Boasting the highest mountains in the British Isles, the Highlands contain the most pristine lakes and the wildest islands. Purple and emerald moorland, heather-clad mountains, forests, and sprightly streams offer us a romantic realm for our rambling. We visit the Scottish capital, Edinburgh - the "Athens of the North" – and Stirling, where Mary Queen of Scots was crowned. Walk alongside shimmering lochs and across hillsides where castles stand silhouetted as reminders of long-ago battles between feuding clans. Trails lead us westward to the fantastically indented coast and to ferries bound for the islands – Kerrera, Mull and Ulva – blue-gray jewels on the horizon.