RARELY in my globe-spanning career as a travel journalist have I enjoyed a Press Trip so much as my recent expedition across the water to the country I can genuinely call my second homeland.

Scotland is a regular destination of mine, one which I often recommend here with relish, but that's mostly because I have family ties with Edinburgh and I feel trewly at home in that finest of British cities with its world-class festivals and attractions.

Amazingly, I had my eyes opened about the 2,310 (approx) OTHER Scottish places offering equally enticing tourism opportunities at VisitScotland Expo2006,the superb two-day travel trade showcase of hotels, resorts, tours, events and attractions which was the focal-point of our trip.

I was so inspired by the info I picked up that, for the first time in 16 years, I am not going abroad this July, but will embark on a Summer Journey of Scottish Superlatives - the Most Luxurious, the Best Value, the Most Family-Friendly places - and will report on my experiences here.

Getting to Scotland is still a bargain: you can fly to Glasgow or Edinburgh on easyJet from Belfast International, or flybe from our newly renamed George Best Airport, for as little as £50 return. For around £200 round trip you can take your car and family by ferry to Stranraer, Cairnryan or Troon and then motor through some of Europe's most enchanting landscapes to your destination.

Thanks to the highly rewarding -if somewhat exhausting - itinerary brilliantly organised by my PR friends in VisitScotland (VS), I was able to explore the latest delights that Glasgow has in store, as well as finding out at Expo2006 what the rest of the country has to offer.

Here's my diary of highlights, suggestions, tips and trends to give you fresh inspirations and ideas for your next Tartan Trip.

I'm pampered head to toes

I AM picked up at Glasgow Airport by Derek Christie, the VS Golf PR exec whose usual job is to wine, dine and play a lot of great courses with American golf journalists. And people are envious of ME!

He drives north towards Erskine Bridge and in just ten minutes we're at Mar Hall, a mansion surrounded by 200 acres of woodlands and greenery on the southern bank of the wide River Clyde.

It's one of the oldest - but newest - five-star luxury hotels in the country, originally designed for the Earl of Mar in 1840 by the architect of the British Museum, and its gothic frontage is almost equally as imposing. Although it only opened as a hotel and spa two years ago, with a championship golf course due next year, it has already been named in the Top Five Glasgow hotels.

The interior is awesome. The 100ft long Grand Hall Gallery, hung with tapestries and chandeliers, and lit by towering windows, is so trewly palatial that I had to plonk myself on one of the plump sofas to take it all in. I sat alongside a stylishly-dressed woman who confessed that she was scouting the place as a location for a fashion shoot. And no wonder!

I was shown to my stylish and spacious double room overlooking the neat formal gardens, by the Director of Sales & Marketing herself, Sharon Taylor.

She was one of the key launch staff (including executive chef Jim Kerr) recruited from One Devonshire Place, Glasgow's Number One luxury hotel. I had asked for extra pillows when I checked in, and there they were already, creating a mini highlands in the middle of the big bed. Ten out of ten for service.

My afternoon is spent in the Aveda Concept Spa, one of the best I've ever enjoyed in a British hotel. As well as a huge pool, steam rooms and a hot sauna that nearly melts my charity wristbands, the spa has 11 rooms for specialist treatments. That's a lot.

Therapies are based on Ayurvedic healing traditions, as local girl Natalie Rodgers explains as she gives me a full hour of reflexology which nearly induces a blissful sleep. I love the way she strokes my instep to make my bad back better. It works, too.

Over a pleasant dinner and drinks at the end of DAY YIN I meet my fellow scribes and our hosts - or hostesses. Karin Finlay, the Co Londonderry girl who is VisitScotland's UK and Ireland PR Manager, makes regular appearances in this column as I'm always chuffed to highlight the growing number of Ulster high-flyers on the international travel scene.

Another non-Scots on her team include vivacious Scandanavian Jenny Glumoff and charming Londoner Liz Ware as well as Jude Henderson and mum-to-be Heidi Cordner, who is usually active as Activities PR, but is due for maternity leave. I must give a big thank-you to lovely PR assistant Gayle Wilson who plays a pivotal role in organising my life for the next few days.

Scotland's showcase

WE'RE bussed to Expo2006 in the vast arena of the SECC. I'm amazed that so many hundreds of Scottish-only tourism interests are represented, from family B&Bs to whisky distilleries.

I spend the whole day on the verge of information-overload, acquiring a half-stone - of maps, guides, leaflets, brochures and booklets alone.

GLENEAGLES: It comes as no great surprise that the finest promo literature is that of The Gleneagles Hotel, one of the icons of Scottish tourism and winner of so many awards ( including Best UK Hotel) that it would take the rest of this column to list them. Public Relations Manager Simon Brown subsequently sends me lots more coffee-table size booklets, so sumptously designed and photographed that I want to follow in the footsteps of superstars and heads of state and go to Gleneagles. Right now!

Is it expensive? Yes, but there are deals like the recent Bank Holiday Monday when a double room plus breakfast and dinner for two, was just £299. Check gleneagles.com.

DUNBLANE HYDRO: Perthshire's most famous and cherished Victorian watering hole hotel, where rich merchants and lairds used to come for The Cure, has successfully re-invented itself as a splendid all-year modern venue complete with spa. Sales Director Aynsley Bates and Nicola Dickson tell me that they are looking forward to greeting more guests than ever from this side of the water. Visit www.dunblanehydrohotel.com.

