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SCOTLAND
Leave the world behind as you tour through the Scottish highlands. Words and photos by Mohana Prabhakar

The state of mind that prompts you to grin meaninglessly and often and generally feel that all is well with the universe only kicked in as we sat at Euston Station in London with our drinks, Pringles and two pre-booked tickets to Edinburgh on FirstScot Rail's Caledonian Sleeper. We were on our way to a much anticipated pre-summer holiday in the highlands of Scotland via Edinburgh.

My dream destination for almost two decades now, it all began with a film. It was a silly supernatural love story but set against dark swirling silvery waters reflecting the hues of the cloudy skies, the rain on the vast moors and glens, bright white walls of beautiful little houses with a roaring sea as a foreground, soft, lush greens against backdrops that could go from brilliant sapphire to dull cobalt in a matter of minutes – I could go on. As the years went by, later films and books only further enhanced this image of Scotland. So here we were, waiting to embark on a journey, that my partner had planned by spending numerous nights in front of the computer. It wasn't easy deciding where to go as this is a vast, diverse country and be it the west, the north, the islands, the highlands – everything was described in superlatives and looked good on the website. There were three must-haves. There must be a scenic train ride, must explore smaller towns rather than big cities and must see Loch Ness. The last one was really more indicative of the fact that Nessie had been marketed well across the world.

The journey from London to Edinburgh was very pleasant as we settled into our little spotlessly clean cabin with comfortable beds, basic toiletries and a very pleasant attendant who would double up as our wake-up call (with a cup of tea and a muffin) in the morning. There was a definite chill in the air at Edinburgh's Waverly Station at seven in the morning, but the crisp, clear kind that makes you feel you could trek to the other end of town. We didn't of course, and a quick five minute cab ride took us to our hotel, but not before we had glimpsed Edinburgh Castle. It demands your attention as soon as you step out, looming over the city since ancient times, overseeing the fates and fortunes of its subjects. The oldest parts of the castle dates back to the Normans.

One of the best things about Scotland is that the country is so geared for tourism (in the most pleasant way possible), that you can actually find a million different things to do just by reading the huge folder of pamphlets in your hotel room. The morning was spent walking around the city along Princes Street, and though the sun was out, the air was still cold. Lovely little cafés, grand old pubs, trendy restaurants, you could find it all around this area. If you just wanted to lie back on the (surprisingly dry) grass with the sun warming you, just cross the road to Princes Street Gardens, a beautifully sculpted park, at this time of May filled with the promise of summer. And above, the grim dark walls of the Royal Mile, our destination for the night for one of the famous ghost tours of Edinburgh.

We arrived around 8:30pm at the St Giles Cathedral on the Royal Mile, the starting point of most of these ghost and historical tours. We had a date with the Mackenzie Poltergeist (Sir George Mackenzie was a 17th century Lord Advocate, also known as 'Bluidy Mackenzie') at the Covenanter's Prison within Greyfriar's graveyard. Our guide from the City of the Dead Tours, clad in a Matrix style flowing leather jacket, played his part perfectly, building up the atmosphere as we went along and it started getting darker. It was a great tour and our collective screams that night should have roused a few spirits.

Always wary of city tours, since you invariably get bored with more than half the places on the route, the hop-on, hop-off Edinburgh buses that start from Waverly Bridge were a perfect solution. For £12.50 per person, we had a 24 hour pass that could be used on any of the four bus tours available. Leave the tour anywhere to explore further and pick up the same tour or another one later – the choice is yours. The sun was out in patches with a fine drizzle on our second day in Edinburgh, as we braved the cold to sit on top of the open bus, where an entertaining guide drove us through to the Royal Mile. He offered the explanation behind the famous One o'clock Gun which is fired at Edinburgh Castle everyday, except Sundays, at 1pm. Why not 12? "It was cheaper, you see."

With the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official residence of the Queen at one end and Edinburgh Castle on the other, the old town of Edinburgh is connected with the new town, completed in 1810, by a series of stairs and bridges. In the 1700s, the old town had all of Edinburgh's 80,000 residents confined to a ridge, the Royal Mile, running down from Edinburgh Castle perched on Castle Rock. The area, which is one mile in length, consists of one main thoroughfare, has numerous dark, dank and very narrow bylanes (called wynds or closes) with towering houses on each side. There are colourful stories in every corner from the infamous Deacon Brodie, who was a flourishing cabinet-maker by day only to rob the houses he had worked in by night, Burke and Hare, bodysnatchers who robbed graves of their bodies for a local doctor and then began killing to get the bodies to the murder of Mary Queen of Scots' secretary.

Edinburgh is a city that possesses a grandeur and boldness that is in your face wherever you turn. You could easily spend two weeks instead of our two days, but we had places to go. An early morning shuttle train to Glasgow's Queen Central and we were ready for the famed train journey on the Western Highlands railway that goes up to Mallaig on the coast via Fort William.

The good thing about travelling in early May is that it is still not officially the summer season and hence very few tourists were about. We had the entire coach to ourselves besides a railway official going up to Fort William on a break. We settled back comfortably with coffee and sandwiches and a friendly companion who gladly pointed out the various landmarks on our scenic route. After endless lochs and the sun playing hide and seek, we knew we were nearing our four and half hour journey as we crossed the desolate moors of Rannoch, and the wide green and misty hills of Glencoe.

Getting around in Fort William isn't easy unless you are a keen walker as buses are infrequent and taxis expensive. Hiring a car is the best option if you want to explore around the Lochaber area.

