Scottish Highlands

Table of Con­tents Show

Overview:

The high­lands of Scot­land is the post­card image of Scot­land, being home not only to the stun­ning and biggest peak of the Unit­ed King­dom in Ben Nevis, but sweep­ing hills, stun­ning lakes, wind­ing rivers, scenic roads, crys­tal clear beach­es, roman­tic cas­tles – and per­haps most impor­tant­ly the home of the best whisky dis­til­leries in the world – mak­ing this wild, untamed scenic nat­ur­al par­adise a true won­der of the won­der.

Along­side the incred­i­ble scenery, the Scot­tish High­lands are also the stuff of leg­end, not just for the ever-chang­ing Scot­tish weath­er, but also as the home of the Loch Ness Mon­ster – a famous water crea­ture that has for the last 100 years called the lake of ness it’s home, which along­side the Dol­phins, Whales and Rein­deers that also freely roam across the land make the high­lands a true wildlife won­der­land.

Cov­er­ing more than ten thou­sand square miles in land, the incred­i­ble scenery of the High­lands are best explored by self-dri­ve car in one of the most incred­i­ble road trips on the plan­et, and along­side being home to the Queens famous Bal­moral Cas­tle the beau­ty of the high­lands have also been seen in Hol­ly­wood, most notably in Bond’s Sky Fall and the Har­ry Pot­ter Films – with the Moun­tains, lochs, beach­es, cas­tles and ter­rain comb­ing to make an awe-inspir­ing and tru­ly beau­ti­ful nat­ur­al won­der of the world.

Where:

The high­lands sit at the top of Britain cov­er­ing more than 10,000 square miles in north­ern Scot­land – with the town of Inver­ness being the cap­i­tal of the high­lands.

Getting there & getting around:

Start­ing in the cap­i­tal of Scot­land Edin­burgh – you can hire a car or get pub­lic trans­port and head west to the scenery of loch Lomond and fort William before head­ing to Inver­ness and bas­ing your­self there for a few days before explor­ing the ‘prop­er high­lands’ in the north of Scot­land in an almost cir­cu­lar motion by self-dri­ve car before head­ing back to Inver­ness and back down to the bustling city of either Glas­gow or Scot­land.

 

Best time to Visit:

This is one time you want to be there in peak sea­son, as the Ben Nevis tourism board advise against attempt­ing to climb Ben Nevis from autumn to the end of spring due to unpre­dictable weath­er – and they’re not kid­ding as rain, snow and sleet can make the hihg­lands a tough place to be.

Instead we’d rec­om­mend head­ing there in June and July – it might be peak tourist sea­son, but you’ll have a much more enjoy­able time with the sun.

Explore:

From, the wild ter­rain, stun­ning rivers and immac­u­late coast­line, the high­lands is the absolute best of the worlds nat­ur­al won­ders, with the trekking, dri­ving and explor­ing all being free through­out this nat­ur­al par­adise.

How and where you explore the vast ter­rains of high­lands is real­ly up to the indi­vid­ual – if you’re look­ing for hik­ing the UK’s tallest peak you can head to Ben Nevis, for any pot­ter heads you can ride the Hog­warts express along the West High­land lane, for those want­i­ng to dri­ve one of the worlds great­est roads you can head along the Apple­cross pass and for those who just want to ram­ble you can trek across the scenic cliffs and beach­es of Ducans­by Head or the green peaks of Glen­coe and the rivers of Loch Ness.

While we’d strong­ly rec­om­mend bas­ing your­self in the charm­ing town of Inver­ness and cov­er­ing the below sites as a self-dri­ve trip – to allow you to take in all of the stun­ning High­land scenery at your own pace – below is our top 14 rec­om­men­da­tions to see and do in the high­lands – but be warned these our just of the high­lights – there is enough in the high­lands to see and do across more in one life­time:

Inver­ness – Wher­ev­er you decide to go to in the high­lands, make sure you base your­self in the stun­ning and beau­ti­ful town of Inver­ness, the cap­i­tal of the high­lands – with the town eas­i­ly reached by train and from where you can hire a car – which is unques­tion­ably the best method of trans­port across the high­lands, while here be sure to enjoy the com­pact yet vibrant city and the mag­nif­i­cent inver­ness cas­tle – before head­ing off into the beau­ty of the high­lands

Apple­cross Pass (North Coast 500 route) – the absolute pic­ture post­card of the high­lands, the Apple­cross pass is a sin­gle road that leads from the sea to the peaks of the high­lands over the course of 5 miles in the area of Strath­car­ron, with dri­vers or cyclists treat­ed to absolute­ly stun­ning scenery and pic­turesque Scot­tish track that it is the pin­na­cle of the famous North Coast 500 road that weaves through the beau­ty of the high­lands – an absolute must see in the high­lands.

