didn’t know anyone else in the room. I then had twenty grandmas descending on me, all trying to find me a willing partner who would teach me

how to dance. Of course I ended up with the five foot thirteen-year-old.

Having had my right foot trodden ad absurdum, I was glad when the next reel began and I found myself being thrown about by a 6′5″ Caledonian, fully kilted-out with his sporran (pouch) and sgian dubh (funny little knife worn in the top of the sock).

Reeling with him was much easier as he just whirled me about – no thinking on my part was involved.

The names of the dances are great – The Duke of Perth, The Reel of the 51^st and Strip the Willow. I think my favourite had to be The Dashing White Sergeant, though. You get two boys for that one!

I thought the reeling had been terrifying enough, but the next day I was dumped with ten of my friends to swim in a freezing cold river. In Inverness this is considered a holiday trea, but even the salmon were trying to jump out, the water was so cold.

This was followed by a grouse shoot. I can’t shoot so I just walked along with the party. I had no idea what I had let myself in for. All the men were of course in kilts. I was starting to realise by now that the kilt is in fact the standard item of clothing for men in Inverness. We were expected to walk all the way up the grouse moor, and all the way back down.

I only made it one way – give up your yoga or your daily jog – walking up a hill of heather is far better exercise. Because I couldn’t shoot I was one of the beaters. We were accompanied by six family dogs. Apparently they’d been bred for this sport but it wasn’t apparent to me. As far as I could tell my job as beater was to be yelled at by anyone holding a gun/wearing a kilt.

After three hours of watching the 30 guns we managed to kill a grand total of three grouse. Apparently that’s normal. Applaudable in fact.

After all this, we were expected to reel again. The energy of the Scots is remarkable -. I was ready for nice lie-down. As I began to pick up the steps of the dances, though, I began to appreciate being swung around by strapping young men with bare knees.

Things were looking up. After a week of this I started to think maybe Inverness wasn’t so bad after all. Despite being 5° colder than the rest of the UK and lacking modern comforts, there are a lot of gorgeous boys up there who knew how to look good in a skirt.

Children have their own playground behind The Ferryhill House Hotel – and the beer garden is vast. Lots of whisky for the grown-ups and if you want to stay, there are rooms starting from around 70 pounds. For more information visit ferryhillhousehotel.

Supergrass are fans of the gooey marshmallow biscuits known as Tunnocks Teacakes, and in fact toured this very factory (where you can tour too). Uddingston, near Glasgow, is well worth a trip if you fancy something un-touristy to do. For more information ring 01698 813 551.