The name ‘Trossachs’ comes from the Gaelic meaning ‘the bristly country’. Its thick forest, gushing waterfalls and tranquil lochs were the backyard of one of Scotland’s most notorious outlaws Rob Roy MacGregor, who gained notoriety as a bandit and soldier but ended up a Scottish folk hero. He’s immortalised in the film Rob Roy and in the historical novel of the same name by Sir Walter Scott, who was also inspired by this wild, romantic landscape to pen his epic poem Lady of the Lake.

We stop for lunch in the bustling tourist town of Callander. Crammed with teashops and souvenir opportunities, Callander is often described as ‘the gateway to the Highlands’.

We visit splendid Stirling Castle, one of the best preserved Renaissance buildings in the country which has been returned to its original glory. Follow in the footsteps of Scotland’s Stuart Kings, of Mary, Queen of Scots and of Bonnie Prince Charlie. You’ll have enough time for a leisurely visit to the castle to learn about key moments in Scotland’s long, violent and bloody history. It wouldn’t be a Scottish castle if it hadn’t witnessed some historic battles. In its shadows are the sites of the Battle of Stirling Bridge where William Wallace (of Braveheart fame) defeated a much larger English army in 1297, and Bannockburn where Robert the Bruce did the same in 1314.