We had a short walk along Loch Lomond and even though it was overcast and misting it was…read moreabsolutely gorgeous. I would have loved more time here l. Parking lot was easy and restrooms were clean.

I took a wonderful boat ride today. The scenery was beautiful. The air was cool and crisp. I was…read moreeven able to meditate. But, I never actually saw the Loch Ness monster.

Friendly, helpful people in the interesting Visitor Centre and the gift shop was handy for some…read moresmall gifts to take home. We quite liked the cafe too and sat outside to have a snack at the wooden picnic tables, but under cover as it was unfortunately very wet that day. (There's a big enclosed courtyard) Plenty of free parking in the big car park.

Eglinton Country park Centre is a great wee place to visit with the kids. The park itself is vast…read moreand offers great walks and play areas. There is lots of wildlife to see aswell. I am doing the Race for Life here next month and really looking forward to it.

The Tourist Information Centre is your first port of call for...tourist information. This is the…read moreplace you come if you're new in town, Maybe you're lost, maybe you need to know how to get from A to B. If they don't know, they can at least point you in the right direction. Essentially the centre will tell you where streets are, which buses to get when to where, how to get to any of the cities tourist attractions. It also serves as a booking office for some of the cities tours and day excursions. They also provide office services, like printing and photocopying (not exactly sure why). You will also find a gift shop. Not surprising in Edinburgh for anything remotely related to tourism. Although this is actually not your usually tacky trash. Expect some tasteful thistle mugs and saltire stationery. I have to concur with the others though, this place can get crowded fast, and during the festival period don't expect to be able to get in the door after early morning.

Being quite lazy one afternoon I decided to enquire about bus times and routes in the Tourist…read moreInformation rather than checking the individual bus stop notices. Turned out to be a handy choice as I was swiftly provided with all the information I needed to set me off on my journey. One word of advice though, get there nice and early as there it can get excruciatingly congested with swathes of tourists - which I suppose is expected as it's every tourists instinctive information provider.

OK I must confess that I haven't actually done the whole tour thing here, but having worked inside…read morethe mountain for a few days I can appreciate how awesome a thing it is. Firstly, let's talk about the visitor centre and cafe. A great place (in fact the only place for miles) to grab a snack or a light lunch. Try to get in when there isn't a tour about to happen as they get very busy and the service gets pretty slow. The staff are all very friendly and cheery though, and you usually get a good bit of banter with them. There is free Wi-Fi too, although it can be somewhat variable at times! Not for vegans - there is nothing on the menu suitable for the vegan appetite, the closest veggie option is a cheese toastie. If you're lucky they might have a veggie soup on offer, but make sure you check as even the lentil soup had meat stock in it when I was there. That's the only reason I'm giving the place 4 stars, it should otherwise be 5. There are a number of exhibits and photographs telling the story of the construction of the dam and power station, plus the inevitable gift shop to browse while you are waiting for the next tour bus to depart. If you're the hillwalking sort, they can also advise you on the route to take to walk up to the dam above - but it is pretty steep, be warned! The mountain - Visitors are driven into the heart of Ben Cruachan in wee minibuses. There's a sliding security gate at the mouth of the tunnel, and then a tunnel that's nearly a mile in length descending into the heart of the mountain. You feel like you are entering a super-villain's lair in a Bond movie, a feeling that is reinforced once you get up to the viewing gallery and see the whole expanse of the massive turbine hall. I'm really surprised that it hasn't already featured in a movie as it would be a perfect location for any spy film! There are four massive turbines that can generate 440MW of power on demand. The bits you can see is only the very top of these enormous machines; like icebergs there is much more below the surface (another 3 or 4 levels in fact). Cruachan is a 'black star' station, which means it can be used to re-start the entire national grid if everything else went off for whatever reason. It was the first such hydro scheme to be constructed, and because the turbines can generate electricity almost instantly by simply opening the valves that let the water in from the dam above, it's ideal to provide increased capacity at peak times. During the night, the turbines can be reversed, to pump the water from Loch Awe back up into the reservoir. Check out the wooden mural by Elizabeth Faulkner on the wall - this tells the legend of the sacred well on the mountain that was guarded by the Cailleach, the crone goddess of the mountains. She controlled the flow from the well by rolling a boulder over it, but one night she fell asleep and the well overflowed, causing Loch Awe to fill up and burst its way through the hills, creating the Pass of Brander. The rest of the mural commemorates the 4 engineers who were in charge of the project, the 15 tunnellers who died during the construction of the turbine hall when the roof collapsed (a total of 36 workers died overall), and the switching on of the power by the Queen in 1965. Awesome, amazing, atmospheric, inspiring. Well worth stopping off for.

