If you're not afraid of the weather, Scotland can be one of the most beauti­ful and fascinating of travel destinations. The beautiful landscape and rich his­tory could keep a holidaymaker happy for months. A great way to see the high­lands and islands of Scotland is by bike. Scottish roads are reasonably free of traffic, especially if you keep off the main routes, and because it's not a vast country you can see a lot of it by bike in a couple of weeks.

A friend of mine and I did just that at the age of sixteen, and though it rained for ten out of the fourteen days we were there, nonetheless we had a marvellous time. But the weather isn't always so bad. We made the mistake of going in August, which is the height of the 'rainy season'. Apparently the weather is generally better in spring and early summer.

The route we cycled along was more or less the same taken by the historic rebel. Prince Charles Edward Stuart, known as Bonnie Prince Charlie when he escaped after his army was defeated by the English at the battle of Culloden in 1746. That's where our journey began. Instead of staying on country people's farms, we lived in campsites or youth hostels. And instead of deliberately taking a long route across the highlands as Bonnie Prince Charlie had done to avoid capture, we took a pretty straight course along the roads.

We gradually pedalled the length of Loch Ness to the town of Fort William, passing Britain's highest mountain, Ben Nevis, on the way. It's not actually such a high mountain (1,392 m) and we wanted to climb it, but we didn't be­cause it was raining. Most of our time we had to wear waterproof clothing to keep out the pouring rain.

At Fort William, we turned west and soon came to the charming village of Glenfinnan on the edge of a loch. At some point Bonnie Prince Charlie went to the Isle of Skye. So, with our bicycles, my friend and I did the same. I don't know what Charlie thought of Skye, but I remember thinking it was rather like a wet sponge. I had wet shoes for the entire four days I was there. But it really is a beautiful island. The Cuillin Mountains are particularly popular with hikers and climbers.

Since this bicycle tour, I have been back to the highlands of Scotland many times and I look forward to my next visit. The weather may sound threatening, but it's very suited to the dramatic scenery, and the fog and the mountains to­gether can really set off your imagination. And anyway, the sun does come out sometimes.