There are sacred wells where, to this day, strips of cloth are hung on them and wishes made. There are stories of famous Seers, such as the Brahan Seer, whose prophesies are just a little unsettling. Mermaids have been seen - or so they say - and a long time ago a boatbuilder from Gairloch caught one and made her promise that no boat he built would ever sink. Fairies, too, are around - and you can visit Dunvegan Castle to see the Fairy Flag, with its protective powers over the Clan Macleod.

As for ghosts, hardly a hill or glen seems without them - from a Highlander on Culloden battlefield, to an old sailor at Sandwood Bay. There is even a ghostly dog or two, if you believe a story from Arisaig. (Its owner left it behind when evicted during the Clearances.) And all this even before you reach the many tales of the kelpie or the each-uisge (Gaelic: water horse), whose modern descendant is probably the Loch Ness monster!