Glasgow
Scotland's most populous city, this port on the Firth of Clyde was once a shipbuilding powerhouse. These days its Clydeside waterfront is the newest cultural district, with the distinctive Riverside Museum of Transport, the new Glasgow Science Center - like a giant silver beetle - and the SSE Hydro, a sports and concert venue, joining the nearby Kelvingrove Museum as architectural landmarks. Glasgow is a youthful, forward looking place with a contemporary art scene spurred on by its famous art school, alternative music and theatre. And Billy Connolly's hometown continues to produce a steady stream of edgy comedy talent.
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Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park
Loch Lomond, the largest freshwater body in the UK, straddles the the Highland Fault Line that separates the Highlands from the Lowlands.The National Park that surrounds it is equally divided between soft, rolling heather covered hills and higher peaks that are shrouded in deep evergreen forests below before breaking through the treeline and into the clouds. This is romantic Rob Roy country and you can visit the atmospheric churchyard in Balquhidder where the Robin Hood of the Highlands and his family are buried. It's a terrific area for family camping, boating and fishing, gentle cycling or hiking on well groomed trails around the loch and mountain biking a bit higher up. And it's all less than an hour from Glasgow so very easy to reach.