The SR holiday edition

Our favourite places in Scotland

A selection by
SR readers and contributors

Anstruther
Ian Petrie
I am finding that retirement is the busiest and most fulfilling job of them all. This is probably, in large part, because I am living in my favourite part of Scotland, Islay McLeod's too I learned on Tuesday, the East Neuk of Fife, in her case, Low Largo. Excellent choice, I must say, but how about Anster, which is my favourite place and I say this with three chip shops at my shoulder!

Ardnamurchan
David Mackenzie
A rough thumb jerked into the Atlantic. Black moss and juniper in long oases-like cracks in the huge slabs that surround the green caldera of the ancient volcano. A million gardens in the moss leading to Sanna Point. That rich and populous world under the weed in McNeils' Bay, the hildebrandia, the coralline, the breadcrumb sponge. The still unrelieved sadness around empty Bourblaig and the strange silence of Camus na Geall. And the seascape, vast and enchanting. Still loved and lived in, with a new human richness and diversity, a land yearning for healing. My shadow.

Arran
Harry McAlister
I was born in Dumbarton and have special feelings for it I do not have for any other place on earth. However, my favourite place in Scotland is Arran. I went there as a boy, over several years, with my family. I did not realise until I returned 30 years later the depth of feeling I had built up for Arran, especially Kings Cross and Holy Isle. People who live on Arran are very lucky. Arran's small enough to get you away from it all, if that's your desire. It's big enough to provide everything you need.

Arran
Alison Prince
When away it's Scotland in general that I hanker for, but once back, the need spirals down to something more specific. I want the west, and the islands. I realise that I've been desperately homesick for Arran, with its blossomy abundance of trees and its hills that suddenly show you the lovely pattern of water lying beyond. Once off the CalMac ferry the spiral curls tighter. I want to see the burn at the bottom of the garden again, and the stone bridge. And my greenhouse, doggedly and abundantly verdant in the lovely, uncertain sun of Scotland.

Arran

Barra
Anonymous
Land of MacNeil, flower-spangled machar, turquoise ocean and silver ribbon sands shifting towards infinity. Blue midnight light, enveloping silence, brooding stones and wind-rippled lochs. Here were the herring fishers, mothers, fathers, children. School books abandoned, teacher drowned in sadness. Shell-packed beach, winged bird skims and lands, Calmac ferry. Mannerly boys whirl mothers in Highland reels. Bar door open, breath of warmth, murmur of voices. Hebrides, wind south or south-west 7 to severe gale 9, rough becoming very rough later. Rain and squally showers. Centuries collide. The MacNeil legacy, Barra's beginning and end.

Barra

Black Isle
Sheila Hetherington
To be anywhere at all in Scotland is a constant delight and privilege. It is difficult to define a favourite place. I think I must put the Black Isle at the top of my list. The name is at once intriguing, mysterious – and mistaken. It is neither an island, nor is it black. In springtime, the landscape is green, interspersed with miles of yellow whin. Soon the foam of elderflower and ripe rowan trees catch the eye, and in late July or early August, before the harvest, acres of ripening barley transform it into the Golden Isle. All this is set against a backcloth of the sea, which may at times be dark, windswept and menacing, or calm and cobalt blue. Far to the west are the enchanted mountains of Wester Ross, Sutherland hills to the north, grey Grampians to the south. There is always something on the horizon to soothe the eye and lift the spirit.

Castlebay
Rosemary Meechan
Castlebay on the island of Barra, standing with the whitewashed houses of the village at my back and looking out towards Kisimul Castle on its islet. Later on there will be the sound of Gaelic voices in the Co-op and the prospect of a few drams in the hotel. Bliss!

Castlebay, Barra

Crail
Alistair R Brownlie OBE
The crow-stepped village of Crail. My first visit was at four months, my latest at 84. I sailed my home-made yacht in the tidal boating pond at Roome Bay, swam there, bought ices from the hut by the beach, played golf at Sauchope and Balcomie, wandered among the ancient tombs in the church-yard. I can still smell the damp box-pews in the collegiate church and the tarred creels by the gull-screeching harbour. I hear the curfew from the old Dutch-style town hall, and the town crier proclaiming local events. My family have visited Crail for over 100 years. It is very close to heaven.

