Not just in recent years - Alfred Hitchcock filmed his version of The 39 Steps in and around Glencoe as early as 1935, while David Niven as Bonnie Prince Charlie was also in the area in 1948. (In real life, Niven was also here as part of the Special Operations Executive based at Inverailort Castle during World War II.)

Look out for the Fort William and Lochaber area in movies such as the tartan blockbusters Rob Roy and Braveheart. Even more recently, the West Highland rail line's famous Glenfinnan Viaduct features in Harry Potter, the Chamber of Secrets, with Hogwarts Express steaming over it.

And it isn't just panoramas of mountains that attract the film-makers. Castle Tioram and a spectacular waterfall by Loch Arkaig are just two more locations (again, in Rob Roy) while, Eilean Donan is at the heart of Highlander (1986), though it is also turns up as the Highland HQ of MI6 in the James Bond movie The World is Not Enough and Diabaig features as the village in Loch Ness.

The Highlands feature not just in wide-screen format. After Hamish Macbeth the friendly policeman put Plockton on the map, Monarch of the Glen brought the beauties of Speyside and Laggan to a wider audience, while the BBC Scotland series Rockface has drama in both script and the Lochaber landscape.

From the romantic Kidnapped to the surreal humour of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, from the Bollywood love story of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai to the sheer escapism of Highlander, you can follow in the footsteps of the big names - though the real star is the Highland setting.