Amongst lochs, mountains and coos: Into the Scottish Highlands

Back in the summer of 2004, I travelled to Scotland with my family. I was only nine, so I don't remember much, but I do remember being blown away by the beauty of the highlands as we drove through the mountainous lands. So when I went to Edinburgh in February this year to visit my younger brother, we decided to take a tour to the highlands. But not just any tour, a FREE tips-based tour with the company The Hairy Coo. So basically, at the end of the tour, you pay whatever you think the tour was worth - much like the free walking tours in many cities!

If we had had more time, it would've been nice to hire a car and go for a multiple-day drive into the highlands, but since I was only there for a week, this tour was the perfect way to see parts of the highlands.

We were picked up at 8.30 AM on the Royal Mile and set out for the highlands with our amazing local guide Brian. In an orange coo-bus named Daisy. This was sure to be a fun day! Our first short stop was actually before the highlands, at South Queensferry. The village is famous for the Forth Bridge, a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth, constructed between 1882 and 1889. The bridge is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, noted for being voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in 2016, and thus becoming a symbol of Scotland.

Driving through the quaint village of South Queensferry, we headed on towards the highlands.

Right by the entrance to the highlands stands the National Wallace Monument, commemorating Sir William Wallace, a Scottish knight who was one of the main leaders in the First War of Scottish Independence during the late 13th-14th century. The 67-metre high tower stands on the shoulder of the Abbey Craig hilltop, overlooking the city of Stirling.

We were given 35 minutes to walk up to the monument, through the forest with a timeline from the Paleolithic to the construction of the monument in 1869. From the top of the hill, we got a great view of the city of Stirling, known as the Gateway to the Highlands.

Through the gateway city we went, past the Stirling Old Bridge from the 15th or 16th century, up through the city and past the 800-year-old Stirling Castle, and then finally into the highlands.

Doune Castle, meaning literally Castle Castle, was our next stop. The castle is a medieval fortress, originally built in the 13th century, but then rebuilt in its present form by Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, the Regent of Scotland from 1388 to 1420, in the 14th century after being damaged in the Scottish Wars of Independence.

Today, the castle is mostly famous for being featured in several movies and tv shows, including Game of Thrones, Outlander and Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

The entrance fee was 6 pounds, and since Brandon and I didn't feel like spending that much for a 45-minute visit, we decided to go for a nice walk by the nearby river instead. It was lovely to get out in nature for a while before sitting ourselves back in the bus.

For lunch, we made a long stop in the village of Callander, located on the fringe of the Scottish Highlands. While Brandon took a hike on the hillside, I decided to explore the town. There was no time for lunch for me, as the town was full of places to be discovered. It was so quaint and lovely, like a typical British countryside village. It actually reminded me a lot of Thetford in England, where I spent many summer holidays visiting family as a child.

From Callander, we continued in through the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park, where we made a quick stop at the beautiful Loch Venachar, before continuing on to Loch Katrine.

There, we stopped for 40 minutes, time enough to take a stroll along the banks of the loch. The wind was completely calm, so there were reflections of the mountains in the lake. It was beautiful. We were so into the walk that we managed to forget the time and got back to the bus a little late. But thankfully we weren't the only ones - I guess Loch Katrine was a winner!

Off we went again and this time to see the cutest highland cows. AND WE FED THEM CARROTS! I was sooo beyond excited! It was my first time seeing these incredibly instagrammable creatures, and it was so great to feed them and pet them. Definitely a highlight of the trip for me!

A little further along the road we stopped at a viewpoint of the highlands. It was a magnificent view, and what made it even better was the fact that the sun finally broke through the clouds. The colours were incredible.

The fact that the sun was finally out had to be taken advantage of, so we stopped at the Lake of Menteith, known as the only lake in Scotland. A lake is called a loch in Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Scots, but while Menteith is definitely not the only loch in Scotland, it is the only lake. Does it make any sense to you? No, me neither.

Well, until the 19th century, the Lake of Menteith was actually known as the Loch of Menteith, but then somebody decided to mess with us all and change it to lake. There are many theories why, but nobody knows for certain why the loch became a lake. One possible explanation is that the word "lake" is a corruption of the word "laicht", since some early maps indicate that Menteith was part of the Laicht of Menteith, meaning "low-lying bit of land in Menteith".

But basically, there's no difference between a loch and a lake, it's just a matter of the language used. But the Lake of Menteith is still the only "lake" in the country, but only by name, not per definition. Per definitely it's both a lake and a loch, depending on which language you prefer.

The last stop on the tour was at the Kelpies, two 30-metre high horse-head sculptures, constructed in 2013. They depict kelpies, which are shape-shifting water spirits that inhabit the lochs of Scotland, usually described as appearing as a horse but with an ability to adopt human form.

We took a short break there, before driving back to Edinburgh while singing "busaoke" and hearing our favourite song, Loch Lomond by the legendary Scottish band Runrig. Brian continued to entertain us throughout the trip, cracking funny jokes constantly and telling interesting stories about the history of Scotland. He was a brilliant guide - actually my favourite guide ever.

All in all it was a fantastic tour and one that I can really recommend doing. I actually think that the tour being tips-based made it even better, because there was no chance of getting a grumpy or uninterested guide - because at the end of the day, they would like to get paid. By giving the customers the choice of the price, it's up to the guides to do their very best. Brian definitely lived up to my expectations - and beyond them.

I'm also pretty sure that they fill their busses up easier, because the tour is "free" and in that way, they earn more money. I personally think that this is a fantastic way to do tours, and I would love to see this concept spread across the globe!

If you do happen to find yourself in Edinburgh looking for a day tour of the highlands, go with The Hairy Coo! I can guarantee that you won't be disappointed!