‘The limousine swept in with Her Majesty in the back looking absolutely wonderful’

Your tales of cultural and historic escapes in Scotland revealed a huge variety of extraordinary experiences

SKARA STORY

I was on a walking holiday in Scotland, staying in youth hostels, and had a spare day in Stromness in Orkney, where the tourist office suggested I visit the prehistoric village of Skara Brae, previously unheard of by me. The friendly bus driver who took me there enquired how I was returning. I told him the tourist office said it would take me about four hours to walk back. With an amused smile, he said it would take at least six. After an enthralling visit to the settlement, I began my return journey, following the coastal path, which took me up an incline, then down into a valley, many times. The bus driver was right. I fell into bed that evening, elated and happy.

John Dawes, Suffolk

MAGICAL MEMORIES

Scotland contains a plethora of experiences, as rich as its buttery shortbread and as nourishing as its Cullen skink. I have enjoyed walking up to the Wallace monument then looking out towards Stirling and its magnificent castle, and the ceremonial events of the Edinburgh Tattoo on a summer’s evening, seated on the castle’s esplanade (which delivered goose bumps aplenty while the lone piper played). Edinburgh’s Georgian houses are grand, elegant ladies contrasting with Glasgow’s red sandstone tenements, ripe with the stamp of Rennie Mackintosh’s artistry to be espied throughout. Every experience has been indelible. H Z McDonald, Worcestershire

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE

My first morning in Scotland brought a taste of culture I’ll never forget. I scrutinised the breakfast menu in an Inverness hotel, feeling refreshed after a good night’s rest and hungry enough to devour a stag roaming the Highlands. The waiter bid me good morning with a polite smile and waited to take my order. I requested a “full English breakfast”. That smile was replaced by a look of visceral horror. I’d unwittingly committed a grievous sin against my proud hosts. “Oh sir,” he admonished me sternly, “it’s not a full English breakfast, it’s a full Scottish breakfast.” Box ticked: my first cultural lesson learned.

Vincent Power, Limerick

BROUGHT TO BOOK

Looking for a short break that doesn’t involve airports, crowds or lots of money? Opt for a few days in Wigtown, the book town of Scotland. After a leisurely stroll round the many book shops, we headed to Kirkcudbright and a visit to Broughton House, the home of EA Hornel, one of the “Glasgow Boys”. We were surprised by the extensive collection of Scottish paintings, equal to any gallery in Glasgow or Edinburgh. A tasting at Bladnoch Distillery revealed that this small business is anything but, exporting to over 30 countries with eye-watering prices for a bottle. And if you stay at the North West Castle hotel in Stranraer you can watch the curling team at practice while sipping your coffee. Over one day you will have had a taste of Scottish culture with no crowds, little expense and huge enjoyment. Patricia Wilson, County Down

WEST IS BEST

My son and I turned our bicycles off the main road in Islay onto a little lane signposted Finlaggan. Two islands standing within the freshwater Loch Finlaggan were the administrative centre of the Lords of the Isles in the 13th and 14th centuries, and are the home of Clan Donald. There is an excellent visitor centre curated by a friendly Islay resident, who demonstrated how to use the virtual reality reconstruction of the settlement. Access to the islands is by a long wooden footbridge, which meant we were able to walk freely within the ruins of the chapel and other buildings and see the carved gravestones. The stillness was remarkable, no wind, no rain and we were the only visitors. It felt remote, a great contrast to life there 600 years ago. We returned to the main road knowing we had experienced a lesson in history and culture.

Malcolm Fletcher, Wiltshire

CRAFT AND COFFEE

Branklyn garden was created by John and Dorothy Renton in the early 1920s, after building their Arts & Crafts house on the side of Kinnoull Hill, overlooking Perth. We stayed at their Scottish National Trust cottage in June, amid the eclectic variety of alpines gathered by plant hunters from around the globe. By day the garden was populated by chattering enthusiasts; at night it returned to us and the songbirds. A hundred steps down from the cottage took us to the railway line. We crossed the river alongside the track on a rusting lattice metal bridge; a wide embankment leading into the fine old city. We ate coffee and pistachio cake at an outside table as the rain cleared and the warm sun broke out, which exemplified the altogether different arts and crafts of Italian bakers Casella & Polegato – their wonderful deli is on George Street. Martin Charlesworth, Lancashire