Eilean Donan Cas­tle – The best cas­tle in the high­lands – the 13th cen­tu­ry Eilean Donan Cas­tle sits at the meet­ing of three dif­fer­ent lochs (rivers) and is set amongst absolute­ly stun­ning scenery in the top of high­lands on its own lit­tle island – acces­si­ble by a small stone bridge for a com­plete­ly unique yet enthralling expe­ri­ence. Inside you’ll find the inte­ri­or and scenery well pre­served and a clas­sis dis­play of Scot­tish dec­o­ra­tions and the occa­sion­al pis­tol ! – just be sure to vis­it ear­ly to avoid tourists !

John o’ Groats Mark­er – One to say I’ve been there and seen it the john o groats mark­er marks the end of the UK’s longest main­land walk­a­ble trav­el route from the bot­tom of the island in lands end, and you’ll see cyclists and hik­ers reg­u­lar­ly stop­ping here for a pho­to to mark their accom­plish­ment – while there’s no rea­son why you too can’t take on the hike, we’d rec­om­mend stop­ping here for a pho­to and then a clas­sic Scot­tish lunch in the near­by pubs before being on your way.

Scot­tish High­lands Beach­es – An unknown fac­tor in the high­lands, but the tip of the high­lands con­tain some of the most stun­ning beach­es not just in the UK but also in the world, with the white shores and sparkling crys­tal water – which is home to dol­phins and whales being the crown jew­el in the high­lands rocky coast­line. Unques­tion­ably the best beach­es to hit are Camus­darach Beach in Morar and the Achmelvich Beach in Lochin­ver – for those that are incred­i­bly lucky you can head here in the win­ter months to catch a glimpse of the auro­ra bore­alis for the true mag­ic of the high­lands.

Isle of Skye – The largest and best of the inner Hebrides islands – the island of sky is the pin­na­cle of the high­lands with incred­i­bly beau­ti­ful scenery spread across the island includ­ing the beau­ti­ful land­scape of the Quiraing fea­tur­ing green hills galore, the unique rock for­ma­tion of the Old Man of Storr and the stun­ning ‘Gar­den of Skye’ which fea­tures the unique fairy of pools – for those with a bit more time be sure to trek through the Water­nish penin­su­la for a com­plete­ly unique expe­ri­ence !

Kin­tail and Lochalsh walks – if you can only do one walk in the high­lands (and don’t man­age to make it to the beau­ty of the island of Skye) – make sure you take in the joint­ly named walks of Kin­tail and Lochalsh – the most pop­u­lar and splen­did hikes in the top of high­lands that takes you over the moun­tains of the islands in a gen­tle hike that gives you the best of the beau­ty of the high­lands while allow­ing you to stretch your legs in the beau­ti­ful moun­tain air.

 

The West High­land Line – the best spot for the pot­ter heads, the west high­land line is the scene of the icon­ic Hog­warts express from the films – found in the beau­ti­ful site of Glen­finnan, where you can not only ride the Steam Train from the films but also watch it as it passess though the icon­ic Glen­finnan Viaduct against the beau­ty of the hills and sights of the Scot­tish High­lands from the Glen­finnan Trail View Point – for a tru­ly mag­i­cal expe­ri­ence.

Cairn­gorms Nation­al Park – a nature won­der­land the Cairn­gorms Nation­al Park fea­tures the best of the unit­ed king­doms rivers, lakes, forests and green­ery – and the famous bal­moral cas­tle favoured by the roy­al fam­i­ly them­selves. Set amongst 55 moun­tains all top­ping 3,000 feet for a stren­u­ous climb the Cairn­gorms Nation­al Park has activ­i­ties for every­one, with explor­ers able to ram­ble, cycle, and even ski across the 5,000 kilo­me­tres of the nation­al park along­side wild rein­deers, cows and the best of Scot­tish nature – includ­ing the auroe boriles on a clear night – and for those who fin­ish a long day explor­ing the park also fea­tures some of the best dis­til­leries in the world – to top a fan­tas­tic day of with a well-deserved night cap.

Loch Lomond – the largest loch in Britain, Loch Lomond has a series of absolute­ly stun­ning rivers and lakes – 40 in total and one of the great­est coast­lines in Britain, with the stun­ning coast­line offer­ing a per­fect back­drop for the beau­ti­ful green scenery of the high­lands. Split into four dis­tinct areas, loch Lomond is often described as a mini Scot­land – with the whole beau­ty of the coun­try packed into the­is incred­i­ble and stun­ning nation­al park.

Loch ness — the place of leg­ends, loch ness is not just an incred­i­bly beau­ti­ful lake, but accord­ing to myth the home of the great lochness mon­ster, who calls the lake his home and con­tin­ues to be sight­ed over the last 100 years, we’d strong­ly sug­gest takin a hike around the loch’s stun­ning wood­land and moun­tains to trav­el to the top of the hills sur­round­ing his home and see if you can spot the mon­ster in this incred­i­ble lake.

