OVER the years we all develop our own personal list of places we are ready to revisit at the drop of a suggestion.

Sometimes it takes years to discover them, first encountering what my brother Jim labels "But Countries". Interesting to visit . . . but you certainly wouldn't want to live there and aren't overwhelmingly anxious to make an encore visit.

Luckily, I visited Scotland on my very first European trip in 1967 and it was definitely love at first sight. It had been a lengthy adventure starting in Rome, continuing to Lucerne, Switzerland, then Paris for Bastille Day, on to London, up to Edinburgh and finally Ireland.

Perhaps having some Scots heritage helped make visiting that fabled land seem like a homecoming. But in all my many returns since, I've yet to find any visitor who hasn't fallen under its spell.

When the Bermuda Regiment Band and the Gombeys march across the parade ground as participants in Edinburgh's famed Military Tattoo this August, those lucky enough to be there will discover exactly what I mean. Being there any time is a memorable experience, but there's nothing quite like the magic of the tattoo.

I first sat there in the impressive shadow of massive Edinburgh Castle enjoying the very unique performance in the early 1970s. Dating to 1950, it has continued to grow in popularity ever since, with more than ten million lucky viewers seeing it in person and an estimated 100 million on TV. This year's dates are August 1 to 23.

It's no exaggeration to say that event alone is worth the trip. How does one describe a bigger-than-life spectacular of hundreds of pipers and drummers marching across the esplanade playing in full regimental dress! They are soldiers first, musicians second, playing music that has given courage and inspiration on battlefields in remote corners of the world.

Besides their performance, expect to see the best of Scottish dancers and a variety of very talented participants ranging from Africa and America to India and Nepal . . . and this year Bermuda.

Almost overwhelming is the awesome presence of the castle looming over the scene illuminated by torches. Then comes a grand finale involving column after column of performers, sounding of the last post and finally, almost hauntingly, a lone piper plays a lament from castle ramparts and the audience joins in as torches are extinguished.

Where did the word tattoo originate? In the 17th and 18th centuries, pub closing time was announced with the words "Doe den tap toe" . . . "turn off the tap".

It's only fair to confess a personal addiction to bagpipe and regimental music . . . so much so that I sometimes even play regimental recordings like and , while writing my column. When late Tourism Minister David Allen's Edinburgh-born mother died, it was my suggestion a piper be at the cemetery playing that last lament.

If this will be a first trip to Scotland, Edinburgh will not be a disappointment. The city's dramatic setting will immediately have you reaching for a camera. Castle ramparts overlook the historic site from dramatic rocky heights and reminders of a stormy history are everywhere.

Stroll along the Royal Mile from the centre of Old Town up to the castle and you are literally stepping back along the pages of history, following footsteps of not only kings and queens but literary giants like Sir Walter Scott, Robert Burns and Robert Louis Stevenson . . . and more recently J.K. Rowling who wrote her first four books in Edinburgh.

Actually, just touring the castle itself, with museums recalling regimental history, and seeing the tattoo are worth the trip. You'll also want to save plenty of time for Holyroodhouse, the grand palace so steeped in history and still an official royal residence visited by the Queen. Those who didn't know too much about Mary, Queen of Scots before arriving will soon be crossing paths with her memory everywhere and seeing her personal effects here and along the way. Visitors will want to spend some time shopping and may even consider outfitting themselves in the special Edinburgh Military Tattoo Jubilee Tartan, created to observe the tattoo's golden jubilee.

Should I be embarrassed to admit my closets contain 25 kilts, both daytime and evening? They're exceptionally comfortable and can go just about anywhere worn with a blazer. One of their bonuses is a waistline easily extended if you over-indulge in bountiful menus and the temptations of luscious shortbread.

I'll never forget a gillie (fishing guide) up near Inchnadamp looking at me in my kilt disapprovingly and commenting: "The kilt is a man's dress!" However, he was the exception.

If a man in your family is interested in investing in the genuine article, be prepared for a major expenditure. For years Jim had his heart set on a regimental kilt. These are beautifully made, with military kilt-makers apprenticing for four years before receiving full accreditation. But where to find one? Our search started on the beautiful island of Skye and ranged across the country without success. It had to be a McKenzie, but the regiment had merged with the Gortons 33 years earlier and it would have to emerge from storage inventory.

Finally, we were directed to a prestigious second-floor Inverness shop and there it was stocked away in inventory with its deep pleats still held tight with two rows of original basting thread. At six foot two inches and weighing under 170 pounds, it fitted Jim as though tailor-made.

Kilt cost was ?350, but that's just a starter. Then add the Glengarry, an appropriate jacket, regular and dress ties (the whole outfit doubles as black tie with addition of a tartan bow tie). Next came a regimental belt and buckle, appropriate pins, sporran, proper stockings with flashes, etc. Don't be surprised when the total escalates more than $1,000.

Years earlier I'd bought a very fancy pair of hand-knit knee stockings with elaborate lattice-woven tops for him in a small weaver's cottage out in a remote corner of the Isle of Harris for $5. An Edinburgh military shop wanted $150 for exactly the same stockings, enough to cause cardiac arrest. Happily, he had the Harris pair along.