Crovie
Alan Fisher
For me, Scotland is too big a place, too packed with memories to narrow down to one favourite spot. I love the National Library in Edinburgh; Ayr beach still sparks a childhood tingle; Aberdeen and Inverness hold special places in my heart and my life. But if there was just one place, it would be Crovie on the Banffshire coast. A small village, a row of fishermen's cottages, on the edge of the North Sea – remote and scenic. A family holiday where there was no TV or video games but instead walking, talking, playing, imagination and a warm feeling to last a lifetime.

Edinburgh, home
Tessa Ransford OBE
Where I live is my favourite place. My top flat window looks south over Arthur's Seat, or ard shi, the high fairy place. Ruined St Anthony's chapel is at eye level. Trees cast slanting shadows in different directions morning and evening. Sunset lights up rock faces in rose-red. Birds fly on the breezes above the loch, swallows and swifts in summer. Children, dogs, people play, fly kites in the park. Winter snow etches glistening pathways up the hill. Autumn leaves glow. Spring cherry blossom contrasts with bright gorse. I can crane my neck to see the lights of Edinburgh.

Edzell, The Burn
Andrew Hook
My choice is The Burn located near Edzell in Angus: a beautifully elegant country house set in its own extensive grounds. Open to student reading-parties, faculty and administrators from the Scottish universities, it initially welcomed me as an Edinburgh undergraduate in 1952. I expect to be back once again this September. The secret of The Burn's appeal? This definitively civilised, classical mansion sits in a supremely romantic setting: the Cairngorms behind, the gorge of the North Esk salmon river on the edge of its grounds, red squirrels (if you're lucky) in its splendid trees.

Forvie National Nature Reserve
Douglas Marr
The Forvie National Nature Reserve is a hidden jewel, 16 miles north of Aberdeen. It combines the grandeur of Sahara-like dunes, magic carpets of wild flowers and an abundance of wild life including the country's largest population of eider ducks. It also has Hackley Bay – a sheltered, Greek-like cove. Bring your own ouzo and the sun soon shines! The downside is its proximity to the Menie estate currently being vandalised by Trump in his pointless pursuit of the 'world's greatest golf course'. Thankfully Forvie is in the stewardship of SNH and hopefully safe from predatory billionaires. Best of all Forvie is far from the madding crowd. Ssh – don't tell anyone. 

Hackley Bay, Forvie National Nature Reserve

Gigha
Catherine Czerkawska
My favourite place in the whole world is the Isle of Gigha, just off the Kintyre peninsula. I've been going there for years. Why do I love it so much? It's not just the beauty and the sense of peace. There's a certain numinous quality within the landscape that makes it an ongoing source of inspiration for me. I find myself writing about it time and time again, in my fiction and non-fiction. It is a truly enchanting place which, since the community buyout some years ago, has also become imbued with a wonderful sense of renewal and energy.

Glenelg to Skye ferry
Angus Skinner
For centuries this has been the most beautiful way to Skye. Crofters waded their sheep across; Johnson and Boswell probably kept dry on their crossing. Community owned – which speaks to its practical value – the crossing is short and romantic. Look around as you feel yourself leave the mainland. The bridge, for all its usefulness, can never give you that feeling. Misty? Then driving the climb after the ferry you won't notice the sheer drop on the side. Sunny? Spend a blissful hour at the top looking down at the dancing colours on the waters below.

Glen Lochay
Michael Elcock
Far into Glen Lochay an old single-tracked hydro road climbs the hill at the back of Creagh Cailleach. It's hard to find, and you're not supposed to take a car up it. The road ends at an old, fenced waterworks. If you follow timeworn sheep tracks up over the heather from there you will eventually come to a meeting of three burns and a gathering of rowan trees. There, in the sublime peace of the Scottish mountains, lie the ruins of three old shielings, surrounded by soft, green grasses that hold back the heather. There, you will hear the cuckoo in spring, skylarks in summer, the mewing of an eagle. It is as close to heaven as you can get on this earth.

