Torridon in winter

I've always had something about the Highlands of Scotland, and it's getting stronger as I get older. Particularly the West Highlands - there is no place on earth like them. Nothing beats travelling across the bleak majesty of Rannoch Moor, the heart-stopping scenery of Glencoe, and the wild silent spaces of Ardnamurchan.

Torridon is another place I'm fascinated by, although I haven't made it there yet. Mostly, it's the mighty Liathach that for some reason draws me there, but there's something about the whole area that just seems and sounds magical.

Here's a great video of a day driving through Torridon in the winter. It's so reminiscent of Scotland it's difficult to explain.

Even the start, driving behind the gritter in the snow (something I haven't had to consider any of the years I've been in Ireland), the slush on the road. There's something magical in this video, the mixing of the amazing scenery with the almighty tune (Highland Cathedral, which only lasts the first three minutes here, but almost always nearly reduces me to tears when it's done right).

The stillness of the loch, the trees, mountains and river at 1:01, the scene at 1:40 with the huge mountains standing silent as the car passes like a bug, then when they pull in to the glen, with that snowbound road twisting all the way down to Loch Maree...