Day 6: Inverness – Stirling

Bluebell pictured outside Stirling Castle

When you're driving a vintage VW strange things happen on the road.

Random strangers take pictures of you at traffic lights, people gather and point at petrol stations while fellow VW drivers welcome you into their club with open arms.

Every time a campervan of similar ilk passes, the chances are its driver will flash his van's lights and impart a friendly wave.

Both my partner and I are now quite adept at driving Bluebell .

It really is driving stripped to its core and as such puts the fun and challenge back into driving.

Every steep corner calls for a degree of skill and gear changes require a level of care and attention.

Our improving driving skills came in handy for our longest straight drive so far – the 155 mile trip from Inverness to Stirling.

On arrival, we headed straight for Stirling Castle for a pleasant couple of hours meandering about the place.

It's a joy just to spend an afternoon soaking in its rich history.

We tagged onto a tour as well and learned that James V once kept lions and that the 1745 attack by Jacobite forces was the last attack to be carried out on a castle in the British Isles.

We stopped off at the site of the Bannockburn battlefield before taking in the delights of Stirling's nightlife and settling down for the night.

Day 5 - Skye to Inverness

Weather: Sunshine with showers

Midgies: Brutal

Sight of the day: Eileen Donan Castle

Eileen Donan castle

The tour guide of Eileen Donan Castle held up two giant cannon balls.

These, she told us, where dug out of the castle's walls when it was rebuilt between 1919 and 1932.

Following the failed Jacobite uprising of 1745, Hanoverian naval forces lambasted the castle until the few remaining Spanish soldiers surrendered.

Gun powder stock-piled by the Spanish garrison, aligned to the Stuart cause, was used to explode its walls and defences.

After the attack it lay in ruin for close to 200 years until it was restored by the McRae family.

One of the benefits of travelling in a campervan is the freedom it offers.

So having visited one Scottish icon we headed across country to another – Loch Ness.

We drove around its banks, stopping to marvel at the views and hoping for a glimpse of the Loch Ness monster.

The Nessie phenomenon is a curious one and the Loch Ness visitor centre does an excellent job of unravelling the legend.

Did you know that the famous long-necked image of Nessie, taken in 1934, is a hoax or that migrating Atlantic Sturgeon could account for some of the most convincing sightings?

We then headed to Inverness to set up camp where our luck with the Midgies appeared to have expired.

Not even the 'full metal jacket' protection we had purchased was going to keep a Midgie population, buoyed by the recent warm damp weather, at bay.

Day 4: Mallaig to Skye

Weather: Showers

Midgie count: Alright

Sight of the day: Skye

There are some places in Scotland that could qualify for 'end of the earth' status and Mallaig is a definite candidate.

Its dead end roads are capped with steep cliffs overlooking the Atlantic and it's the last stop on the West Highland rail line.

Fall asleep after one too many on the train from Fort William and this is where you're likely to end up.

Mallaig is a quaint fishing village with a bustling port.

We loaded Bluebell onto the early morning ferry for the pleasant 30 minute crossing to Armadale.

We arrived in Skye and made a bee-line the remote Talisker distillery in Carbost.

Distillery tours are often criticised for being too alike but you can see efforts have been made here to create a tour with a difference.

A nice touch is letting you touch and smell the grain before and after it's been dried over peat fires to help you gain an understanding of how Talisker gains its unique peaty flavour.

The distillery's imposing copper stills are also an impressive sight.

Even more so when you consider they had to be hammered back into their original shape following a fire which destroyed the distillery in 1960.

We drove around the island for the remainder at the day simply marvelling at the rough volcanic nature of the place before setting up camp, firing up the gas stove and enjoying the spell of sun that had crept in at the end of the day.

Day Three: Glen Coe to Morar

Weather: Dry with showers

Midgies: Negligible

Sight of the day: Glen Coe

Bluebell with Glen Coe in the background at sunset

A glance in Bluebell's rear-view mirror after leaving our campsite in Inver Coe revealed an irate chap who overtook and intercepted us at the next turn.

After pulling over, we were greeted by the manger of the establishment we had just departed who was convinced we had done a runner without paying.

After a bout of verbal jousting, we finally convinced him that we had in fact paid, apologies were made and we were soon on our way.

First stop of the day was in the former aluminium smelting town of Kinlochleven.

A pleasant walk through woodland brought us to Grey Mare's Tail waterfall, which is a spectacular sight and well worth the 15 minute stroll from the town centre.