Ben Nevis — the high­est point in the Unit­ed King­dom at 4,408 feet, Ben Nevis is the pin­na­cle of the high­lands, fea­tur­ing world class cliff climb­ing and from its peak stun­ning views of the won­ders of the high­lands – along with a unique tra­di­tion of tak­ing bizarre items that rep­re­sent the Scot­tish cul­ture and leav­ing them at the peak

While there are many routes to the top, the ben Nevis con­ser­va­tion soci­ety cau­tion that more than half of the hik­ers who attempt it fail to make it to the top – so we’d rec­om­mend tak­ing the chal­leng­ing but man­age­able five mile pony trek to the top, for an enjoy­able but chal­leng­ing ascent to the top – just be pre­pared for Scot­tish rain to hit you at any point so come pre­pared with appro­pri­ate cloth­ing.

Lochaber Geop­ark – A place of both her­itage and beau­ty the stun­ning Lochaber Geop­ark extends across Ran­noch moors to the small islands of muck and rum and is a place for ram­bling, ski­ing, and climb­ing with moun­tains, rivers, coasts and some of the best sandy beach­es in Scot­land – with the undoubt­ed high­light being the vol­canic rings of Ard­na­mur­cha and the Caldera of Nevis – mak­ing the park not just a stun­ning place for explor­ing the high­lands of Scot­land but a geo-log­i­cal won­der.

Glen­coe - the best of the high­lands land­scape, Glen­coe is the must vis­it spot of the high­lands with green sweep­ing scenery, lush hills and moun­tains and lakes and rivers galore. For­tu­nate­ly for those on a self dri­ve the A82 high­way lies both at it’s doorstep and even cuts through it, mak­ing acces­si­bil­i­ty incred­i­bly easy and a series of eas­il acces­si­ble treks includ­ing the 5 mile Buachaille Etive Beag or 7 mile Bidean nam Bian offer easy and quick access to the sights and beau­ty of Glen­coe – for those pot­ter­heads you can also trek to the Cab­in of Hagrid and enter the for­bid­den for­est – with Glen­coe being an absolute unmiss­able stop in the Scot­tish high­lands.

Fort William – The top of the moun­tains, Fort William is home to a series of cas­tles which sit inside the absolute­ly stun­ning nature val­ley of Lochaber where green fields, moun­tains and glacial lakes cre­ate an absolute­ly incred­i­bly lush scenery that is topped off by both stun­ning beach­es and some of the best whisky Dis­til­leries on the plan­et – includ­ing our fabourite the ben nevis dis­tillery.

Aviemore – The wildlife cap­i­tal of the high­lands, Aviemore like it’s sis­ter parks is home to stun­ning green scenery and fresh moun­tain air with the wild forests and grass­lands being home to eagles, ospreys and deer – and you able to spot whales and dopl­hins of the coast, you’ll laso find a tra­di­tion­al high­land town here in Aviemore, so we’d rec­om­mend tak­ing advan­tage of the hos­pi­tal­i­ty and kick­ing back with a glass of clas­sic Scot­tish whiskey in one of the most scenic towns in the world.

 

How long to stay:

We’d rec­om­mend a min­i­mum of a week – and give your­self at least 10 – 14 days if pos­si­ble, this will give you enough time to climb Ben Nevis (1 day) hike across the high­lands at Aviemore, Lochaber Geop­ark and Glen­coe , dri­ve the North Coast 500 route and make a trip to the island of skye – for an incred­i­ble and unfor­get­table 2 weeks.

Top Tip:

First­ly if pos­si­ble make sure you explore the high­lands in a self dri­ve tour over the course of two weeks, whilst it’s pos­si­ble to hit the sights by pub­lic trans­port, the feel­ing of the free Scot­tish breeze in your hair whilst you trav­el along the Apple­cross Pass and through the many sights of the high­lands is tru­ly unfor­get­table.

Sec­ond­ly be sure to bring appro­pri­ate cloth­ing when hik­ing Ben Nevis and take it seri­ous­ly – while the dis­tance isn’t far and the peak is scal­able, the Scot­tish weath­er can kick in at any time – so be pre­pared for all sea­sons as you jour­ney to the top of the high­lands.

Cost:

This one is real­ly up to you and depend­ing on the lev­el of accom­mo­da­tion you choose and the price of the car you go for – but you’ll find that most of the high­lands is free to enter as nation­al parks and the ram­bling and swim­ming for those who dare enter the Scot­tish won­der is also free of charge – be sure to put aside a bit of mon­ey for a glass of whiskey at the dis­til­leries and a hag­gis – but assum­ing medi­um priced accom­mo­da­tion and self-dri­ve you can get buy on as lit­tle as 30 pounds a day in the high­lands – but should allow your­self 80 pounds a day for an enjoy­able and com­fort­able trip round this tru­ly unique and stun­ning won­der of the world.

Fun Fact:

The high­lands is the scene of many movie moments, the most notable being the finale of the James bond film Sky­fall – and of course the Har­ry Pot­ter films, with both Hagrid’s hut and the Hog­warts express avail­able on the west High­land line – be sure to check them out and recre­ate the move mag­ic moments.

Best photo spot:

While the whole of the high­lands are gor­geous – be sure to get a pho­to from the top of the high­lands at Ben Nevis and if pos­si­ble down the Apple­cross Pass – for not just stun­ning scenery but for moments you will nev­er for­get.

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