Seven-year-old Sophie hadn’t meant to steal her school friend Paul’s thunder. The eyes of the entire class widened in awe as Paul told proudly how he had seen a golden eagle at a birds of prey centre during his holiday.

Sophie, albeit gauchely, trumped him with: “Well, I saw one flying above my head in the wild in Scotland”.

That’s the nature of Scotland, as we soon discovered. It rather brought to mind the great Texan boast that everything is bigger. Certainly to someone who lives in a crowded city, everything about the spectacular landscape seemed magnified, from the towering mountains to the vast lochs, even the size of the deer. That’s not to mention the nip in the air, too.

Sunsets and Sunrises

I’m not alone in saying this. Hundreds of people every year visit the club site at Culzean Castle purely for the spectacular sunsets.

And what sunsets! The view from our pitch towards the Isle of Arran really was up there with the best of them; Ayers Rock, Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon included.

At the Luss site, we met people who joined the club simply so they could experience the incredible dawns right on the shores of Loch Lomond.

So when we dropped down into the valley at Glencoe a week later, the cloying mist simply served to enhance the dramatic contrast between the sunlit beauty of Culzean and Luss and this most moody of places.

It made me recall the first time I camped at Glencoe, in a tiny tent, and being spooked so much by the thought of ghosts of the 1692 massacre that I made myself sick. Thirty years on I can laugh about my silliness; but, with the shrouded mountains looming over me, the eerie atmosphere was undoubtedly still there.

Castles, Mountains and Lochs

We’d chosen these three sites for our two week touring holiday to experience just such contrasts.

And explore we did; coming across cute rescued seals, deserted beaches and the most opulent of castles. We shivered halfway up one of Britain’s highest mountains whilst those on the ground were still wearing shorts. We walked in the footsteps of famous travellers and skimmed stones across Britain’s largest expanse of fresh water at Loch Lomond.

Culzean

From our first site at Culzean we squinted from the windows of the adjacent castle to just make out Northern Ireland, 60 miles away, as the late US president General Dwight Eisenhower must also have done. With its fabulous views across to the bird sanctuary at Ailsa Island, then Holy Island, Arran and the Mull of Kintyre, it was easy to see why he loved to visit here. For me, though, it was the romance of the place at sunset, when it became truly magical.

We’d spent our days at Culzean strolling through some of the 600 acres of woodland, gardens and deserted coastline. A dolphin forms part of the castle’s insignia though, sadly, we failed to spot any. However we did find cormorants and gannets a’plenty at Port Carrick, undoubtedly the nicest of several small beaches below the cliffs on which the castle is perched.

Luss and Loch Lomond

Sophie particularly loved the early evenings at Luss, when a multitude of rabbits hopped about the site.

We had been a bit startled, though, when what looked like the remnants of a half demolished steelworks – but was actually a huge sculpture - greeted us at Balloch, the southern gateway to the loch. This was closely followed by the sight of not only a McDonald’s but also an outlet ‘village’, complete with department store and  French market, right on those bonnie banks.

Thank goodness, then, that just a turn of the roundabout brought us a heartening glimpse of the unspoilt rest of the loch.

A few minutes’ leisurely stroll from our pitch took us to the postcard perfect estate village of Luss itself, with its small pier from where we could have taken boat trips.

If I thought it was going to be a peaceful spot, I was very wrong. It has to be said here that I found the noise of the busy A82, which runs parallel to the site, constantly intrusive. Only by sitting at the edge of the loch could I drown out the traffic hum with the lapping of the water.

Rest and Be Thankful

Later that day, though, provided me with another dramatic change of scenery - what I have to say I love most about Scotland.

It had been slightly unnerving to wind along the A83, towards Inveraray, clinging somewhat precipitously to almost vertical mountainsides, high above Glen Croe.

The head of this lonely pass is named Rest and Be Thankful. In 1748 soldiers toiled long and hard to construct the old road at the bottom of the glen, thereby opening up the Highlands. The exhausted men had erected a stone – long since replaced – marking their achievement and urging future generations to be “thankful” for their efforts.

Standing in the clouds in this wildest of spots, the old military road still clearly visible, I certainly did, though not without a mixture of both sadness and admiration.

Dr Samuel Johnson, the famous lexicographer, poet and biographer, who also “paused for breath” here, called Glen Croe a “black and dreary region”. It is certainly bleak and moody, but therein lies its attraction.

