Loch Leven à Ballachulish

The loch stretches out below Ballachulish like a long grey mirror, fringed with birch and pine that climb up into the hills beyond. This is proper Highland scenery - the kind that makes you understand why people bother with the Scottish weather.

Loch Leven itself is the draw here. It's a freshwater loch, not enormous, but the setting is what counts. You can walk along the southern shore from Ballachulish village, picking your way past the old slate quarry workings that tell you something of the area's industrial past. The water's clear enough to see why it's popular with anglers, and if you're after a straightforward walk without scrambling, the paths here are manageable.

Families with younger kids will find the immediate lakeside accessible enough for a couple of hours of poking about. Serious walkers might use it as a starting point for heading higher into the hills. It's not a dramatic waterfall or a famous peak - Loch Leven is more about the quiet kind of Highland atmosphere, the sort that grows on you.

Ballachulish itself is tiny, but it sits at a junction of glens. Stay at either Invercoe Caravan & Motorhome Park just across the water or Red Squirrel Campsite a couple of miles on, and you've got easy access to this and bigger attractions further afield. Go early morning if you want to avoid the odd tour bus. Free to visit, obviously, and worth the time if you're in the area rather than as a deliberate destination on its own.