A trip to the Japanese-owned Ben Nevis Distillery in Fort William followed.

The tour was, in all honesty, a bit stale and lacked the spark and interaction of those on offer at other Scotch whisky distilleries.

We headed up to the Nevis Range ski area next and took a gondola up Aonoch Mor, marvelling at the death-wish mountain bike riders below.

The view at the top did impress but whether or not it's worth the 10.50 return ticket is debatable.

Next up was the Glenfinnan Monument which stands erected in tribute to the clansmen who fought and died in the 1745 Jacobite rebellion.

The monument is situated close to where Bonnie Price Charlie raised his standard shortly before the ill-fated campaign that would end in defeat at Culloden 14 months later.

You can climb up its winding staircase and squeeze through a narrow hatch at the top to get an excellent view of the stunning Loch Shiel and the Glenfinnan Viaduct – of Harry Potter fame.

After putting in a fair few miles in Bluebell we decided it was time to call it a day and head for the white sands of Morar Beach to set up camp.

Day Two: Loch Lomond to Glen Coe

Weather: Dry

Midgies: Negligible

Sight of the day: The view of Oban from Dunollie Castle

Waking up and looking out over the banks of Loch Lomond to a fine layer of mist was a surreal sight and put us firmly is the mood for our travails further north.

The road to Oban is guarded by rough and rugged terrain which intensifies as you continue your journey.

The scenery, which includes mist-topped mountains and winding coastal roads, was tempered somewhat by four youths at the roadside each with a fondness for Buckfast wine.

The town centre of Oban doesn't immediately inspire but a wider glance at its surroundings makes you realise that the town does sit in a rather special spot.

We spent our afternoon taking in the informative War and Peace Museum which details Oban's vital role in WW2 before clambering up to the Victorian folly that is McCaig's Tower to enjoy a spectacular view over the bay area.

A one-mile drive north of Oban brought us to the ruin of Dunollie Castle, former home to the MacDougalls of Lorn in the 13th century.

The clamber up the steep mud path was definitely worth the effort.

These are the kind of places that are a thrill to visit - rough and ready and not a visitor leaflet in sight.

After negotiating the stone staircase inside the castle I was soon marvelling at the crumbling innards of the castle. If these walls could talk what a story they would have to tell.

From Oban we drove on to Glen Coe and parked our campervan Bluebell up for the night overlooking the peaceful waters of Loch Leven.

* The campervan for our trip has been kindly provided by Classic Camper Holidays in Selkirk.

Day one: Selkirk – Loch Lomond

Weather: Sunny turning to dreich

Midgie count: Low

Sight of the day: Two semi-naked bald men jumping into Loch Lomond

The view from our Loch Lomond campsite

Day one of our trip around Scotland began with promise.

The sun was shining and the dark grey skies which have lingered above us for the past week appeared to have dissipated.

We set off with optimism, convinced that we were about to enjoy that rare beast – a sun-drenched Scottish holiday.

We were introduced to our campervan 'Bluebell' by the lovely people at Classic Camper Holidays in Selkirk.

Bluebell will be our ride for the next seven days and despite being close to 40 she looks good for her age.

After a thorough introduction to the ins and outs of our new vehicle we were quickly on our way, snaking through tranquil Borders countryside before hitting the horror that is the Edinburgh by-pass and M8.

With a 1.6 engine, Bluebell isn't the fastest machine you'll ever drive but she's a trier.

After much-coaxing, we managed to get her up to the very respectable speed of 65 mph.

Despite the initial jitters that came with driving Bluebell – she has no power steering and a rather large backside – it soon became a pleasure to work that large steering wheel and she seems to just float along the road.

She also attracted several admiring glances from motoring enthusiasts and the general public alike.

Some cultured teenage Glaswegians in a circa-1995 Honda Civic definitely fancied their chances at a traffic lights in Linwood.

As we approached the Erskine Bridge and the 'Gateway to the Highlands', dark clouds began to gather and the rain slowly began to fall.

It wasn't long however until the silvery-blue water of Loch Lomond came into view.

It truly is a sight to behold and unnerving to think that it is less than an hour's drive from Glasgow.

We stopped at a water-centre along the way to take in what was around, only to be greeted by two middle-aged men who ran along the jetty in their boxers before pirouetting into the water.

Our campsite for the night sits right on the banks of Loch Lomond and remains not too bad a place to spend the evening despite the torrential downpour of rain occurring outside.

Oban awaits tomorrow.