Loch Lomond

This must be the pride of the Scottish Youth Hostels Association - Auchendennan House, a mansion overlooking the Loch, built in 1866 by a successful merchant on the site of an old royal hunting lodge, and featuring plasterwork in the Italian style, stained glass, an upper gallery, and a baronial log fire in the banqueting hall. Not to mention the gas grill in the members' kitchen - and all for £12 a night...

The girl working there that evening was delightful ("Och, I'll talk tae anyone..."), the first Scot I'd met who made me feel good about having been born to English parents in Edinburgh: "Och, if ye're born here, ye're a Scot!"