A new wave of innovative chefs and restaurateurs are setting the Scottish capital’s food scene alight. You can try modern plates that showcase the best of Scotland’s pristine local produce at industrial-chic Timberyard, where foraging dominates the bar and food offering. Also well worth a visit are cosy, smart-casual diner Aizle, The Gardener’s Cottage with its farm-to-table ethos, and Michelin-starred chef Tom Kitchin’s handsome gastropub The Scran & Scallie for a pint and a pie. And with the haunting groan of bagpipes wafting over Edinburgh Castle, you can enjoy the best bowl of porridge of your life at the porridge bar at Contini Cannonball.

Some of Edinburgh’s best bars are beneath the surface – subterranean drinking dens or intimate bars tucked in the stone alleyways of the city’s Old Town – where you can sample the amber spirit that runs through the country’s veins, or a contemporary cocktail made with big-city smarts. Panda & Sons, sister bar Hoot the Redeemer and The Devil’s Advocate are all libation destinations with a Prohibition vibe, and you can make ours a Scotch on the rocks, thank you very much.

Monachyle Mhor in Balquhidder Glen, Perthshire, is the loch-side restaurant with rooms from larger-than-life chef-hunter Tom Lewis. Lewis is something of a local legend for his work pioneering local and sustainable produce (and for his cook-off against fellow Scot Nick Nairn on Great British Menu). The 14-room rural-luxe hideaway on Loch Voil offers wilderness in abundance with stylish modern rooms and world-class food. A dish of local venison loin with wilted garlic, foraged wood sorrel and local crème fraîche from nearby Katy Rodger’s Artisan Dairy is followed by a glass of local Glengoyne single-malt and chunks of Isle of Mull cheddar by the crackling fire.

And you thought the only thing to eat in Glasgow was a fried Mars Bar? It’s time to think again, because the city’s recent regeneration has led to its renaissance as a gastronomic ground zero. Must-visits include Ubiquitous Chip in the thriving West End for fantastical fine-dining where a hanging garden sways over the candle-lit tables, Crossing the Rubicon on the city’s longest (and tastiest) strip, Great Western Road, for innovative tapas-style Indian and craft beer, and Ox and Finch in the Finnieston district – a former industrial dead zone turned dining hotspot – which also offers a contemporary tapas mash-up. Think pork belly with sambal, choi sum and galangal crunch. Head to the nearby The Finnieston before or after dinner for a choice of 60 gins.

The North Coast 500 (or NC500) is an epic 500-mile trip taking in some of the country’s most wild scenery. With breathtaking views at every turn, this popular driving (and cycling) route that winds past glassy lochs and heather-speckled hills, castles, cosy country stays and distilleries (whisky, of course, but also gin) is one to add to the bucket list. Pick up a car in Inverness, then stop at Bad Girl Bakery in Muir of Ord just out of town to fuel yourself with brownies and pastries for the journey ahead that takes in the likes of Dornoch and Lochinver. The gallery was brought to you by HelloWorld Travel.