Sarah Devine
At the other side of the Central Belt, Edinburgh’s food and drink event of the summer is the 13th Foodies Festival, which will return to Inverleith Park from 3 to 5 August.
A line-up of top chefs – including Simon Rimmer, Matt Tebbutt and Atul Kochhar – will demonstrate their favourite recipes, while more than 200 exhibitors and artisan producers will offer high quality food and drink.
Children will be entertained by the Kids Cookery School, while tips on healthy cooking are served up in the Healthy Living Area.
On the last two evenings, indie bands Toploader and The Hoosiers are the headline acts.
In East Lothian, Rogue Village holds the Canteen Street Food Festival at the 18th-century Archerfield Walled Garden, near North Berwick, on the last Saturday of every month. A selection of street food vendors will be dishing out their best recipes in the stunning landscaped grounds.
With gardens to explore, a gift shop, fairy trail, microbrewery tours and live music, there is plenty to do for a day out with family or friends.
Families seeking a unique event in the great outdoors could try Taste of the Wild at Ledmore and Migdale, Spinningdale, near Dornoch in Sutherland.
On Saturday 28 July and Sunday 12 August, a series of family-friendly events will show children of varying ages how to survive in the woodlands and reveal the creatures they are sharing it with. As well as a barbecue, there will be a chance to learn how to cook venison in an underground oven.
Dornoch is about an hour into the North Coast 500 route, set between coastlines and rich farmland.
It has an abundance of smokehouses, breweries, farm shops and game, all perfect for eating out or for a barbecue while camping.
In the centre of the 516-mile route, Alladale Wilderness
Reserve is a Highland retreat where, guided by an expert, guests can forage for the best herbs and mushrooms before fishing in one of the lochs for trout, which will be cooked later for dinner.
Shieldaig Lodge at Gairloch, which sits on the Wester Ross section of the North Coast 500, gives visitors the opportunity to go creel fishing with a skipper whose family has fished in the area since the 15th century.
While hearing about the folklore, guests help Ian Mcwhinney haul the creels of lobsters, crabs and langoustines, which are then cooked as a fish feast in the evening.
Along with the many farmers’ markets held regularly across the country, Scotland has all the key ingredients for a sensational summer.