The Dunure Community Labyrinth is a wonderful example of a local community coming together to…read morecreate something truly magical. The location is absolutely perfect, nestled into the cliffs just south of Dunure Castle, with stunning views over the sea to the north and west. It was constructed by Andrew Guthrie with the aid of local volunteers on the site of a former quarry, where stone for Dunure Castle came from, and uses water-worn beach rocks that were donated from a local garden rockery, with the paths layered with blue slate chippings. A surprising benefit of the rocks was that they arrived with lots of seeds trapped in them, seeds that have now produced a wonderful variety of flowering plants that make the labyrinth a riot of colour in the summer months. Access is easiest from the Kennedy Park car park (if it's open), from which you can just walk towards the cliffs until you see the labyrinth nestled below you. A narrow path and some steps at the sea edge leads down to the labyrinth. Access can be a bit slippery and muddy if there has been rain, and the access path could really do with some more stone steps in place, so sensible footwear is advised. You can also park at Dunure Harbour and walk up through the village following the path past the doocot and castle, and you'll see the labyrinth below you on the right. It's a bit longer, but does give you the chance for some tea and cake in the Harbour View cafe on your return (or something a little stronger in the Dunure Inn, perhaps).

Dunure castle is great for a day out but if you want to avoid parking fees park in the local estate…read moreacross the road from the grassy parklands area. Labyrinth is a great example of the community coming together here and is a lovely walk. Great for a picnic on the benches above the area and great for a visit to the impressive ruined castle. Be warned though the village is impossible to park in; it is always busy and the car park is just a grassy area and costs to park so being naturally a tightarse Scotsman i always park in the housing estate up the hill. Beach is great for a walk and some metal detecting if you are into it!

It's a tired cliche in Scotland to harp on about the stunning countryside "on our doorstep" that we…read morepay little attention to, but a trip on The West Highland Line proves that even if Scotland is a country filled with bitter, self pitying drunkards, it's an exceptionally good looking one. This rail line is considered amongst the most scenic in the world, and takes you through Loch Lomond, various mountain ranges, past Oban then onto Fort William. The scenery really is beyond belief at some points, with notable money shots being the Loch Lomond section which is viewed from halfway up a mountain (or a big hill, I'm not sure), and towards the end of the line when the train crosses the Glenfinnan Viaduct, a magnet for tourists as it was used in the Harry Potter films. There is one slight downside. Despite the summer months being packed with bumbag wearing tourists, Scotrail use an older, slower, and sometimes quite uncomfortable train for this service. It's either down to bad business sense or deliberate usage of a slower train for lovers of the rugged terrain, but it grates that they don't even bother with the buffet car. It's not too huge a deal though, and shouldn't detract from what's always a jaw dropping journey.

The Electric Brae has been a weird memory in my life as long as I can remember. My Dad is from down…read morethis way, and every time he would drive us back to his hometown for whatever reason, we'd invariably take a detour here to see the Electric Brae. For those uninitiated, "brae" is a Scottish word for a hill. This in essence, is a "magic" hill - there's a laybay with the stone you see in the picture, and not much else. Park your car on the hill, take the brake off... and the car rolls uphill! Pour some water on the floor - it runs uphill! As the stone says, it appears to be an optical illusion, or some people think it's magnetism, others prefer to just go with the theory that it's MAGIC. Whatever it is, it's a hell of a talking point if you're looking to confuse tourists or children, and it's a genuine one off in Scotland. I did hear tales of somewhere similar in New York, but that could just have been hearsay... pro tip: Stop in the layby near the AA phone point, that's the sweet spot :)

The Merchant City pretty much covers everything from George Square to High St, and is one of my…read morefavourite parts of Glasgow. Classed as a residential area, you'll also find all sorts of businesses: from the City Chambers, GOMA, bars, cafes and restaurants. Not to mention music venues like The Fruitmarket and City Halls. The buildings are beautiful - you'll find quite a few of them poem to the public during Doors Open Day each September - look out for St Andrews in the Square. One of the focal points is Merchant Square - a converted market with an awesome internal roofed courtyard, which is surrounded by bars, restaurant, and is home to a weekly craft and design fair. The Merchant city festival runs for around 10 days every July, and is well worth a wander round. All in all, one of the friendliest and most vibrant places to be.

