Valentine's Day: The 21 most romantic spots in Scotland

Isle Maree

Wester Ross

Breathtaking Loch Maree, the 2km strip of water that runs between the foot of the hump of Slioch and the Beinn Eighe nature reserve, is dotted with small, tree-covered islands. One of them, Isle Maree, is home to a haunting and tragic love story. A Viking prince called Olaf fell in love and built a tower on the Isle of Maree so he could be near his princess. They lived together happily until Olaf had to go on a big expedition.

When he left, fearing that he would be killed, the princess had him agree, on his return, that his ship would fly a white flag if he were alive, and black if he were dead. However, when Olaf did return, his white flag flying, the princess tormented by his absence, decided to test his love and lay on her own boat flying a black flag.

When Olaf saw this he was devastated and plunged his own blade into his breast. Stricken, she took the knife and ended her own life. It’s believed the stone slab graves on the island mark these lovers.

www.nature.scot

Sweetheart Abbey

Dumfries

An abbey called Sweetheart is bound to have a story, and this is one to twang the heartstrings. In 1268, after her husband Lord John Balliol died, Lady Dervorguilla of Galloway, had his heard embalmed and placed in an ivory casket which she is said to have carried everywhere. She also set up the Cistercian abbey of Dulce Cor (sweetheart in Latin) in his memory. After her death in 1289, she was laid to rest in front of the abbey’s altar, clutching her husband’s heart. A sixteenth century effigy of her remains – and though its head is now gone, there is still that heart clasped tight to its chest.

www.historicenvironment.scot

Category Is bookshop

Glasgow

Bookshops contains universes of thought and imagination – as well as tomes of romance. Eyes meet across a piled-up book table, chemistry sizzles by the shelves. Category Is, the only LGBT+ bookshop in Scotland, run by Fionn and Charlotte Duffy-Scott, declares itself “fiercely independent and queer”. The store opened in Govanhill in 2018 and stocks new and secondhand queer books, magazines, novels and zines. But it’s not only about what you can buy here, it’s about who you can meet, a community to be part of.

www.categoryisbooks.com/

Clava Cairns

Inverness

History leaves an atmosphere here. These cairns were a place of wonder and mystery before Diana Gabaldon told the world about the way they inspired her Outlander series but fewer people visited. Now the 4000 year old complex is a spot on the tourist trail, and Gabaldon’s story of Claire Randall, falling through a ring of stones, Craigh Na Dun, and being transported back to 1743, and Jamie Fraser, lures lovers and fans to its mysterious rings.

www.historicenvironment.scot

Dunnottar Castle

Aberdeenshire

Perched on a craggy outcrop of rock just south of Stonehaven, stark Dunnottar is one of the most photographed castles in Scotland. Few locations are more broodingly dramatic, which is probably why it has featured in many movies, from Hamlet to Victor Frankenstein. But part of the romance is its history, the fact that this place has seen it all – Viking attack, storming by William Wallace and cannon bombardment by Oliver Cromwell in a bid to take the Honours of Scotland, and daring rescue of the jewels – and it’s still standing.

www.dunnottarcastle.co.uk/

The Vennel

Edinburgh

“Observe, little girls, the castle!” says Miss Jean Brodie in the 1969 film version of Muriel Spark’s story, as she stands at the top of the Vennel. This route, taking the walker down from the remnants of the medieval Flodden walls to the Grassmarket, is often cited as one of Scotland’s most Instagrammable. You could call it the creme de la creme, mostly because of the view that it affords of the castle.

For those keen to find more full-blown romance, in the nearby car park there is also the Lovers Touch plaque, put up as part of a contemporary art project. It commemorates the story of Nobunaga-Ventreven and Mlates gi Dunhuira, who, the instant they met, were Losana, or soulmates. The staircase was renamed The Jean Brodie Steps in 2018. Remember, as you descend, to follow Brodie’s advice and “Walk with your heads up, up! Like Sybil Thorndike, a woman of noble mien.”

Portobello Beach

Edinburgh

“There’s a place called Portobello Beach. Have you heard of this?” says Jean, in the George Clooney movie, The Midnight Sky. “It’s so beautiful. You should go there. Just off the coast near Edinburgh.” Many locals were surprised to hear Edinburgh’s busy town beach mentioned in such glowing terms in a Hollywood sci-fi movie, The Midnight Sky. I had to rewind and replay it several times myself. But, of course, Porty, as it’s often called, holds plenty of gritty town romance. For what’s better than a poke of chips, or a slice of pizza, from one of the vendors on the front, and a sunset wander along the sands, with the right company. Top off your date with a half hour in the amusements chucking pennies into coin machines.

