This is what the day is for, and the longest stop on it. Ancient Caledonian pinewood - the real thing rather than plantation - standing over water that goes flat calm before the wind finds it. Paths run from the car park in every direction: a level loop of about a mile, a longer circuit round the loch, and proper hill walks from the same spot if the legs and the weather agree. We decide which on the morning. There are public toilets here, and they are the last at the top of the glen.

A Victorian viewing platform cantilevered out over the lip of the fall, so you look straight down the drop rather than up at it. The walk in runs through Douglas firs planted in the 1880s, among the tallest trees in Britain. It is a steep climb coming back up and the steps are wet more often than not, so sensible footwear helps.

Drumnadrochit sits where Glen Urquhart comes down to Loch Ness, and it is the last village before Inverness. We stop at the Loch Ness Hub in the middle of it, which is community-run and has a cafe and toilets - a better end to a day than a service station. If you would rather spend the half hour walking round the village, that works just as well.