Welcome to the backyard of 17th century Highland Rogue ‘Rob Roy’ MacGregor, easily reached on a day tour from Edinburgh or Glasgow. Rob Roy knew this part of the world well. He walked in the shadow of the magnificent medieval fortress at Stirling, drove stolen cattle across the upper reaches of the mighty River Forth and terrorised those living south of the Highland Line. This spectacular geological fault separated two very different worlds. The green fields, villages and farms of Lowland Scotland and the untamed mountains of Highland clans and Gaelic song.

This 1 day tour follows some of the haunts of the ‘Children of the Mist’ or the wild and often outlawed MacGregor clan. We might begin the day at Stirling Castle, best known for its role in Scotland’s medieval Wars of Independence. Near here, two key battles in Scottish history were fought - and won - by ‘Braveheart’ William Wallace and ‘Outlaw King’ Robert the Bruce.

As we continue, we will have wonderful views of Doune Castle which you might recognise as Castle Leoch in Outlander. We soon enter the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. Here we find a land of lochs and hidden glens.

We visit the grave of Rob Roy MacGregor and a typical Highland church where a minister once wrote about the Commonwealth of Elves and Faeries. We can ponder on the field below the church where Rob Roy fought his last dual against the champion of the Clan Maclaren. Today, the Maclaren chief still lives in the glen of his forefathers. Its name, Balquhidder, probably means the ‘settlement of the back country.’

We may go on to explore by steamer Loch Katrine, immortalised by English poet Wordsworth and Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott’s epic poem The Lady of the Lake. Or perhaps travel deeper into the Highlands to the hauntingly beautiful Glen Coe where a tragic massacre of the Macdonald clan took place. This is a route Rob Roy would have known well as he drove cattle down from the western islands to southern markets.

It is Rob Roy’s country.