ON TOP OF THE WORLD

Journeying north through Western Scotland from the Trossachs to Durness, Caroline Mills finds majestic landscapes and towering peaks

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There are some places that feel larger than life. Landscapes so large, they change perspective and perception. The Assynt, in northwest Scotland, is one of those landscapes. So, too, other parts of Wester Ross, where loch after loch, whether sea or inland, make human life feel ever so small.

Further south, Glen Coe whose towering sides rise to leave walkers looking like Lilliputian figures along the valley floor. And Rannoch Moor; a landscape so big, it’s all-consuming for the human eye to take in.

It was these larger-than-life characters, and other landscapes, that kept me spellbound on a journey through Scotland, travelling north to reach the top of world. Or so it felt. In doing so, I chose, deliberately, to stay at an assortment of overnight locations, from standard Club sites (with far from ordinary vistas) to private campsites and aires, and alternative dedicated motorhome stopovers. It proved to be quite a journey full of discovery and adventure.

The Trossachs

My slow tour began with rediscovering The Trossachs, an area of wooded hills and lochs to the east of Loch Lomond. But not before an en route overnight stop in Moffat, where I chose to stay at a private aire.