Tourists flocked to the Trossachs after the success of Sir Walter Scott's poem 'The Lady of the Lake' in 1810, which was set here. The Duke of Montrose, the landowner, first built the road in response to the growing numbers of visitors. Before that there was only a rough track, unsuitable for carriages. Over time the Duke's Pass or Duke's Road was further improved. The easy gradients and traverses of the road today date from 1932.

Midges love still, damp conditions, in areas of fairly high rainfall. Given that Scotland’s fine scenery often involves wet moorland, loch and mountain (hence high rainfall), I appreciate your problem. Arran might still be a possibility, if you choose a coastal location to catch the breeze. Otherwise, I reckon it’s mission impossible. Midges are the price you pay for the scenery. Coastal locations in the east, around East Lothian or North-East Fife may have fewer midges but may not have the scenery you specify, though the coastlines are nice. And these places may be too far from Glasgow for you.

No, I cannot guarantee a midge-free location amid outstanding scenery in the west (though there are plenty of superb locations!) Reckon you should stick with your Arran plan, or consider Bute, Cowal, even the Trossachs or Highland Perthshire, and just stay in the pub of an evening if the breeze drops! There are midge repellents that work as well.

Hello Ben, Scotland is a really well resourced place to trace your family tree. There is a feature about tracing your Scottish ancestry on the scotlandinaweek website. ScotlandsPeopleCentre is another key word for you to follow up. You can do a lot of this on line, but if you do visit Scotland, then Edinburgh's Register House (where ScotlandsPeopleCentre is based) might be a good starting point. But you must have this starting point. Which part of Scotland were your people from? What family stories have been handed down? And so on. Good luck with your search. If you need help on the ground when you get here, then see www.johannacampbell.co.uk - she is a knowledgeable Scottish guide.

What an interesting question and only ringing the faintest of bells from Dougal's marble playing days long ago. It’s a word from the north-east of Scotland – though it’s also in dictionaries of Shetland words – and means a hole in the ground – a target for the marbles. Kype or kypie (presumably a wee holey!) is linked to Old English cype and Low German kipe meaning a basket – hence anything of a concave shape.

There is a Concorde at the National Museum of Flight at East Fortune, in East Lothian, east of Edinburgh. Actually, the museum brands it as 'The Concorde Experience' and you can see all over the aircraft. There's lots more to see at this historic airfield as well - you probably need to make an afternoon of it.