 
Lochs are one of most famous scenic features of Scotland. Whether it is Loch Ness, Loch Lomond or Loch Tay these mesmerising places are a must-see on any itinerary. This coffee table book will inspire your travels to these lochs with its fine photography and engaging text that explores the history, nature and outdoor pursuits that you can discover at these lochs.
This is a beautifully presented book with large photographs of breathtaking scenery on every page. It is a large book that will sit nicely on a coffee table. 
The book contains over 30 lochs and explores their history, wildlife and myths and legends. It will come as no surprise that monsters get a few mentions!
Each chapter begins with a map showing the location of the loch and providing statistics about its length, depth, water volume and so on. 
The author provides information about walking and cycling opportunities at each loch, so the book makes a good companion to help you to plan cycling trips to these lochs. There are also details about waters sports, angling and boat hiring.
The text is engaging and you are sure to learn lots of new things about Scotland's lochs and perhaps even discover lochs that you have never heard of. The photography that is splashed on each page makes the book a joy to leaf through and it easily inspires you to visit these places. 
You can buy the book from Amazon by clicking on the image link:
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Rushing water, forests, moors, snow covered mountains, a tranquil loch, no traffic to speak of and a thrilling descent are reasons to take the longer and quieter road between Golspie and Dornoch in Sutherland.
Even on a map these roads excite me. A thin white line heading into the wilderness towards a small loch. It has lots of twists and turns and no sizeable settlements marked on it. I always seek out roads like this on my map because I know that they will be perfect for cycling. There will be hardly any traffic and stunning scenery. 
My trusty road map that I use to inspire me for my cycle trips. Thin white lines are what I look for!
Leavng Golspie there is no choice but to cycle on the A9 for a short distance, about 4 miles, but I know that it will be worth it to reach the single-track road. It passed in a blur as I kept my head down and focussed on getting to the turn-off. I remember a garden carpeted in snow drops, geese gathered in a field and a sign warning of otters ahead. The highlight was crossing the bridge over Loch Fleet at the Mound where there is a fast descent and a stunning backdrop of hills. 
The bridge crossing Loch Fleet at the Mound
I can tell you that I started to feel anxious. The traffic was not too bad at this time, but it still made me nervous. Those feelings disappeared immediately as soon as I turned on to the single-track road marked for Loch Buidhe. It was instant transormation and I became relaxed and calm.
This is what a road looks like that can make you feel calm
It was not long until birdsong was the only sound. Even the sheep were quiet. They were well hidden within the trees, keeping a close eye on me and dashing off whenever I tried to take a photo. Sometimes I got a fright when I saw their white faces staring out from the trees.
Sheep running away from my camera
I wondered what they found so interesting within the forest so I stepped off my bike and took a closer look. The forest floor was lush and bouncy in greenery, including clumps of moss. I bent down to take a closer look at the moss and found intricate detail, as beautiful as any wildflower. 
The lush forest where the sheep were feeding
Close up of moss on the forest floor
The road ran alongside a rushing burn so this became my soundscape and I loved it. There is nothing like the sound of water making its way through the countryside to clear your head.
I love surprises on these roads and there was one waiting for me just around the corner. There was no warning. It came out of the blue. All of a sudden. There was a gushing waterfall right by the side of the road. I had no idea this was going to be here. There was no mention of it on the map or in anything I read about the area. I loved that. My secret waterfall and I had it all to myself. I stayed here for ages watching it and enjoying the noise.
The road then enters Heather covered moors. This is a more barren and wilder landscape than what I left behind me. The road is flat and mostly straight and I was able to get up a good pace. 
There was no sign of life apart from the sheep. The entire time that I was on the road I saw only three cars. I took my time and stopped frequently to appreciate the peace and quiet and have a good look around at things, like this barn with its rusty-red roof and ramshackle wooden doors:
This was such a wild and isolated place that it was hard for me to image living here. But somebody was. A little white cottage with a wooden door porch sitting in the moor surrounded by sheep. These sheep did not run away. They were relaxed and on this tranquil day this looked the perfect place to be. I could easily imagine this scene on a postcard stand.
But just yards away a sign hinted at the dangers of this place in the winter:
The next treat on this route was Loch Buidhe. This is the only place marked on my road map, so in my mind this was the landmark to aim for, the reason to come here.
The loch was still with barely a ripple on the surface. I stopped to enjoy the near silence. Only songbirds and the gentle trickle from a burn could be heard.
Crystal clear water of Loch Buidhe
In fact, the loudest sound was my feet crunching on the sand of the beach. I was delighted to discover that the loch has a little beach that I could take a stroll on and go right up to the shore where the water was incredibly clear and I could see straight through to pebbles of different sizes, shapes and colours.
The beach on Loch Buidhe
I could easily have stayed here all day. I imagined that on a warm summer's day this little beach would be the perfect little place to soak up some rays.
The road skirts the shore of the loch so I had great views of it and the hills behind it. This section of road had moss growing down the middle, nature's white line. 
Loch Buidhe
There were a couple of boats resting on the shore, perhaps for fishing trips or just a spot of fun.
Boat at Loch Buidhe
After the loch there was more moorland and I started to wonder if I had now passed the best of this road. I was getting a bit too used to the moors and my mind stared to wander. And then, boom! Something amazing suddenly comes into view. The horizon had snowy mountains. It was stunning and I could not take my eyes off it.