Pre-booking a car is recommended, especially in the tourist season, which we had done anyway over the net with a local agency, Macrae and Dick. An excellently maintained, gleaming Ford Ghia was at our hotel door next morning, and it proved to be a smooth and faithful companion. Driving on the left hand side does take getting used to, but going by the number of signs placed at regular intervals reminding one to drive on the left is definitely an indication of tourist influx. Our biggest challenge though was not this: it was figuring out how to open the fuel tank.

Our hotel was about seven minutes drive from the town centre, with a majestic view of Ben Nevis, Scotland's highest peak. It was just six odd kilometres from the Nevis Range mountain gondola, the only one of its kind in the UK, which was originally constructed on the mountain of Aonach Mor as a way to transport skiers to the slopes. While there was still snow to be seen at the highest peak, in May the rest of the mountain was green, and the cable cars were transporting hikers and bikers from 300ft to 2150ft on the north face of Aonach Mor in about 15 minutes. The views are stunning and being a clear day, we could see for miles around the highlands, with Ben Nevis, the great Glen Nevis and lochs peeking in and out. Eight degrees and a biting wind made us keep our cups of coffee close while we walked around in the sun, while intrepid teenagers went hurtling down the mountainside on their bikes on what looked like an impossibly steep, winding path. A hint of rain and we were ready to go back down, heading towards Fort Augustus, on the A82 about 25km away, and to our first view of Loch Ness.

The rain fell steadily, as we drove into the little village but it wasn't enough of a deterrent to stop us from parking at the information centre and picking up a map to figure out where to go. A short five minute walk takes you to the site of the famous staircase of locks, that lifts boats between the level of Loch Ness to the level of the next section of the Caledonian Canal. This canal joins a series of locks through the Great Glen – Lochs Dochfour, Ness, Oich and Lochy and at each end connects to the sea: the North Sea at Inverness via the Moray Firth and the Atlantic Ocean at Corpach near Fort William.

Cafés, traditional pubs and gift shops dotted the sides of the locks and the increasing rain saw us seek refuge for a lunch of fresh haddock and haggis, and the journey continued back towards Fort William for a brief stop at the Neptune's Staircase, another series of locks just outside Fort William, and Inverlochy Castle. As we drove up a narrow winding single car road to Glen Nevis, leading off the town centre, there wasn't a sound to be heard except for the birds and the running water of streams and waterfalls. Then it was on to Glencoe and Ballachulish, a highly recommended drive.

Next morning we were on our way to see the silver sands of Morar, Arisaig and the coastal village of Mallaig. A must-stop on the way is at the Glenfinnan Monument at the head of Loch Shiel. Built in 1815, to mark the place where, in August 1745 Bonnie Prince Charlie rallied the clans to the cause of putting a Stuart king back on the throne, this is also a very popular film location. Shooting for the latest Harry Potter was actually in progress when we visited. The steep walk up the hill behind the visitor centre is well worth the effort for the impressive view of the Glenfinnan Railway viaduct built in 1898 to carry the Fort William to Mallaig railway across the Glenfinnan valley.

We were taking the Caledonian MacBrayne at Mallaig, a large ferry that would carry us and our car across to the Isle of Skye, and freezing temperatures notwithstanding, it's difficult to resist being out on the top deck in the sunshine. On to the quaint town of Portree with its forest reserve, a quick bite, then via the Kyle of Localsh and the recent built Skye bridge, we were now headed to Inverness via Invermoriston. Our first stop about 10km from the Kyle of Localsh was at Eilean Donean Castle on Loch Duich, supposedly the most photographed and painted castle in Scotland. Soon after this, Loch Ness was now our constant companion, the churning waters very different from the other calm lochs we had seen. Urquhart Castle was the next and final stop before Inverness, once one of Scotland's biggest castles but now in ruins for more than 200 years. Despite that, it's a very striking ruin, of the wall, four turrets and the keep and its dramatic positioning commanding a wide view of Loch Ness.

It was rather easy locating our hotel on Bank Street in Inverness overlooking the River Ness. The temperature had again dropped significantly and the view from our window and the comforting warmth did make it a little difficult to venture out again. Our dolphin watching trip on the Daniel Quilp on Moray Firth didn't yield any dolphins but we saw numerous cranes, cormorants and swans. A lovely sunny day with only one other tourist and an expert guide, we were told that a place we could definitely see the dolphins was Chanonry Point. Most people come here to enjoy the superb coastal scenery, the views across the Moray Firth to the vast and grimly functional bastion of Fort George. There were at least 15 others with heavy-duty photographic equipment and telescopes waiting, not for dolphins but to catch a glimpse of migrating birds. Except for plovers, we saw little else, though a school of dolphins sent up a wave of excitement seen through the telescopes near Fort George.

We had neared the end of our journey and we were already planning when we would come next. The hospitality we encountered, the general friendliness of the local residents, the views and oh, the food! That's another story, entirely. A visit to MacTavish's on the high street in Fort William is a must for the uninitiated. Best of Scotland's malts, the best haggis with 'neeps and tatties' (turnips and potatoes) that we tasted in Scotland, (the fish is amazingly fresh everywhere) accompanied by a live show of popular ballads and bagpipes – a very pleasant way to end a long day. While my partner did not want to leave the country without trying out the Angus tenderloin, which lived up to all expectations at a superb restaurant, Crannog on Loch Linhe in Fort William, I stuck to my fish and variety of seafood. The mussels soaked in creamy herbed gravy at the Cornerstone Café at Mallaig is forever entrenched in my taste buds. The crusted salmon in Portree, the hot chocolate with cream and shortbread at Glenfinnan, and more haggis everywhere – we have to go back.