These trails are a great way to explore the land, toughen the body and sooth the soul at the same time.

Although I usually create my very own route, I can very well understand the attraction of the Trails. Most of them are signposted and all of them are well documented. The Trails are also ‘designed’ to show the countryside in all its glory and (most of them) also take rest stops and accommodation into account.

I have added the GPX files for those of you who would like to use their mobile phone or an other device to follow the trail instead of using the "old school" map.

There are two kinds of "Scenic Routes":

• My personal favourites. Routes that I 'found' to be an absolute delight with landscapes that are awe inspiring or just simply beautiful. In essence these are routes for cars, but rest assured: travelers on foot or on a bike will find them very gratifying as well.
• The other routes are official routes promoted by Visit Scotland or other organisations. These routes are often theme based like a whisky trail, an outlander trail or a historic route. Here you will also find the very popular North Coast 500.

Before the knowledge of the old paths in Scotland has gone forever, Scotways has started the "Heritage Paths" project to promote the existence and the heritage of these paths. It will give an added dimension to your walks when you discover these almost lost pathways for yourself.

More and more old paths are being re-discovered. Paths, the Roman legions, monks, drovers or traders once used. Infinitely interesting and for walkers especially a great addition to the established trails.

This collection of walks is a veritable treasure trove compiled by Cameron McNeish, the UK's foremost hill walker (hiker) and broadcaster.

In the book itself ( Lomond Books, ISBN: 0-947782-66-4), you'll find detailed and anecdotal route descriptions sometimes rooted in history and legend.

I simply couldn't resist and have used the information to simply list these walks with only a few additions.

They are 'other' walks (meaning they're not officially long distance walks), from short easy low-level walks along forest paths and coastlines, to longer and at times very challenging mountain tracks. You want to walk? Look no further!

More wonderful trails that could be on your itinerary.

These 'lesser known' walks deserve, I think, a lot more attention!

More 'discoveries' are added regularly.