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Make a holiday of it: Balado is less than an hour from Edinburgh and St Andrews, as well as the East Neuk of Fife’s fabulous fishing villages and beaches, and Pitlochry, gateway to the Cairngorms. Just south of Balado, the 18th-century Blair Adam B&B (01383 831221) has handsome doubles in 250 acres for £100. See visitfife.com.

2. Hebridean Celtic Festical, Lewis
July 13-16

Staged in churches, pubs and village halls across the island, and a main-stage marquee in the grounds of Lewis Castle, the Hebridean Celtic Festival gathers together the world’s best Celtic music — then spills out into bars and front rooms once the formal stuff has finished. KT Tunstall headlines, and there’s street theatre, a food market and fiddling workshops. Tickets start at £5, with marquee tickets from £24 a day or £65 for all four days (01851 621234, hebceltfest.com).

Make a holiday of it: teetering atop the Outer Hebrides, Lewis is a wild, windswept place of dramatic cliffs, bone-white beaches, sea-bird colonies and seals. The neolithic standing stones at Callanish make Stonehenge look tame. On a two-mile sweep of beach near Stornoway, Broad Bay House (01851 820990, broadbayhouse.co.uk) has sea-view doubles from £175, B&B, or try Cnip Grazing (01851 672265), a thrillingly world’s-end camp site at Uig, where pitches cost £6. See www.visitthehebrides.com.

3. Tall Ships Races, Shetlands
July 21-24

The last port of call before the 56 entries in this year’s race set sail for Norway, Lerwick stages its biggest harbour party since the Vikings rowed in. With fireworks, street entertainment and open-air concerts, the festival showcases all things Shetland: don’t miss the food fair, which will be groaning with local cheeses, chutneys, scallops and lamb. Most events are free (tallshipsraceslerwick.com).

Make a holiday of it: closer to Bergen than Edinburgh, the Shetland Islands feel wonderfully foreign, their high-cheeked locals and Norse-littered place names betraying their Viking past. There’s stunning sea-kayaking and boat tours, while its pubs are often filled by impromptu fiddle bands. See visit.shetland.org for info and accommodation, including nine utterly romantic converted fishermen’s huts scattered across the isle (£8-£10 a night; 01595 694688, camping-bods.co.uk).

4. Wickerman Festival, Dumfries and Galloway
July 22-23

Sitting within a natural 120-acre amphitheatre of prime Galloway grazing land, just west of the Solway Firth, the Wickerman Festival has one of the most beautiful settings in Britain. Never mind the headliners, James and Feeder, you’d pay the entry fee just to camp here. The festival’s climax is the burning of a 25ft wicker man — like the 1973 cult film, only without the human sacrifice. A ticket for Saturday night costs £60, including camping; weekend tickets are £90; yurts and tepees with shower access start at £250 (0844 884 2920, thewickermanfestival.co.uk).

Make a holiday of it: straddling the border with England, the Solway Coast is a remote, magical wild west of sandy bays beneath wooded hills, gothic abbeys, tumbledown castles, Roman ruins and faded fishing villages. It also has fabulous coastal walks and, in Rockcliffe Bay, a must-visit beach. A mile’s walk along the River Dee from Kirkcudbright, Glenholme Country House (01557 339442, glenholmecountryhouse.com) has sumptuous doubles from £85, B&B. See visitdumfriesandgalloway.co.uk.

5. Pittenweem Arts Festival, Fife
August 6-14

In the classic East Neuk fishing village of Pittenweem, more than 100 artists exhibit in front rooms and studios, gardens and garages. The visits are all free, but prices vary for workshops, concerts, theatre performances and guided walks (01333 313903, pittenweemartsfestival.co.uk).

Make a holiday of it: a stone’s throw from the villages of Crail and Anstruther (home to the fabled Anstruther Fish Bar; anstrutherfishbar.co.uk), Pittenweem is also only 25 minutes by car from St Andrews, or a magical day-long march if you follow the Fife Coastal Path. Ten minutes’ drive the other way, there’s the beach at Elie. The festival website has links to nearby cottages and guesthouses, but one they’ve missed is the cracking Peat Inn (01334 840206, thepeatinn.co.uk), which has doubles from £195, B&B — its Michelin-starred restaurant is worth the journey alone. Visit eastneukwide.co.uk.

6. Blas Festival, Highlands
September 9-17

A nine-day kilted carnival of Gaelic song and dance, poetry, food and drink, the Blas Festival presents almost 100 events, from a ceilidh on Eigg to a concert 3,600ft up in the Cairngorms, the Piping Olympics in Inverness and mushrooming in the forests of the Spey. Prices vary (blas-festival.com).

Make a holiday of it: head to Skye. For one thing, it’s Scotland’s Gaelic heartbeat. And for another, it’s the Highlands and Islands at their most dramatic. The Cuillin peaks are the main draw, while the Quiraing offers sea-view walking with next to no slog. The Cottage Guide (www.cottageguide.co.uk) has more than 140 properties on Skye; from £220 a week during the festival. Or stay at Kinloch Lodge (01471 833333, www.kinloch-lodge.co.uk), which has a Michelin-starred restaurant and handsome doubles from £320, including dinner and breakfast. Visit skye.co.uk.