This road was full of surprises. 
I reached the junction where I was to cut down to Spiningdale. I stopped to take a photo of road signs and had an amazing wildlife encounter. A pine marten, with its characteristic creamy yellow bib, was scurrying about a short distance away. I was surprised how big it was. I thought they would be smaller than this. I tried to get closer, but it disappeared. I was thrilled. I had never seen one before.
The junction where I met a pine martin
This road had even more magnificent views of the snow mountains. I kept stopping every few yards to stare at them. I just couldn't get up a good pace because the view just kept getting better and I just had to stop and take it in. 
A fast descent, twisting through the forest provided the climax to this road. I just let myself go, did not stop and enjoyed the speed and smell of pine in the air. It was the perfect way to end a perfect cycle.
Downhill forest road towards Spinningdale
I emerged from the forest into the village of Spinningdale where I managed to simultaneously freak out a pheasant and a large tabby cat. The former shrieked in horror and stumbled against a farm gate as it made haste. The latter scampered along a stone wall and into some bushes.
On leaving the village there is an uphill climb on the A949 that gives fantastic views over the Dornoch Firth and what I thought was a ruined castle. It is actually a cotton mill that was constructed in the 1790s and damaged by fire in 1806. The factory process of cotton-spinning gave the village its name and the cottages here were originally built to house the factory workers. 
There is a standing stone alongside this road. The wall of the adjacent field carefully planned around it. There is nowhere for a car to stop here or nearby, but with a bicycle it was easy for me to take a closer look.
Standing stone on the A949
It is impossible to avoid the A9. On this route there is a total of 6 miles on the A9. This is a busy road and not recommended for inexperienced cyclists. Some parts of it are nice and wide with good lines of sight and provide plenty of room for overtaking vehicles. Other parts are much narrower.
A recommendation A little further east of Golspie you can visit Carn Liath Broch, well worth the 3 miles there and back. 
Are you looking for a Scottish loch that you can have all to yourself? Somewhere with no hotels, resorts or visitor attractions? Loch Brora in Sutherland, 60 miles north of Inverness, is the ideal place. It is remote, beautiful and has no tourist infrastructure.
Scotland's most famous lochs, the ones in the tourist brochures, the ones that songs have been written about, the ones that feature on television programmes can be busy places. Yes, it is easy enough to find quiet and isolated spots along Loch Ness or Loch Lommond, but what about an entire loch that is undeveloped? Loch Brora is three miles long and the entire length of it is untouched. The only people who regularly come to Loch Brora are fishermen and there are few of them. If you do an Internet search you will find very little, some references to the fishing, but certainly no hotels, towns or villages. 
Loch Brora is located down a single-track road, leading away from the busy A9 road, not too far from the towns of Golspie and Brora. The road is little used as there are very few houses in this area.
This road is ideal for cycling because of the low volume of traffic and the spectacular scenery. You could take your bike on the train to Rogart (2 hours north of Inverness) and stay the night at Sleeperzzz, a collection of old railway carriages converted to accommodation.
Pack yourself some lunch and pick a spot to gaze out upon the loch and the huge, barren hillside on the opposite shore. You will not be disturbed and will hear little apart from the wavlets lapping the shore.
Loch Brora features in my travel feature Cycling the Strath. 
A traffic-free path around a loch with views of hills and the opportunity to take a boat trip to a castle on an island. Surely, the perfect day out?
The Loch Leven Heritage Trail is a 13 mile path around the loch. It is a gravel surface and mostly flat, so nice and easy for a quick and scenic day out on the bike. There is plenty to see and do, including Lochleven castle which is located on an island in the loch. There are many places to stop for a cheeky coffee and cake. Or you could pack a picnic as there are plenty of benches to stop and taken in the view with your sandwich. 
I came here from Edinburgh using train and bicycle, easily done on a day trip. I took the train to Lochgelly, which is about 45 minutes from Edinburgh. From Lochgelly I cycled the B920 then the B9097 to join the Heritage Trail at Findatie.
Lochgelly train station. From here you can cycle to reach the Loch Leven Heritage Trail
The cycle on the B-roads took 15 to 20 minutes, but the traffic was sometimes heavy so this was the least pleasant aspect of this trip. The roads are mostly wide so there is plenty of space for the vehicles to overtake, but I would only recommend this to people who are confident cycling on roads. There is also not much to see on these roads as they pass built-up residential areas.
Most of the Loch Leven Heritage Trail is away from the actual loch, but it is always nearby and is sometimes right down by the shore. The path goes through forests, crosses bridges and traverses fields.
At regular intervals there are helpful maps that show your position and what there is to see and do nearby. I picked up my own copy of the map from the cafe at Loch Leven Lodges.
The highlight of my journey was taking the ten minute boat trip out to the island to explore Lochleven Castle.
Lochleven Castle is famous for being the prison of Mary Queen of Scots in 1567-8. I went up and down the spiral stairs of the tower and peered up into the chimneys of the massive fireplaces. I walked around the tiny island and found some small forest trails with wildflowers.
There are many other things to see around the loch that I did not have time for. There is the RSPB visitor centre which has information about all of the interesting bird life that thrives around Loch Leven. There are standing stones and Burleigh Castle a short distance away from the trail.
Yes, I would say that it was the perfect day out on the bike, particularly if the sun comes out.
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