Invergordon, Scotland

Mural Town of the Highlands

Take a superb natural setting of mountains, tumbling waterfalls, rushing rivers, and serene lochs (and add one sea monster); pepper the landscape with amazing castles (such as Cawdor, setting for Shakespeare’s Macbeth).

Plant a crop of magnificent gardens; incorporate a pretty village or two (surely Beauly, with its lovely flower displays and 13th century ruined priory); toss in a trail of whiskey distilleries, and there you have it: the Scottish Highlands, shrouded in myth and folklore, and a treat to explore.