Nevis Range

It was our trip up Aonarch Mor in the Nevis range, from Glencoe, which Sophie will always remember. Particularly so, because it’s the highest she has ever been on a swing – in the clouds in a small playground at 2150ft. Perhaps even more so because of the biting cold, even in August, and despite our wearing several warm layers, plus gloves, hoods and scarves. Aonarch Mor is only 400ft ‘smaller’ than neighbouring Ben Nevis and our enclosed gondola took us as far as the top station, halfway up.

It was an exciting time for the mountain. Preparations were in full swing for the UCI Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships, in which hundreds of the world’s most daredevil riders hurtle down what looked like a formidable obstacle course. The best do it in a few minutes. It took us a more sedate 15 minutes to descend.

But this is what sums up Scotland for me. It can be a giant outdoor playground where you can stretch yourself physically, or a place to relax and appreciate the scenery. Either way, it’s breathtaking.

WHAT THE SITE MANAGERS SAY

Andy and Margaret Paterson, from Airdrie, are the present holiday site managers at Culzean Castle. Margaret said: “The castle draws everybody. People come here just for the sunsets. No two are ever the same.

“It is also very popular with people taking ferries over to Arran and for people from Ireland who stop here on their journeys to and from Scotland.

“Turnberry Golf Club nearby (host to the British Open) is also a big draw”.

EAT LOCAL

Culzean Castle site stocks potatoes and free range eggs from just down the road. The butcher supplies meat from local farms and the bread rolls are baked in nearby Girvan.

“We do our best to support businesses in the local community and they appreciate it”, says Margaret Paterson.

*The Moffat Toffee Shop, in Moffat, is the best sweet shop we’ve ever seen, with every variety imaginable.

BUY LOCAL

*The secondhand bookshop on the Culzean estate is certainly the best I’ve ever come across. It raises funds for the castle’s upkeep.

*In the shadow of Inveraray Jail, Frances O’Hagan runs Redshank Scotland (01499 302525) which specialises in designing tartans.

WHAT THE MEMBERS SAY

Sarah and Paul Clegg, from near Colne in Lancashire, were spending the weekend at Luss in their Peugeot Autosleeper. Paul said: “We had admired the site previously on the way back from Glencoe and seen that motorhomers have to be members to stay here, so we joined”.

The couple had been taking full advantage of the West Loch Lomond cycle path, which runs right past the site.

They had also moved on to the best pitch, inches from the shore. Paul and Sarah only had to gesture at the view from their deckchairs to answer my question about the advantages of joining the club.

TIPS

*We broke our journey at the Moffat club site, at the heart of a charming little town and bordering the Hammerlands Centre, which offers fishing and farm animals for children to pet.

*At Culzean, site visitors pay a one-off greatly reduced admission to the castle. In the evenings entry to the grounds is free.

*Keep your fuel tank filled. Garages can be few and far between.

*You can also stay at the Forest Holidays site at Ardgarten, on the sea water Loch Long, on the edge of Argyll Forest Park.

www.forest-holidays.com

WHERE ELSE TO VISIT

Inveraray, on Loch Fyne, is a pleasant little town for a day out from Luss. At Inveraray Jail we learnt how ‘wrongdoers’ were dealt with 300 years ago and saw some disturbing instruments of torture.

Inveraray Castle is a showcase of wealth and grandeur, with delicate Beauvais tapestries and beautiful porcelain collections.

The Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary at Barcaldine, about 20 miles from Glencoe, displays a multitude of fish and sea creatures and we watched rescued seal pups being fed  Views of Loch Creran through the pine woods below are particularly photogenic.

*At Balmaha, on the eastern banks of Loch Lomond, the 1.5mile Milennium Forest Path offers a pretty walk along the shore and up to Craigie Fort for magnificent views.

FACT FILE

Cuzean Castle: www.nts.org.uk

Inveraray Castle: www.inveraray-castle.com Tel: 01499 302203

Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park and cycle path information: www.lochlomond-trossachs.org Tel: 0845 3454978

Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary, Barcaldine: www.sealsanctuary.co.uk Tel: 0870 6082608

Inveraray Jail: www.inverarayjail.co.uk Tel: 01499 302381

Aonarch Mor, Nevis Range: www.nevisrange.co.uk

© Helen Werin