Walk it off in Scotland

With spring just round the corner, VisitScotland is giving visitors to Scotland the perfect opportunity for guilt-free indulgence this February with a series of ten downloadable walks which take in great eateries.

New Year’s resolutions are still on our minds at this time of year but as there’s still a nip in the air, everyone needs to treat themselves. VisitScotland has put together easy-to-print walks including details on great places to eat: from top notch fish and chip shops and gastro pubs to luxurious restaurants so that visitors can build up an appetite with something tasty to look forward to.

The ten walks (below) span Scotland with routes for walkers of different levels of ability and eateries for all budgets. The details will be posted on eatscotland.com from 2nd February 2009 for Spring outdoor enthusiasts to make the most of.

Highlights include:

• Follow in the footsteps of Robert Burns at the Birks of Aberfeldy before eating in style at Ardeonaig (complete with UK’s most northerly vineyard!) on the banks of Loch Tay.

• Explore Argyll’s Scottish Seafood Trail by eating at the cosy Dunvalanree Hotel before setting out on an afternoon walk with views spanning the peninsula between Kintyre and Arran to the hills of Jura beyond on the western coast.

• The Pitlochry to Pitt of Tummel walk is ideal for whisky lovers as it takes in one of Scotland’s most picturesque distilleries not to mention eating at Dunalastair Hotel, which boasts over 80 single malts.

• The Fife Coastal Path allows walkers to blow away the cobwebs and take in a number of pretty fishing villages, as well as the award-winning fish and chip shop, the Anstruther Fish Bar overlooking the stone harbour.

• The Formartine and Buchan Way is a longer walk taking around 5 days to complete but it’s easy to do in stretches and a good excuse to divert to Eat on the Green, an award winning gastro pub.

• Walkers will need their binoculars to make the most of the stunning views over the Dornoch, Cromarty and Moray Firths and all that coastline might just put you in the mood for the locally caught seafood at The Oyster Catcher in Portmahomack.

• Fantastic views of the pretty Lanarkshire town of Biggar are on offer on a gentle Biggar to Broughton walk with an afternoon tea or dinner at Skirling House to look forward to afterwards.

• Island lovers will enjoy the 13km stretch from Ardmore Bay to Glenorm on Mull and after building up an appetite, foodies will love the Highland Cottage, which has 2 AA rosettes.

• The steeper mountain walk of Coire Mhic Fhearchair in Torridon should take around 4 hours but with the lovely Torridon (a Slow Food member) at the end walkers can go at their own pace secure in the knowledge that something tasty awaits.

• The well-known Creel seafood restaurant on South Ronaldsay (Orkney) gives tempting views over the sea with a nearby coastal walk giving diners the opportunity to walk it off.