Wizz over to Israel for £27
For more great holiday ideas, see page 41
at Culloden, near Inverness, where Bonnie Prince Charlie suffered his final defeat. The castles that dot the shoreline here range from the spectacularly romantic to the almost obscenely lavish.
Of the former, Eilean Donan, located on its own little bridge-connected island, is the most photographed, but not particularly interesting inside.
And of the latter, Dunrobin Castle on the east coast north of Inverness, is the most like a French chateau.
It has enormous, ornamental gardens outside and wood-panelled rooms and chandeliered libraries and ballrooms inside. It was built by the Dukes of Sutherland, who were largely based in WIZZ Air is launching four winter routes from Luton, including London’s only direct flight to Eilat in Israel. Near Jordan, Eilat, is known for its snorkelling and marine wildlife – you can swim with bottlenose dolphins in the Red Sea. England and became very unpopular locally when their men evicted large numbers of crofter tenants. FIND MORE: dunrobincastle.co.uk.
Munro bagging Scotland’s highest peaks
Many of the users of mountain bothies are so-called Munro-baggers, hikers who deliberately target mountains over 3,000ft – called Munros.
Ben Nevis, outside Fort William and the highest mountain in Britain at 4,411ft, is the most famous.
But there are 282 of these Munros in Scotland and more than 6,000 people are recorded to have done them all, including record-holding Stephen Pyke.
That man-mountain goat did Tickets are on sale for the route, which starts on October 28, from £26.99pp each way. From December, it will also fly from Luton to the gateway to the French Alps in Grenoble, Verona in Italy and Tromso in Norway. all 282 in only 40 days – SEVEN a day. FIND MORE: munromap.co.uk.
Wee dram Recommended distilleries
OK, you can’t really talk about the Highlands without mentioning its water of life – whisky. There are distilleries all over the region, particularly Inverness, where you should try Glenmorangie, and up in Wick, where Old Pulteney is a must. Both of these conduct tours and tastings. But the new kid on the block, and also the furthest north, is not doing whisky at all. The Dunnet Bay Distillery, up by John o’ Groats, makes gin flavoured with local ingredients such as sea buckthorn and rowan berries – a new taste of Scotland. FIND MORE: dunnetbaydistillers.co.uk.