Here are some great places we’ve discovered in our travels this year which deserve an extra special mention. They have all proven to be very popular with our staff and customers, and represent everything which is great about Scotland.

Restaurants

The Seafood Temple, Oban. Simple, fresh, affordable seafood. Cooked to perfection, with great service.

The Three Chimneys, Skye. The food is exquisite, and well worth the journey!

The Fisherman’s Inn, Pitlochry. Fabulous food, great location and fabulous service.

Tearooms and Snacks

The Glenlyon tearoom, Bridge of Balgy. Great food, great tea, and great service with a smile.

The Seafood Shack, Oban.  Great seafood, fresh from the sea, simply cooked to perfection. Fun and affordable.

The Loch Fyne Oyster Bar Garden Centre Cafe. Fabulous coffee, cakes and filled rolls.

Kilmartin House Museum Café. Great, unusual food, reasonably priced.

B & Bs and Guest Houses

The Alamo, Glasgow. Voted Best Accommodation Provider by TripAdviser. Great location and value for money.

Lyrabus, Islay. Peaceful, with lovely views and fabulous rooms.

Hawthorn Bank, Oban. Tastefully decorated, and run by a lovely couple. They make it look easy!

Bunillidh, Inverness. Quiet, peaceful and run by Kevin and Dawn, who were born for the job!

Kilvarock Castle. B&B in a genuine Scottish castle!

Hotels

The Caledonian, Fort Augustus. Great food, great location, great bar, value for money and run by a lovely couple.

Viewfield House, Portree. A genuine Laird’s house, which is straight from a movie set.

Loch Torridon Country House Hotel. The setting is spectacular, and the level of service is second to none.

The Old Waverley, Princes Street, Edinburgh. Value for money in the heart of Edinburgh, with friendly staff!

The Ardonaig, Loch Tay. Everything is perfect, but the standard of food and wine is spectacular.

The Pierhouse Hotel, Port Appin. The most peaceful hotel in Scotland, with fabulous views and great food.

The Kinloch, Blairgowrie. A touch of luxury which surpasses everyone’s expectations.

Pubs

Hootananny, Inverness. It has it all; great contemporary traditional music, great beer, and fabulous Thai food.

The Lade Inn, Kilmahog. Real Ales, and a fabulous menu, as well as friendly staff and a Real Ale Shop! Great for lunch also.

The Moulin Inn. Real Ales, a great selection of whisky, and fabulous pub food.

The Drovers’ Inn, Inverarnan. Dates from 1705, and is more like a museum than a pub. The staff all wear kilts, the fire’s always roaring, and the food is fantastic.

Fish and Chip Shops

The Anstruther Fish and Chip shop. It’s won more awards than Katharine Hepburn, all richly deserved.

Museums

The Loch Tay Crannog Centre. A reconstructed iron age dwelling, with great tours and lots for the children to do.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery. It is a fabulous building on the edge of a beautiful park, and houses Glasgow City’s art collection, with no admission fee. Great for a rainy day.

Kilmartin House Museum. It’s fun, informative, and very unusual, concentrating on neolithic Scotland.

Hostels

Carbisdale Castle. It may take ages to get to but is simply the most stunning hostel ever!

Castles

Stirling Castle. The location is breath-taking, and it’s the ideal size for a castle; neither too big nor too small. Nowhere near as crowded as Edinburgh or Urquhart Castles.

Craigmillar Castle, Edinburgh. Has almost as much history as Edinburgh Castle (which can be seen from Craigmillar’s walls), but NO CROWDS!

Finlarig Castle, Killin. The only castle in Scotland known to still have a beheading pit! Creepy!

Glamis Castle, Angus. The most haunted Castle in Scotland. Beautiful gardens, and a great tour.

Eilean Donan Castle, Loch Alsh. The epitome of a Scottish Castle.

Churches

Rosslyn Chapel. Even without The Da Vinci Code, it would still be worth a visit. It has more secrets than J Edgar Hoover!

St Conan’s Kirk, Loch Awe. It has so much architecture crammed into a small building, and fabulous views. Look for the waterspouts shaped as rabbits!

Shops

The Loch Fyne Whisky Shop, Inveraray. The staff are fabulous, and will work with you to buy the perfect whisky gift.

The House of Bruar, near Pitlochry. A shopping mall in the middle of nowhere, stuffed full of the very best of Scotland’s produce. The café is also excellent for lunch.

The Achnasheen Jewellery Studio. Reasonably priced designer jewellery, and a great café.

Views

Scott’s View, near St Boswell’s - stunning

The Cairn O’ Mount, Aberdeenshire - stunning

The Loch Tulla View - stunning

The Castle Stalker View - stunning

The Loch Carron View at Stromeferry - stunning

The top of The Pass of the Cattle, near Applecross - stunning

Upper Loch Torridon from Annat - stunning

The top of  the Cairngorm Railway - stunning

Kyle of Tongue - stunning

The Coullins from Elgol - stunning

The David Marshall Lodge, near Aberfoyle - stunning