St Andrew's Bay is that monumental modern golf resort and spa commanding the majestic location on the coastal road into the university town of the same name. I have passed it while exploring Fife and have always wanted to have a look inside; next month I hope to do better and stay a while, perhaps in one of the family Manor Homes. PR Manager Louise Philip is well represented at Expo by young Suzanne Blankenstein who tells me their kids' club is wittily called "Bay-gulls". She unloads lots of literature in the Media Lounge where all the hacks congregate for tea and buns. See www.standrewsbay.com.

THE Town House Company is a collection of four of Edinburgh's finest places to stay (with another one in Glasgow to be added in 2007).

I'm sure the The Bonham, Howard, Edinburgh Residence and Channings are as classy as the ladies promoting them at Expo - Sally Corrigan and Jane Thomson. I'll certainly soon be popping round to have what they call a Boozy Snoozy Sunday lunch at Channings - £60 per table of four inc two bottles of wine. A Capital bargain!

After Expo I was almost too exhausted to attend Party Night at Glasgow's exclusive food and fashion indoor attraction, Princes Square. Free food, champagne and home-grown entertainment ensured that it was packed to its four-storey rafters. As a fan of Spanish cuisine and culture I booked a table for two, then four then 10 of our VisitScotland party at Barça, a great tapas restaurant on the third floor. I wanted to impress my friends by ordering in the language I have been learning for two years, but - desgraciadamente (sadly) - none of the cosmopolitan waiting staff actually spoke much Spanish...

Glasgow the Greatest

'GLASGOW - Scotland With Style' is already well-known as the refreshingly straightforward campaign brand of this fast-forward city where the helpful Marketing Bureau hosted me for a trewly invigorating day of visual delights.

My arts-oriented odyssey highlighted some of the city's unique treasures: Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the 2006 Festival devoted to his design and architectual legacy; the long-awaited re-opening of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum; plus visits to the Museum of Modern Art (always good for a laugh) and The Lighthouse Arts Centre.

THE Kelingrove, opening in mid-July after a three year, £30m refurbishment, is undoubtedly going to be Scotland's finest free indoor attraction. I discover the fresh approach to displaying and interpreting its treasures in a sneak preview tour for UK Press led by the ultra-articulate and enthusiastic Project Director Anthony McReavey.

It is a pleasure to learn that most of the fitting-out was done by that world-conquering Ulster company, Mivan of Antrim, which has also been responsible for the interior of the Scottish Parliament. Among Mivan's innovations are the modular show-cases which can be easily changed around so as displays can be refreshed every few months. I am thrilled to see that patrons of the vast new Conservatory Café will enjoy panoramas of famous Kelvingrove Park and Glasgow University. Go to www.glasgowmuseums.com for more on this inspirational all-age attraction.

Glasgow School of Art is just one of the masterly buildings we visit as part of the on-going year-long celebration of the city's most famous designer which will have a special focus of events in next September's Mackintosh Festival. Check out this website www.glasgowmackintosh2006.com.

Tours of the School's amazing interior, conducted by young but expert guides, are bookable in advance. Even though I've been twice before, I am excited by the whole experience A must-see for Mac fans.

The Lighthouse arts centre has a lovely restaurant which acts as a beacon for us hungry hacks, though I observe they served italian 'light' fare rather than 'Beacon Butties'. (This pun is lost on everybody but fellow-punster and doyen of Scots travel broadcasters, John Sheridan. It was he who pointed at an ancient sword in the Kelvingrove and said "That was really cutting-edge in the Bronze Age!") Housed in the former Glasgow Herald newspaper office, the centre is home to ever-changing exhibitions of art and photography.

I spend a an eye-popping hour in the MUSEUM of MODERN ART before the onset of visual indigestion forces me to seek refuge and a refreshing shower in Langs, my pleasant hotel alongside the main bus station and fornenst (as we say here) the massive Buchanan Centre. See www.langshotels.co.uk.

Dinner with charming and cultured Moira Dyer, Glasgow Marketing's senior PR manager, gives us the chance to sample some of the fine food that has been an essential element of the city's drive to attract top-end tourists. At Brian Maule @ the Chateau d'Or Restaurant we really enjoy classic cuisine prepared and presented with award-winning flair by the man himself. Brian joins us for photos and praise after I rave over the excellence of the cheeseboard.

Bargain bus ride

THANKS to the fact that Langs Hotel adjoins Buchanan Bus Station, I only have to stagger 20 metres to catch the coach to Edinburgh after stuffing myself with the Full Scottish Breakfast, including fried fruit cake to die for (in every sense of that phrase).

For just £4 (£6 return) I am treated to a 90 minute scenic trip to Edinburgh and get off at the terminus which is right next door to Harvey Nichols department store, home of the Forth Restaurant, my favourite lunch spot. A gorgeous girl takes care of my baggage, I freshen up in Scotland's most delightful public loo, and then seek refreshment.

A young barman shakes me up a gum-tingling cocktail of zesty citrus juices and iced tea, topped with fruit slices and a bunch of fresh mint the size of my side hedge. This Harvey Nick's Special Thirst-quencher, plus the performance involved in serving it at the bar of Edinburgh's most exclusive in-store eatery, comes to just £2.50.

As I await my daughter to collect me for a family weekend, I bump into a lovely lady who rounds off my VisitScotland odyssey with a great Ulster angle. I overhear Sheila Devlin-Thorp enquiring about the Harvel Nichols Fashion Show and recognise a hint of Coalisland, Co Tyrone in her refined Edinburgh accent. Believe it or not, I discover she now runs her own 'specialist' tourism business ( see www.EdinburghMedicalTour.com) and shows visitors around the city's many landmarks of medicine while carrying a Gladstone bag full of old surgical scalpels and saws.

Yes, Sheila's certainly at the cutting-edge of special interest tourism!

BY JOHN TREW