Sleep in the trees
It’s not necessary to jet off to the Amazon or Tanzania to fulfil that childhood dream and sleep among the branches. There are treehouses, for rent, in Scotland, from the Brockloch treehouse in Dumfries and Galloway to Ackergill Tower, in Wick, the Lodge at Loch Coil (which serves as a wedding venue) to the Tree House in Appin.
Go Bothy
Up until lately it’s seemed as if bothies are really the preserve of those who know, who have access to the secrets of where the good ones are. But now, with the advent of online reviews, and the newly published, and beautifully photographically-illustrated, Geoff Allan's Scottish Bothy Bible, a comprehensive guide to all of Scotland’s bothies, it’s possible to browse the world of bothies and taken an informed punt.
Boclair House
Stay in the refurbished Bearsden Tudor Gothic mansion that has been scooping up awards for everything from best boutique hotel to “best new venue”.
The Ness Dig
Hailed, controversially, as “Britain’s Ancient Capital”, by the BBC's Neil Oliver, the Ness of Brodgar, and the excavation at the site, is changing the way we think about Neolithic man. Digging recommences in July, and, once more, the site will be open to the public to watch the diggers.
Stop off in Shetland on the Gin Trail
The ever-expanding gin trail can take you all across Scotland, from the Isle of Jura to Dunnet Bay and on, up to the most northerly end of our most northerly island, Unst, where Shetland Reel is produced. Here, where you can stay at Saxa Voord’s former RAF accommodation, however, it’s not all “mother’s ruin” – there’s the walking and the whales, seals, otters and other wildlife.
Walk the Hebridean way
Be among the first to walk this newly-opened 156-mile way from Vatersay to the Butt of Lewis. Along the way, hikers take in 10 islands, six causeways and two ferry crossings. Or, for those with less time to spare, there’s always the 185-mile Hebridean cycle route which opened last year.
Visit Laggan and ride the zip
If an ingenious outdoor physical activity can be dreamt up, it seems you can do it at Laggan. This is the award-winning outdoor activity centre that in 2015 brought us the “human slingshot”, and now provides a wide range of quirky quests from waterballing (rolling down a hill in a ball full of water) and grass sledging to one of the longest zip wires in Europe. While there, visitors can stay in their comfortable “sea snug” accommodation.
Comrie Croft
This eco-campsite and farmstead hostel has to be the dream holiday spot for mountain bikers, home as it is to the UK Trail and Bike Park of the Year, and in June, Scotland’s annual mountain bike festival. But there’s far more than cycling to this site – Nordic kata tents, a tea garden, walking trails, permaculture courses. It was even ranked as one of the world’s top 100 green destinations by Travel Mole.
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