Wincher’s Stance, Buchanan Bus Station 

Glasgow

A bus station might not be the most obviously romantic location, but remember this is where lovers and loved ones meet, off the bus, after times parted. The power of this kind of moment is what is conjured up by John Clinch’s statue: a man with his bag dropped to the floor, a woman throwing himself into his arms, tears rolling down a cheek. There are few public art works quite as romantic as this couple, frozen in their moment, as the busy world bustles around them. These two are so locked in the winching, or kissing, that they don’t even know you’re there. There can be few better starts to a date than, “Meet me by The Winchers Stance”.

Glen Affric

Highlands

Glen Affric, home to the third largest area of ancient Caledonian pinewoods in Scotland, is a place where time seems to have stopped, where the human presence is less felt. So, what better place to go if you want to feel awe at nature, and that there’s only you and your lover in all the world? This is the setting of Landseer’s painting Monarch of The Glen. Standing in the presence of forest this old does something to your sense of time and perspective. You can even support the work done by Trees for Life who have helped conserve this area, by planting a tree on one of their sites, in honour of your love.

www.glenaffric.info

Huntingtower Castle

Perth

The blocky form of Huntingtower Castle is the half-remains of a dramatic and romantic story. For, before the late 17th century, it was one of two towers, standing less than three metres apart. The tale told is that Dorothea, the daughter of the 1st Earl, had been in love with a servant at the castle, and would meet him in secret in the eastern tower where the servants slept.

One night, her mother, having discovered what was happening, tried to catch the couple, and rather than face her, she made her way to the roof and made a daring and successful leap between the battlements of the towers. That space between the buildings became known as the ‘Maiden’s Leap’.

www.historicenvironment.scot

Corryvreckan whirlpool

Between Jura and Scarba

Romance isn’t always sweet. Sometimes it’s dark, dangerous and elemental. The Corryvreckan whirlpool offers just that wild power. It had a major role in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s 1945 romantic movie, I Know Where I’m Going. But it also has its place in much older tales. Legend has it that Viking prince called Breacan fell in love with the daughter of the Lord of the Isles and asked for her hand in marriage. But her father, not happy with the match, set him a challenge he thought too difficult even to accept – to moor his boat in the whirlpool for three nights. To survive, Breacan was told he would need three ropes: one made of hemp, one of wool and one of Maiden’s Hair.

Though the ropes broke, he survived the first two nights, but on the last, when the Maiden’s Hair broke, he perished in the whirlpool. A romantic spot, only to be approached by boat, with someone who knows the waters? Or symbol of the enormous power of love, which can drag you under.

Birks of Aberfeldy

Perthshire

“Bonnie lassie, will ye go/ To the birks of Aberfeldy.” Robert Burns lyrics, whether you’re a lassie, a laddie, or whatever you are, are part of the lure of the gorgeous path outside Aberfeldy leading up to the Falls of Moness. The birks, Scots for birch trees, still crowd the steep slopes of the Moness gorge, alongside oak, ash and elm. It’s even possible to meet Burns along the way, sat on a bench, cast in bronze, staring upwards at the birks, book in hand.

Glencoe and the Lost Valley

A glen that has been the site of a major massacre, where, in 1692, thirty members of Clan Macdonald were killed by Scottish government forces, ought not to feel like a romantic place. But if bleak, sublime and windswept romance is what you like there’s plenty of it here. Even the road, the A82 that runs through this valley, is about as romantic as tarmac gets. For those who wish to go further, and get still more away from it all, the hike up to the Lost Valley is a good, but not overly ambitious, challenge. It’s here, in this bowl formed by a trapped ice cap, that the Macdonalds are said to have hidden cattle, either because they had rustled them from their neighbours, or in order to prevent them from being rustled.

University of Glasgow cloisters

Glasgow

You don’t have to be a student to recognise the magic of the cloisters, row upon row of columns, like the trunks of trees in a plantation, to wander around, or flirtily hide behind. Such is their atmospheric elegance that they have been used in many movies: a stand-in for Harvard University in Outlander, a grand banqueting hall in The Outlaw King The cloisters at the University of Glasgow, the fourth oldest university in the world, are also called the undercroft, and were built, in Gothic revival style in the last 19th century.