See tall ships sail from Shetland (Patrick Dieudonne)

7. Loopallu, Ross-shire
September 16 and 17

Only six years old, Loopallu is already the place to round off the summer festival season, with a family-friendly vibe and a Highland seafront setting that would make Rob Roy weep. There’s only one stage, but the line-up punches way above its weight. What other festival gives you the Feeling alongside the Ullapool Pipe Band? Weekend tickets start at £60, or £75 with two nights’ camping on the shores of Loch Broom (0844 499 9990, loopallu.co.uk).

Make a holiday of it: an artsy frontier town, Ullapool juts out into a sea loch. Driving north, it gets even prettier, with glorious views of the Summer Isles just beyond the epic summits of Suilven and Stac Pollaidh. Heading south, An Teallach is one of the best ridge walks in Britain, while Gairloch has whale-watching and sea-kayaking. On Loch Broom, Tanglewood House (01854 612059, tanglewoodhouse.co.uk) has sea-view doubles from £96, B&B. Visit ullapool.com.

8. Wigtown Book Festival, Dumfries and Galloway
September 23-October 2

With 13 bookshops for a population of about 1,000, Wigtown is the Scottish cousin of Hay-on-Wye. Staging workshops and readings in country houses, bookshops, castles and distilleries, the get-together this year features a veritable library of literary luminaries, including Maggie O’Farrell and David Vann. Most events cost £7-£10 (01988 402036, wigtownbookfestival.com).

Make a holiday of it: the cradle of Christianity in Scotland, Whithorn is littered with St Ninianobilia, including a 13th-century chapel, perched on a stunning promontory (£4.50; 0131 668 8600, www.whithornpriorymuseum.gov.uk), while the RSPB reserves at Mull of Galloway and Crook of Baldoon will be busy with gannets and waders. The festival website has plenty of accommodation tips, including the Wigtown Ploughman Hotel (01988 403236, wigtownploughman.co.uk; doubles from £60, B&B). See visitdumfriesandgalloway.co.uk.

Edinburgh exposed: how to see the world’s biggest arts festival

When is it?
The Edinburgh Festival is actually several separate but overlapping summer events. The big two are the International Festival, a highbrow celebration of opera, classical music, theatre and dance (August 12-September 4; eif.co.uk), and the Fringe, a hotchpotch of comedy, cabaret, theatre and children’s shows (August 5-29; edfringe.com).

In addition, there’s a jazz and blues festival (July 22-31; edinburghjazzfestival.com), amilitary tattoo (August 5-27; www.edintattoo.co.uk), a book festival (August 13-29; edbookfest.co.uk) and a mela (September 2-4; edinburgh-mela.co.uk). The film festival (edfilmfest.org.uk) finished last weekend.

What should I see?
For the first time, the BBC has its own tent at the Fringe, with highlights including David Mitchell’s The Unbelievable Truth (August 13, 12.15pm and 2.15pm; free, but book) and Just a Minute (August 14, 1.30pm and 3pm; free, but book). Other Fringe events include Ruby Wax’s stage show Losing It (Udderbelly’s Pasture, August 5-29, 4.10pm; £10-£17.50), John Malkovich directing Julian Sands in a celebration of Harold Pinter (Pleasance Courtyard, August 4-21, 3pm; £7.50-£15) and, for kids, readings from Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes (Pleasance Courtyard, August 3-29, 12.30pm; £8). Book at edfringe.com or phone 0131 226 0000.

Highlights of the International Festival include Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri, performed by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and conducted by Roger Norrington (Usher Hall, August 12, 7.30pm; £12-£46); and the National Ballet of China’s spectacular The Peony Pavilion (Festival Theatre, August 13-15, 7.30pm, £12-£44). Book at eif.co.uk or phone 0131 473 2000.

Any beds left?
A few. Look at visitscotland.com for hotels, B&Bs and self-catering; click the Surprise Yourself tab for the latest offers. While B&Bs and hotels are tough to find, university rooms are still a good bet. Edinburgh First (0131 651 2189, edinburghfirst.co.uk) has a double at Pollock Halls, a 20-minute walk from the Royal Mile, for £101 a night, B&B. Portsburgh Apartments, two one-bedroom flats near the castle, are available for £720 a week each in August (through letinedinburgh.co.uk).

And for dinner?
Everyone’s talking about the Edinburgh star Martin Wishart’s new brasserie, the Honours (0131 220 2513, thehonours.co.uk), which opens next week on North Castle Street. A three-course lunch is £17.50, pre-theatre dinner £19.50. There’s a buzz, too, about Wedgwood restaurant’s new gourmet hampers, delivered from about £50 (0131 558 8737, wedgwoodtherestaurant.co.uk).