* Getting there: We travelled with Stena Line, which sails between Belfast and Cairnryan in two hours and 15 minutes up to six times a day from £10 return or for car and driver from £69.
Additional car passengers cost from £27 each way for adults and £10 each way for children.
Facilities include the Pure Nordic Spa from £10 per person and the Stena Plus lounge from £12.
See stenaline.co.uk, call 08447 707070, or visit your travel agent.
* Where to stay: We were in one of four new luxury one to two-bedroom serviced apartments owned by the nearby Rutland Hotel.
Each features Virgin cable television with TiVo, high speed fibre-optic broadband, Nintendo Wiis, underfloor heating in the bathroom and kitchen, a mix of rainfall showers and free-standing feature baths, vintage furniture from Ralph Lauren and in the basement apartment, patio and garden access.
Prices range from £220 to £440 per apartment, with discounted car parking nearby. www.therutlandhotel.com, www.therutlandhotel.com/no15/
* LET THERE BE LIGHT: Fireworks over Edinburgh Castle
* Right, Ken Stott as Rebus in the Scottish Television adaptation of Rebus; below, the statue of Sherlock Holmes at Picardy Place, birthplace of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; and bottom right, Sir Walter Scott's statue in Princes Street Gardens, the biggest statue to a writer in the world