No monsters, but this tourist-free loch is the one you should visit
'Do you know about the kelpies?' asks Eddie, the skipper of our boat. 'They're shape-shifting spirits who live in the waters of Scotland. They often appear as beautiful men or women who tempt you to the water's edge. But they're quite malevolent. If you touch a kelpie, it will drag you in and eat you.'
As a fellow passenger whispers that this is what Scottish parents traditionally told their children to steer them away from perilous waters, I gaze over this now unrippled Highland beauty spot, the autumnal foliage blazing above. While Loch Ness hogs the limelight and attracts coach-loads of tourists hoping to see another mythological creature, 'Nessie', Scotland has about 30,000 other lochs. And it's Loch Tay that keeps pulling me back (but thankfully not under).
Slithering through Perthshire and Stirlingshire, it has seduced everyone from royals to pop stars and while it's day-trippable from Edinburgh or Glasgow, its inky waters, wooded banks and hillsides are peppered with appetising digs, drinks, dishes and activities. For the best daylight, temperatures and colours, come between April and November.
Get your bearings of this, Scotland's sixth-largest loch, on a hire canoe or kayak, or take a 'loch safari' with Eddie on Iolaire, a RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat) named after the Scottish Gaelic word for eagle. If you're lucky, you'll spot the golden variety of that bird, but buzzards, ospreys, cormorants and herons are more likely.
Wildlife including red deer – Britain's largest native land mammal – stalks the peaks and moors above the loch. Seek them out on 4x4 'Highland safaris' led by kilted guides, who'll offer you tea, locally made shortbread and whisky at a mountain bothy (refuge).
With your own wheels, you could drive a scenic circuit around Loch Tay, 23 kilometres long and fed by the white waters of rivers like the Dochart, which tumbles through the village of Killin. Soak up the view here with a drink and smoked salmon at The Falls of Dochart coaching inn and smokehouse.
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