My first ever visit to Merchant City was pretty underwhelming - I'm going to say that during the…read moreday in the middle of the week, this area can seem a bit dull. At night is when it really comes alive and there's lots going on! You have the obvious drawcard of Merchant Square but personally, I don't love the offerings. Other streets of Merchant City have great bars and restaurants, and a few favourites for me are Guy's Restaurant, Wilson Street Pantry for brunch, Spitfire Espresso for a great cake/meeting/working spot and Blackfriars for a pint. New additions like BrewDog and Hutchesons are just wonderful, and really add something special to this great part of Glasgow. Parking can be a pain so I recommend parking at King St car park which is a great excuse to pop into the 13th Note/Mono for a pre-post soft drink. There's also a fabulous walking tour/art trail you can do if you pick up a leaflet at GOMA which shows off some of the amazing art in this area.

It wasn't on our itinerary but on our first day in Scotland driving around in circles on the wrong…read moreside of the road (sorry to all the old folk, children who had to run for their lives along the way) we noticed these huge wind turbines on the far horizon, first one, then two, then eight until we saw the whole farm - all 42 turbines! We had to see them up close so we zigged & zagged through the countryside until we got up close to them along Dura Road near Forth, some maps say South Cobbinshaw, either way it is in South Lanarkshire and you really can't miss 'em! Some sources say you can access them by Climpy Road too, we noticed going up Dura Road that there were a couple of spots to park with trails managed by the Scottish Wildlife Trust. One trail leads to the Darmead - Linn Covenanters Monument part of Scottish religious history / struggles, the trail takes you though some moors and you can hear the faint sound of "American Werewolf in London" if you get out of the car & listen carefully. Beware the moors! We chosed to just travel up the road by car until we hit the end of it right by the entrance of a small farm, along the way we saw tons of sheep & coos (Scots for cow), I couldn't believe how close we got to the turbines and how peaceful it was up on the law (Scots for hill) though breezy. Well worth a drive to see a reclaimed coal mine now serving a dual role as a wind farm & bird sanctuary with hiking trails. I should point out that the farm generates 97 MW of electricity or roughly enough power to provide for 70,000 homes from a clean renewable source.

This is the land that time forgot. It didn't get the hectic rush, the brash noise, nor the 24 hour…read moreshopping day. As a consequence it is calm, peaceful and a great place to relax. The scenery is unsurpassed in Scotland and it is heavily populated by bird and animal life (Except foxes and grey squirrels which are unknown on the island). If you are looking to have a relaxing holiday with a smaller carbon footprint look no further.

Very pretty but if you don't have a car you will be very limited in what you can do on the island…read more Although if you are a backpacker that is a different story. After seeing the brewery, soap and cheese shop, a castle and a few other sites you have pretty much covered the island. Limited restaurants and cabs so just know that before going. 2 days is all you need but worth going to with some planning.

The oldest pub in Linlithgow, this tavern actually derives its name from the town coat of arms…read more The pub is a traditional, local pub, but very welcoming. They are proud of their namesake, which centres on the story of the black greyhound of Linlithgow, whose master was imprisoned on an island in the middle of the nearby Loch and sentenced to starve to death. Everyday the greyhound swam out to her master with food and ended up saving his life. The locals call themselves 'Black Bitches' after the dogs symbolic loyalty. A great local, if quiet, tavern serving a range of real ales. It also has a nice beer garden. Apparently there is a folk music night every third Sunday of the month too.

Despite an incredibly un-PC name, The Black Bitch in Linlithgow is quite surprisingly not filled…read morewith wall to wall Ku Klux Clan members and Daily Mail readers. Instead it's an old-fashioned, traditonal pub in an Edinburgh dormitory town filled to bursting with old fashioned, traditional pubs. Apart from the bizarre cross-burning moniker, there's not too much to get excited about. A few years back my cronies and I would come out in Linlithgow quite a bit as we begun to look for a more serene nightlife experience. The Bitch wasn't always on our radar, but on the occasions we did come in it was perfectly adequate.