Greenbank Estate, Glasgow
Gordon MacGregor
Much as I admire mountains and lochs, I love 'man-made' places, especially gardens. The Greenbank Estate – an 18th-century house and walled garden a few miles south of Glasgow – is my favourite. The gardens seem pocket-sized from the outside but inside you find a maze of changing themes which makes it appear larger than it really is: it seems to have all the classic elements of landscape in microcosm. I've been going there since I was a child so it always seems slightly out of time and immutable to me even though on every visit I notice subtle changes in the light, the smells and the colours. It's open to the public all year round and well worth a visit. 

Holy Isle
Marian Pallister
On one side, a dizzying cliff face. On the other, grassy slopes that level out to allow for beehive cells, the ruins of what could be the oldest chapel in Britain, and a lonely graveyard. Eileach an Naoimh (holy isle) is one of An Garbh Eileaichan, the 'rough islands', which sit north of Jura at the entrance to the Firth of Lorne. St Brendan is said to have founded the monastery there in 542AD. Columba dropped by later. Beauty, tranquillity, tangible Celtic spirituality – I was carried off on a stretcher once and would gladly go back in my wicker casket.

Iona
Maxwell Macleod
The isle of our dreams becomes real with the morning
The grey dawn moves on, new tomorrows are calling,
We smile as we wake, and sigh as the wind,
Sings the quiet song of Iona
 
And soft on the breeze we hear the gulls screaming
The sounds of the trees, swaying and moving
The waves on the beach as their notes as the tune
Sings the quiet song of Iona

Kilspindie golf course
Jill Stephenson
Kilspindie golf course on a sunny day. This is not a comment on my ability or otherwise at golf. It is because the view over Aberlady Bay, when the sea is a beautiful navy blue, is stunning. When the tide is out, the seals bask on the sandbanks and slither lazily across them. Suddenly, the long grass is disturbed by a hare scampering frenetically. The house martins swoop and wheel, and in the distance Arthur's Seat is a reminder that this is but a transient delight, and all the more precious for that.

Linlithgow Loch
Alan McIntyre
My favourite spot is sitting on the north side of Linlithgow Loch looking across the water to the palace, ideally with the haar just burning off on an early summer's morning. Linlithgow is a small town, but a royal burgh steeped in history, from its Mary Queen of Scots connections to its annual marches celebrations in June. It's certainly not unique, but it represents a lot of what ideally Scotland should be about: pride in education, a vibrant and diverse social community, an outstanding junior football team, great local food and some of the best pubs in Scotland!

Loch Coruisk
Alan Blackshaw CBE
To the east of the main Cuillin ridge lies the wonderfully remote Loch Coruisk, overhung by massive gabbro cliffs and normally accessible only by foot or boat. I first climbed there in 1950 but went again later to help show a group of Russian mountaineers some of the best of Scotland. It was not mentioned in the early crown charters to the MacLeods of Dunvegan, which is one of the reasons why they do not seem to have any title enabling them to sell the magical Black Cuillin, as they tried unsuccessfully to do some 10 years ago.

Melrose and others
R D Kernohan
You demand a place, but it varies with moods and seasons. Melrose on Sevens Day in April as you glance up at the Eildons in the pause after victory in extra time. The great sweeping views on a bright day from the Kintyre shore to Gigha and Jura. Arran as variable summer settles into ripeness of autumn. Edinburgh under snow, with the Pentlands as backdrop, but only if seen from a high window in a warm room. And dear Glasgow, city for all seasons, wherever I find a bit that seems unchanged from the days I loved and left it.

Glasgow

Menie dunes, Aberdeenshire
Debra Storr
Beautiful, wild, scientifically interesting. Words don't do them justice.

