Walking the hills of Scotland

After a two-hour climb up the steep, rocky mountainside of An Sgurr, the view from the highest peak on the Isle of Eigg was breathtaking.

We had been lucky with the weather all week, and today was no exception. It was a surprisingly hot day with clear blue skies which meant we had an amazing view of the whole island, as well as the nearby islands of Rum and Muck and the ragged west Scottish coastline.

It was the perfect opportunity to reflect on our jam-packed road trip.

We started our adventure on the Isle of Arran, an island renowned for its dramatic scenery earning it the title of 'Scotland in miniature' - and it definitely was.

The only way to get to the island is on the Caledonian MacBrayne ferries, which cover most of the islands in the area at regular intervals, which means, unfortunately, they have the monopoly with pricing.

A one hour journey from Ardrossan to Brodick cost £70 for a car with two passengers. If you can travel by foot, on any ferry journey, it is at a far more reasonable price.

The main town of Brodick is the main tourist spot, but you can drive round the island in about two hours. There is one main road which follows the coastline and the 'string' which cuts across the middle.

We stayed with a friend to keep costs down, but there are plenty of options for camping, hotels and B&Bs.

There is so much to see on Arran, our day and a half was nowhere near enough time to take in everything.

On our whistle-stop tour we managed to squeeze in a long, leisurely walk to King's Caves, to the north of Blackwaterfoot, and a trip to the whisky distillery at Lochranza to please my boyfriend, while also stopping off en route.

If you are lucky, you may be able to spot seals basking on the rocks of Kildonnan beach at sunset.

We chose to start our next day early so we could get the earliest crossing from Lochranza over to Clanoaig (on the Mull of Kintyre) to head to Fort William via Oban.

After a surprisingly relaxed journey we made our way to our campsite at the bottom of Ben Nevis, where we could sleep under the impressive shadow for a mere £10.25 a night in a small tent.

Unfortunately there was no time to tackle climbing the giant, so instead we caught a train up to Arisaig for the next part of our trip, leaving the car in Fort William.

The journey is meant to be one of the most beautiful in the world and it certainly lived up to expectations.

At Arisiag we took the Sheerwater wildlife boat across to the Isle of Muck and then over to Eigg.

The crossing does get busy though, so book in advance.

Muck is a beautiful, tiny island with less than 30 inhabitants and can be walked round very easily in a couple of hours. Sandwiches from the tea shop (you won't miss it) are amazing - there is a choice of freshly caught prawns, squat lobster and other catches of the day on thick homemade bread.

Finally, we made it to Eigg. We were met by our hosts Clare and Phil who drove us to their house in the middle of the island where we were to stay in a yurt on their property.

The yurt is large enough to sleep six and was packed out with comfy mattresses, a cooking area and equipment, gas heater and all bedding was provided.

Clare and Phil are welcoming hosts and are happy to help with anything you may need. In fact, everyone on the island was friendly and helpful.

They booked us in for a meal at Lageorna, a restaurant and B&B, where we had a wonderful three-course meal for £20 (and it was bring your own booze!).

The menu changes daily depending on what they can get in so you can guarantee a fresh, delicious meal.

Afterwards we took a stroll down to the Singing Sands, a beach where the sand literally sings (well squeaks) when you walk on it. Here we watched the sun set behind the dramatic outline of Rum, which is a rather fantastic way to end the day.

It is hard to see how you could ever tire of seeing such a sight.