Banging. Might just be the best chocolate I've ever had, bloody brilliant, it was amazingread more

They make the best tea, cakes and caramel biscuits. They are so delicious and satisfying. I live in…read morethe USA and buy them all the time. I am so glad they import them here. It brings back memories of my mom who was born in Scotland.

This bridge of sighs is not the one in Venice unfortunately but we have our very own in the…read morebeautiful Glasgow! Bridge of sighs allows you to go to and from the Necropolis cemetery which houses around 3,500 graves and the bridge of sighs is named because of the amount of funeral processions that crossed the bridge to the Necropolis.

Anyone that knows me, knows I love me a good bridge…read more And this is one of Glasgows finest. The Bridge of Sighs spans the old Molendiner Burn (now redirected into a big pipe), linking Glasgow Cathedral and the Necropolis. In years gone by, folks had to carry the coffins of their loved ones across this bridge - hence the melancholy name. Nowadays, the bridge connects war memorials with the Commonwealth Graves in the Necropolis. It's one of those bridges that people always forget about, but which was important to Glasgows history. And you get a nice view from it, looking our across Glasgow.

I'm a fan of the Botanics, and when I saw Electric Gardens announced I knew I just had to grab some…read moretickets. The early bird price was really reasonable too, at £8 per adult (full price is £10 per adult). First point to note is that you need to enter from Queen Margaret Drive, opposite the old BBC Building. There could be better signage about this around the top of Byres Road as we really didn't know where to enter from (the info is on the website but I hadn't looked as I assumed the entrance was at the Byres Rd junction). We were booked for 7pm but it didn't actually seem to matter about a start time as it's a walk-at-your-own-pace kind of thing rather than it including performances (like Electric Glen at Rouken Glen). You can wander through Kibble Palace as well as follow the path through the Botanics. It was mostly well sign-posted so you didn't need to worry too much about the fact it was really dark, and spotted around were staff members in case you had any questions. The toilets are also open, and you can pop to Java at the Police Box to grab a coffee/hot drink or something to eat beforehand. The actual display itself was really lovely and quite tranquil - gorgeous lighting on different parts of the Botanics that maybe you'd never noticed before. There was accompanying music and in parts it was perfectly matched to the lights. Part-way through there was performers with fire which was interesting and loads of people stopped to watch (partly because you couldn't actually get past them). I enjoyed this part but thought it took a little way from the actual electric gardens themselves. We'd gone as a really large group (I think there was nearly 20 of us) and while we lost each other along the way, it made for a really fun outing. I'd actually consider going back again as it runs to the 15th of Feb, and I found it a really enjoyable Friday night.

On Friday evening I got to hang out in the park in the dark with some of the lovely Yelp Glasgow…read moreHotties. Don't be confused we we're regressing back to our youth and hanging around the park in the dark drinking Hooch & 20/20, I realise you will only get this reference if you were in School in the 1990's in Scotland...anyway I digress. We were not hanging about for no reason, we were in fact on a night out to the Botanic Gardens to enjoy the Electric Gardens which is part of the West End Festival program of activities in the city. When we arrived we were greeted with atmospheric music and found the gardens was awash with colour and twinkly lights....anyone who knows me knows I am a complete sucker for some fairy lights so I was a bit like a kid in a candy shop. As we wandered round the gardens we found some lovely areas including a giant disco ball, a little fairy light walk way (my personal favourite), a giant ice lolly, some seriously freaky floating dresses and the old subway station which you look down into was full of dry ice and 'scare the bejesus out of you' music...not my favourite bit...eeek! While the rest of the Yelp crew headed off the to pub for a warming beverage Mr G and myself headed to Pommes Frites for some post wander chips and then home. I had a lovely time and felt it was good value for money.