Ben Cruachan on the shores of Loch Awe awesome, beautiful, stunning but journey deep into the…read moresecret heart of this majestic mountain and you'll discover one of the hidden wonders of the Scottish Highlands Cruachan Power Station. An underground world on a spectacular scale a hollow mountain and a place like no other. Buried almost 1km below the ground a massive cavern, as high as the Tower of London, houses enormous turbines converting the power of water into electricity sent straight to your home with the flick of a switch. A coach will transport you deep into the heart of the mountain, along a massive tunnel cut through solid rock. Experienced guides will lead you through a different world, so warm that sub-tropical plants grow due to the humid conditions inside the mountain and then on to the visitors' viewing gallery. Once there, you'll find the nerve centre of the station the massive turbines so powerful that they can create 100,000 kilowatts of energy in only two minutes. Learn how these massive generators harness the power of the water from Loch Awe to provide a rapid response to the sharp rises in demand from ScottishPower customers for electricity at meal times.

I can't believe there are places like the Colinton Dell inside a city. I'm still shocked just now…read morethinking about how lovely everything was. A great place to come for a big walk on a Sunday. We started at Colinton and ended almost at Slateford then took the return path back again. Every so often you come across a little clearing to sit down or take a few photos. Lots of dogs running about and birds singing. One of the few places in Edinburgh where you could get lost and not be too frightened about it. If you're in the area or even if you aren't and fancy a big walk, start here and remember to take your camera.

This is boooom in Edinburgh? Helll Yeah! You wouldn't of guess it either…read more What a gem! It's a great photography site as i took members of a photography group to the visitor center and then back along the old railway walk to the dell. it's approx 4 miles to the visitor centre and back in total. Lots of lushness and focal points. You may be lucky if you are quiet spot a heron or a kingfisher. there are lots of dogs and walkers with the frequent jogger and the union canal has bikes coming along in both directions so keep your ear alert!

I pass this area a lot and we often end up here as the meeting point before heading to our final…read moredestination. This is quite a large place where you can buy souvenirs from their shop from clothing to bottles of whisky at £1200 a pop. We often call in sometimes with 20 - 30 people in our group and have coffee and breakfast rolls to go, and as paying customers who have made purchases you would think that you would be able to use the facilities, well not really, I've encountered what could be certain members of staff bitching at customers for using the toilets after the elderly cleaner had only just moped them.

Was on a day tour of the Highlands a few weeks a go while in-country and we stopped here for dinner…read moreon way home. I had a Club Sandwich and some coffee. The sandwich was surprisingly very good and not a bad price. I did have a bottle of sparkling water which felt was a bot over priced. In all a good experience and nice little gift shop. Not five stars but good three. Would stop here again.

It's quite a drive up some fairly narrow roads with passing places and you could be forgiven for…read morethinking you've taken a wrong turning. Once you get there you are treated to some fantastic views and peace and quiet. There is the hen harrier camera to watch the nesting site and is a good base to explore the Lochwinnoch hills. Friendly guides/ rangers on hand.

I was here on one of the few nice days of the summer and it was lovely. Lots of parking. There are…read moreloads of ducks and swans to feed and there is a really nice path way for a walk. Thers a coffee shop and gift shop which are great and agreat variety of water sports.

Very nice little cafe at the bottom of the hill leading up to the castle. Here you pay your…read moreadmission, can buy water, get a snack or just rest in the Scottish Sunshine. There is a small educational center attached with dioramas of the castle through out the past centuries, artifacts found on the ground and costumes from the period that the castle represents. I assume this is for school groups, and not recommended for the average traveler to try on. The shops restrooms are clean and acommodating.

Lovely little village, caravan park. Woods, walkway to Troon. Etc. Few, castles too. Resturants,…read moreshops.

I'm always here keeping updates on flights to California, USA, destination LAX. Don't let all the…read moreother travel agents and shops fool you and rip you off. This is the cheapest place to get a flight to the USA by far. The staff are very helpful, and they will offer to not just book a flight, but search for accommodation, and cool muscle cars to hire to pick up from the airport over there. You can't miss this place on Gordon street. They advertise on the window as they are proud to show off how miles better than the competitors they really are. I used them loads, and never been let down.