Menie dunes

New Lanark
Barbara Millar
It has an impressive setting – on the banks of a major river, close to spectacular falls. But the setting, to be honest, is the least of the reasons why this is my favourite place in Scotland. My reasons are all to do with a man – a social reformer way ahead of his 18th-century time, a philanthropist, a believer in education, decent housing and a reasonable life for working people. He was the founder of the cooperative movement, still with us today, and he proved that it was not necessary for an industrial enterprise to treat its workers badly in order to be profitable. The man: Robert Owen. The place: New Lanark. Every time I visit there – this perfectly preserved industrial site, recognised by UNESCO for its important heritage – I feel a connection, and a sense that this is a place that continues to be worth celebrating.

North Berwick
Sandy Ross
I love the Glen Golf Club, North Berwick. It sits on a cliff top, east of the town. Every hole has spectacular views of the Forth and the islands. Stevenson based 'Treasure Island' on Fidra to the west; east is the majestic Bass Rock, once a 17th-century prison, its current residents are thousands of gannets diving for fish just offshore. You can see hares, hawks, herons, weasels, seals and occasionally dolphins. The Paps of Fife shine in the distance. Surrounded by natural beauty and history you see the weather heading towards you. And then there is always the golf!

North Berwick

Pierowall
George Gunn
Below is my favourite place thing. It's in the form of a poem because
that's how I think:
A blue fishing boat in Pierowall
is called 'Amazon'
The boy on the bridge scratches his beer belly
listening to something on the radio
It was beautiful yesterday
the weather was also blue
today it was grey like time
when the tide comes in
& washes out again
Westray stays green amid its parks
& buttercups & sea
& is blue as ever
as if she is adrift
this fishing boat island of skies

Portencross
Anne Marie Mc Laughlin
My nomination is Portencross near West Kilbride.

Rumbling Bridge (perhaps)
Simon Fuller
Whilst not a personal suggestion of a location yet (I'll have to think a bit more about this), I thought it would be good to bring this website to the attention of the Scottish Review: http://www.nothingtoseehere.net/
     Called 'Nothing to See Here' it's, in fact, quite the opposite and has a strong contribution of interesting locations from Scotland (45 in all). Just last weekend I went to Rumbling Bridge in Fife – which I'd have easily driven past without noticing, had it not been for the article from this interesting site. I'm sure you’ll agree that the selections of locations included are very much the quirky and delightful kind of places that you're hoping to hear about.

Stonehaven
Rachel Shanks
The art deco Carron Restaurant, the beach, 100 beers at the Marine Hotel, the braes, chocolate or sweets from Giulianotti's, the Carron and the Cowie burns, Dunnottar Castle, Dunnottar Woods, fish and chips from the Bay or fish from the Creel, the folk festival in July, the golf course of course, the harbour for fishing or diving into or for watching boats, the Highland boundary fault which goes from here to Arran, ice cream from Aunt Betty's, the Mearns, the old red sandstone houses, the outdoor Olympic-sized heated swimming pool, the sea, the Tolbooth Museum, the war memorial overlooking it all.

The Mearns

Strathconon
Canon Kenyon Wright CBE
It must be Strathconon, reached from Muir of Ord and Marybank by a wonderful dead-end road past three lochs. We spent a month each year when I was at Coventry Cathedral, staying in The Bothy with Miss Urquhart, who baked delicious scones and had been cook to a series of the great, including the Queen Mum and Winston Churchill. Our three small daughters loved splashing in the river – until low-flying RAF jets sent them screaming! The deer came down each night to drink at the river. I treasure golden memories of one of Scotland's most beautiful glens.

University Cafe, Byres Road, Glasgow
Aedan Mcghie
Pizza supper, macaroni cheese, pokey hat (with monkey blood). Hasn't changed much in 30 years, probably hasn't changed a lot in 90 years.

All photographs by Islay McLeod except Hackley Bay which
is by Douglas Marr

SR returns on Tuesday 3 August