But Jim gets a lot of wear out of his outfit for everything from family weddings and funerals to New Year's Eve, so it's been worth the price. The result is so authentic even British Prime Minister Tony Blair mistook him for the genuine article. As I mentioned in this column a couple of years ago, we happened to be in Edinburgh the morning after the first "Yes Yes" devolution vote granting some autonomy to Scotland and stopped to view a celebrating street rally just below the castle.

Feeling a tap on the shoulder, Jim turned to find Blair asking him: "What does a Highlander like you feel about the Yes Yes vote?" Jim mustered up an amazingly authentic brogue and replied: "Och, it's a grand day for Scotland. But if devolution doesn't mean independence, then devolution means revolution."

Where to stay? Over the years I've settled into town close by everything and also outside it in 17th- century Prestonfield, a country-house estate now a small hotel just beyond town. All were excellent, and so were restaurants across Scotland where I admit fresh-caught salmon was my choice for both lunch and dinner daily.

If you're looking for a really fun pub-restaurant, consider trying Physicians and Firkin at The Firkin Brewery on Dalkeith Road across from the university residence near the medical school. It was recommended to us by a doctor friend who studied tropical medicine at the university.

Their "Firkin Fodder" menu was tasty (we opted for fish and chips), and the atmosphere imaginative. They have seven locations, all with different themes. This one is big enough to hold the Bermuda Regiment Band, Gombeys and visiting Bermudians!

Once this far, the temptation to go further north is irresistible and scenery increases with each passing mile. With the slightest bit of encouragement, I'll have you out past Skye and on to Harris and Lewis for several weeks of adventuring, with sidetrips back to Orkney and the Shetland Islands.

Admittedly, not everyone enjoys the often challenging narrow one-track roads leading out to the Western Isles. Those who prefer to leave driving and details to others may want to consider an all- inclusive package tour. Bermuda's C Travel is among those offering a special Edinburgh Tattoo package.

There's such a thing as knowing too much about your subject and wanting others to share in its beauty and sense of adventure. Scotland has provided us with so many magic moments that will forever linger in the memory . . .

That night after a special gala reception at Stirling Castle of fame where we dined in a room where Mary Queen of Scots was crowned as an infant, and danced to traditional music dressed in our full Scots regalia . . . then walked across the castle yard in the moonlight, last to leave, and a piper high on the ramparts piped us out to our waiting car. Enjoying an Orkney picnic sitting atop a cliff watching tempestuous seas swirl around the dramatic Old Man of Hoy rock formation . . . getting off dramatic Iona on the last ferry to run for three days when the tall end of a Caribbean hurricane brought such winds to the Inner Hebrides that the waterfall across from our lodge was blowing horizontal.

Discovering an impromptu Saturday night ceilidh in a pub restaurant on the island of Skye . . . and missing a ferry there once because of temptations in a harbourside woollen mill at Kyle of Lochlash, selling kilts, of course.

Joining a sonar expedition on Loch Ness in search of the monster . . . staying in a long list of historic castles with storied pasts . . . being impressed by the selfless adventurous life of Dr. David Livingstone in Africa as recalled in the Blantyre mill-tenement museum where he was born . . . and on and on.

By all means, don't miss stopping at one of the woollen mill shops you'll encounter along the way. They not only have good clothing buys, but usually excellent selections of traditional pipe and regimental music and we do our best to deplete their supply.

Apparently not only humans are transfixed by that music. Playing it in the car driving along the shore of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides, we stopped beside a small herd of red deer who didn't run off but stood listening and watching us intrigued.

Perhaps you'll be so enthused, you'll come home ready to adopt a few new Scots' habits like those practised across the islands. In our household, first-footing on New Year's Eve is one of them, always observed with Celtic enthusiasm.

For those unfamiliar with that tradition, it insists the first foot over your threshold after the strike of midnight should be a dark-haired man, preferably carrying a lump of coal in one hand and a tasty piece of cake in the other. Our nearest neighbours are from Scotland and a piper circles their property every New Year with his music delighting everyone within hearing.

Then he's invited in to toast the New Year with the whisky for which the country is famous. You'll encounter plenty of places to do the same, with many distillery tours offering generous samples.

Bermuda's C Travel (441) 292-3033 has a special Tattoo package from August 2-10. All inclusive, it covers round-trip British Airways flights, five nights at a centrally located Edinburgh hotel, breakfasts, two tattoo performances, local sightseeing, castle pass and excursions to Skye, Stirling Castle, Loch Ness, Loch Lomond and Glencoe. Two nights will be spent in London en route back, with half a day sightseeing there. Cost is $2,890 per person and arrangements can be made to linger on in either Scotland or England.

For more information on the many wonders of Scotland, see www.visitscotland.com

August 6, Skye Highland Games Portree, with three-day piping competition beginning August 4.

August 10-30 Edinburgh International Festival: eif.co.uk.com