Four & Five Star Quality B&Bs in Scotland in Fife, Angus & Stirling

From Edinburgh, it's an interesting experience to cross the Firth of Forth by the modern road bridge which runs parallel to the old rail bridge on your right. The rail bridge, a feat of engineering in its day, is now over a century old but still carries the main railway lines north of Edinburgh. On the north side of the bridge the port of Rosyth is the docking point for Superfast ferries new ships bringing tourists directly into Scotland from Zeebrugge.

The ancient Kingdom of Fife is characterised by fascinating little fishing villages along the coast of the "East Neuk". Spend a little time discovering Pittenweem, Anstruther and Crail where the buildings, with their crow-stepped gables, tumble down to the harbours. St. Andrews, mecca for golfers, is an attractive coastal town with the oldest university in Scotland, founded in 1410. Leuchars is just across the bay from St. Andrews and, on the northern side of Fife, about halfway between St. Andrews and Perth, is Newburgh.

Falkirk lies between Edinburgh and Stirling and is the site of a large Roman fort dating back to AD80, whilst Stirling itself is well known, especially since the film 'Braveheart', and popular with tourists. The ancient Castle, built on a rocky outcrop, is in a strategic and commanding position which guaranteed its importance to the Scottish Crown. It changed hands between the warring English and Scots many times and Mary, Queen of Scots, was crowned here in 1543. William Wallace recaptured it from the English in 1297 and Robert the Bruce did the same in 1314. The Wallace Memorial is a pinnacled tower, 220 ft. high, with a statue of Wallace.

A few miles north of Stirling lies Dunblane, site of a cathedral founded in the 12th century but mostly dating from the 13th-15th centuries. Beyond Dunblane the A9 heads north into Perthshire and the Trossachs or, bypassing Perth, take the road to Dundee or the A94 to Forfar.

The A94 road heading north-east from Perth to Forfar passes near Glamis Castle birthplace of the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. A few miles away is Kirriemuir at the foot of Glens Isla, Prosen and lovely Glen Clova which stretch up into the mountains of Deeside and Lochnagar. On the coast to the south-east of Forfar is Carnoustie, another favourite for golfers.

Along the coast through historic Arbroath and then Montrose, the road skirts past fishing villages with delightful harbours: St. Cyrus; Johnshaven; Gourdon and Inverbervie where the steeply shelving beach has rounded pebbles of all colours, worn smooth by countless tides. Visit the ruins of 16C Edzell Castle, with its Renaissance garden, in the Howe of the Mearns.