These two European locations are home to the world's most stunning castles

Both Scotland and Wales are outstanding (and beloved) destinations, known for legendary castles, dramatic landscapes and more. But which one would you visit first? Our experts help you decide.

By Amy Cooper

It's been a while since I've been called upon to defend the honour of my birthplace, so excuse me for a moment while I paint my face blue, don the tartan and channel the ferocity with which my ancestors sent the Romans, Normans and even some of the Vikings fleeing in terror. Or maybe not, because as foes go, Wales is about as formidable as its sheep, which outnumber the country's humans four to one, and its vowels 10 million to zero. With place names like Bwlchgwyn and Ynysybwl, Mal will still be decoding his first road sign while I'm on my fifth distillery.

Naturally, I'm leading with the whisky. Scotland's lifeblood is made throughout the country in 150-plus distilleries - the world's greatest concentration of whisky production. Distillery trails criss-cross glorious glens, mountains and moors, from Islay to Speyside to the Highlands. Tasting and touring is a dram-lover's dream. Whisky and Wales? That's the first time I've seen them in the same sentence.

Maybe it's fairer to compare something both countries have, like postcard scenery. But it's impossible to out-wow bonnie Scotland, three times bigger than Wales, with the UK's longest coastline, 800-plus islands and mountains that reach for the heavens. There are 282 Munros - peaks higher than 3000 feet (914 metres) - and 75 are taller than Wales's peak peak, Snowdonia.

From the haunting grandeur of Glencoe, seen in Outlander and Skyfall, to the gleaming vistas of Loch Lomond, Loch Fyne and Loch Ness, Scotland's achingly beautiful landscapes always feel to me like the prototype for lesser versions around the world.

Other countries have corner shops, Scotland has castles. Some 1500 on coasts and clifftops bear testament to a turbulent past where home security meant walls five metres thick, a drawbridge and murder holes. These days, in magnificent edifices like Stirling Castle, Edinburgh Castle, Eilean Donan (the one on the shortbread tins) and Balmoral (where Queen Elizabeth II passed away) you'll be greeted with tours and absorbing tales rather than cannon fire.

Edinburgh and Glasgow are frequently named among Europe's top culture cities, but you can base yourself in handsome, granite Aberdeen, golf-obsessed St Andrews, elegant Perth, or any number of tiny towns in heather-clad wilderness. I was born in one right at the top, in Caithness, where the northern lights paint nocturnal rainbows, golden eagles soar and puffins roost on cliffs, and there are sandy beaches that would rival the Bahamas if the climate were differently inclined. Stand up there on a headland with the Pentland Firth crashing at your feet, as if on the edge of the world, and you'll be moved to shout "freeeedom", like Mel in Braveheart. Mal in Wales, seeking vowels and a decent dram, will have to make do with: '"frdm".

By Mal Chenu

The land of the leek beats the home of haggis any day.

Sure, Scotland boasts some reasonable whisky but between wee drams you'll be assaulted by thistles, tartan, bag pipes, kilts lifting in the perpetual gales and caber tossing bampots screaming "freeeeedom" after a few too many swallies.

Blue paint may be the face of the Scottish Braveheart, but the red dragon has symbolised Wales since the ninth century. The iconic beastie is the nation's main merch and makes the Welsh flag one of the loveliest and most recognisable in the world. And the scariest, except for those countries that portray AK47s on their national cloths.

Tafod y Ddraig (Tongue of the Dragon) is the symbol of the lovely lilting Welsh language. Cymru, as the Tafod y Ddraig peeps spell Wales, is a linguistic hoot. Many place names look like bad Scrabble hands, as you'll discover on a road trip from Merthyr Tydfil to Caernarfon via Aberystwyth. But fear not. From Caernarfon, it's just a short drive to the village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.

Wales is known as the "castle capital of the world", and about a hundred fortresses still stand, in various states of repair. Once the site of a Roman fort, Cardiff Castle is a scattering of disparate buildings that interpret most of the city's history.

Caerphilly Castle, built in the 13th century and the largest in Wales, is surrounded by a duck-filled moat. Caernarfon Castle, on the banks of the River Seiont, is considered one of the great buildings of the Middle Ages, and saw the first investiture of a Prince of Wales.

Hay-on-Wye, an erudite town of just 2000 people, has more than 20 bookshops and draws 80,000 bibliophiles each year to its famous eponymous literary festival. And its castles.

Agreeable ambles of varying exertion are on offer in the Austen-esque Aberglasney Gardens near Swansea, through the undulating plateaux of Gwydir Forest or to the summit of Mount Snowdon. The Snowdonia mountains may not be as tall as the Scottish Highlands but at least you won't freeze your sporran off. (Summer in Scotland is, as we know, the best week of the year).

It's not unusual, as local baritone and panty magnet Tom Jones might say, for Welsh people to sing so beautifully that angels swoon. Wales invented the Eisteddfod, perfected male choral crooning and pioneered stadium singing, as evidenced by the dulcet tones of rugby crowds belting out the unofficial anthem Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

From spelling to speech to citadels to strolls to sweet, sweet song, Wales is the way to go. Amy may prefer wee Scotland but if I'm heading to the British Isles, I'm going for a leek.