Dingieshowe Cottage, at the foot of the Campsie Fells

The cottage is situated in a small group of houses on the eastern edge of the country town of Lennoxtown. The village has all the facilities that you need - two large and some small grocers (the Co-op is open till 10pm at night), two repair garages, a petrol station, newsagent, hairdressers, cafe, restaurants, fast-food outlets, a butcher, pharmacy, doctor's surgery, three churches, two lovely parks (including children's play park and pond with ducks), a golf course. It is also 3 miles from Kirkintilloch, with a wide range of shops, and only 25 minutes drive from Glasgow's city centre, one of Scotland's two major cities. Or travel east and you are soon on the road to Edinburgh, Stirling, Perth - easy access to the M9, M80 and M8 takes you rapidly to all the key areas of Scotland. While not a formal holiday resort, the town is in a beautiful setting, with easy access to many places of interest.

Lennoxtown nestles at the foot of the beautiful Campsie Fells, and their towering crags can been seen from windows of the house, changing colour with the seasons - green with spring grasses, purple with heather, golden with bracken - or wrapped in ethereal mists, waterfalls tumbling down their rugged crags. The Campsies provide wonderful scope for hiking, fishing, birdwatching, wildflower study, entymology or just wandering. Books are available in the house to help you develop these interests.

The pretty Glazert Water is only 2 minutes from your door, with a path alongside it that gives a lovely level country walk to the shops, or beyond into the wider countryside.

Fishing permits can be bought in the Premier Store at the west end of Main Street, opposite the village hall

Campsie Golf Club, off the Crow Road, about 15 minutes walk or less than 5 minutes by car from the house, welcomes visitors and has spectacular views of the mountains beside the course. (www.campsiegolfclub.com)

Cycles can be hired locally via Cyclonauts 2, Antermony Rd, G66 8DB: Milton Of Campsie, 07799 416747

A drive up the Crow Road at the other end of the village takes one up a steep road clinging to the mountain side, to breathtaking views over the Clyde Valley below. Continuing on through the mountain pass and across the moors, then down through woodlands, rivers, and past the pretty villages of Kippen and Fintry, leads to a long straight road, built by General Wade, heading for Stirling, its ancient castle built by King James IV, towering on the skyline.

Travel west and after a half hour drive through glorious scenery, Loch Lomond is at your feet, with its iconic Ben towering above it, its islands dotted across its silver waters, easily accessible from Balmaha in shining varnished cruise boats - the 'Lady Jean', the 'Margaret' and the 'Marion'. (www.balmahaboatyard.co.uk).

Travel north and the Trossachs, Aberfoyle and Callander - Rob Roy McGregor's heartland - are there to be explored.

Travel south and the beautiful Firth of Clyde opens before you, the mountains of Arran blue on the horizon, the green hills of the Isle of Cumbrae (Scotland's most accessible island) only ten minutes away on the smart white ferry. Cruise these waters on the world's last seagoing paddle steamer, the Waverley, watch the seals, porpoises and dolphins, see one of the world's largest gannet colonies on Ailsa Craig. Or move on to Burns Country in Ayrshire.

There's so much to see and do in easy reach - you won't know where to start and you won't want to stop!