St Valentine’s relics

Gorbals, Glasgow

In a small church in the Gorbals, in a relatively-modest wooden box is the ultimate Valentine’s Day pilgrimage site - the Corpus Valentini Martyris. So, if your idea of romance is a trip to pay respect to the forearm bones of the saint of beekeepers, epilepsy and engaged couples, then Blessed St John Duns Scotus church is your spot. The casket, which is decorated with flowers every year for the feast of St Valentine, is kept by the entrance. His relics had been brought to Glasgow by Franciscan monks in 1868. Curiously, they disappeared for a while, and were remarkably, rediscovered in 1999, having been kept in a cardboard box, on top of a wardrobe, for six years.

Dunfermline Abbey

Fife

Founded in 1128, Dunfermline Abbey, is a love story in stone. It would not exist were it not for the powerful romance between King Malcolm III and Margaret of Wessex, who married, unusually for the time, not for politics, but for love. Though Malcolm reputedly fell in love with Margaret at first sight, it took some time to persuade her as she wanted to become a nun. The two married at a church in Dunfermline, and she later chose it as the site at which she would set up a priory. It’s believed Malcolm was illiterate and that his pious wife would read Bible stories to him. Margaret died at Edinburgh Castle in 1093, merely days after receiving the news of her husband’s death in battle, reputedly of grief. In 1250, she was canonised and the bodies of the couple were exhumed and placed inside a shrine, which can be found outside the east gable of the church.

Mountain Gondola, Nevis Range

Fort William

Built for skiers, but also a short cut for climbers and mountain bikers, this cable car ride is also an attraction in itself. A fifteen minute trip in its car up the north face of Aonach Mòr delivers extraordinary views of the surrounding slopes and lochs, including Ben Nevis and the Great Glen. On a clear day you might even see as far as the Inner Hebrides..Go for the pure romance of the ride, or as a means to gets to those high-up walking trails.

Cumbernauld House Park

North Lanarkshire

The chief reason Cumbernauld House Park gets a most romantic spot nomination, is, of Gregory’s Girl. The “dancing” scene, in which Susan andd Gregory lie on thee grass is filmed right undereneath a now dead chestnut tree in the park. “Do you want to dance?” says Gregory.” It’s really good. You just lie flat down and dance.” Try it for yourself, whilst looking up at the sky, and thinking of Gregory’s words of wisdom. “I’ll tell you something – and not a lot of people know this. We are clinging to the surface of this planet while it spins through space at a thousand miles an hour, held only by the mystery force called gravity.”

Castle Stalker

Appin

Strong and isolated, marooned on a tidal islet in Loch Laich, Castle Stalker is said to be one of the best-preserved medieval tower houses in the west of Scotland. It may not get garner quite as many social media snaps as Eilean Donan, that other iconic castle in a loch, but the beauty of Castle Stalker is its sense of isolation. There is no easy bridge you can cross to reach it. Rather, it’s only accessible by foot, and with difficulty, at very low tide, a journey which is discouraged by the owners because of the dangers of being caught by the returning waters. Tours, including transport to the castle by boat, can be booked online.

Binns clock

Princes Street, Edinburgh

This cantilever clock on the corner of Princes Street and Hope Street was restored just in time for Valentine’s Day last year. Since it was installed in 1960, by the Binns department store at the site, it has become a key local spot where lovers might meet. You could call it a kind of trysting clock. Meeting at the clock seems to hark back to another time, pre-mobiles, pre-Tinder, when the time and place mattered and things could not be organised on the hoof. But this is no ordinary clock. A musical mechanism plays traditional tunes like Caller Herrin, as, periodically kilted figures march out from its base – appearing, quirkly, every seven and 37 minutes past the hour. Meet you at the Binns Clock, 7.37pm.

Craiglockhart campus, Napier University

Edinburgh

Now a university campus, but, during the first world war, a military psychiatric hospital for the treatment of shellshocked soldiers. It was to here that Wilfred Owen came following in 1917, and met Siegfried Sassoon, who would have an enormous impact on his short life and his poetry (Owen returned was killed a year later at the Sombre-Oise Canal) In one letter Owen wrote to Sassoon, he declared, “I love you, dispassionately, so much [...] You have fixed my Life – however short. You did not light me: I was always a mad comet; but you have fixed me. I spun round you a satellite for a month, but I shall swing out soon, a dark star in the orbit where you will blaze.” Long after Owen died, Sassoon wrote, “W’s death was an unhealed wound, & the ache of it has been with me ever since. I wanted him back – not his poems.” An exhibtion in the old building hosts the War Poets Collection and is open to the public.