Corrieshalloch Gorge, Wester Ross

Here's one to test your head for heights. Stand on the Victorian suspension bridge over the tree-lined gorge, where the River Droma drops and feel the awe. Corrieshalloch means "ugly hollow", but what you are gazing into is a chasm of astounding beauty. Just south of Ullapool, the Droma drops 100 metres in just 1.25 km through a series of falls, including the mighty Falls of Measach.

Rumbling Bridge, Kinross

The countryside around might be gentle, but the box canyon at Rumbling Bridge is full of mossy drama. Here, the River Devon takes a sudden drop through lush scenery, flanked by rocks and greenery. Stand on one of the many viewing platforms on its west bank for the best of views.

Pass of Killiecrankie

The footbridge over the River Garry is the place to see the wooded gorge of the Pass of Killiecrankie, once the main route between the Highlands and the Lowlands, and imagine the events of the historical battle. Built in the 1960s, on the foundations of an old bridge constructed there in the early 1700s.

Finnich Glen

It's no wonder this beautiful moss-covered gorge, through which flows a rust-red river – not all that very far from Glasgow – was used as a a location for Outlander. It is a place of sheer magic. At its heart is a rock formation called the Devil's Pulpit, where it's sometimes said the devil addresses his followers. Visitors descend into the glen through a 200-year-old, challenging and slippery staircase. Take wet shoes or wellies if you want to explore properly and get to the pulpit itself.

Lealt falls

There's a viewing point at the top of these falls on the east coast of Skye, but nimble-footed will want to do more than peer down. The ideal way to view this fall is on a walk in, after a descent of the steep path leading 90 metres down to the gorge. This is also the spot to go in summer if you're a wild swimmer in search of a dip, as I found out when I was researching my swimming book Taking The Plunge. Forget the Fairy Pools and feel the force of Lealt.

Linn of Dee

Since Victorian times this waterfall, where the River Dee gushes through a narrow cleft in the rocks, has been a popular spot. The nearby bridge was built in 1857 and was opened by Queen Victoria, who, with a whisky, toasted "prosperity to the bridge".

Reekie Linn, Perthshire

Two falls on the River Isla which, when it is in full spate, merge to form one. So great can be the mist of spray it kicks up that it was named Reekie. At the bottom of the falls is a dark cave called the Black Dub where, according to legend, an outlaw hid from the law until the devil appeared before him as a huge black dog. The man was so petrified, he turned himself in the following day. But it's not just the waters that are impressive, it's also the deep, vertiginous cleft of the gorge, with its lush surrounding woodland.

Nevis Gorge

The walk-in is stunning, through huge majestic mountains, but it's what you see at your destination, Scotland's second highest waterfall, that really makes this place. The Steall Waterfall is a stunning single drop of 120 metres, tumbling from the hanging valley of Coire A'Mhail. Like a tail of white hair, it seems to fall in wild tangles across the rocks.

Black Rock Gorge, Easter Ross

Fans of the Harry Potter films might recognise this dramatic box canyon from the Goblet Of Fire. To add to its mystery and magic, the 40-metre gorge is also the subject of a local myth, involving a local noblewoman who, so the story goes, was lured to its depths by a strange man, thought to be the Devil. It's said that the cries her ghost utters can be heard from the top of the falls.

Linn of Tummel

The big thrill of this gorge is the series of pools and waterfalls at the junction of the River Tummel and River Garry. This is the spot, in season, to come for some salmon spotting, as the waters form a natural ladder, but there's also an artificial ladder, constructed in Edwardian times.