The Highlands & Islands
Lying to the north of a line linking Inverness with the West Coast, the Northern Highlands & Islands is wild, majestic, and boasts some of Europe’s last great wilderness areas.
The North West Highlands run from Loch Duich in the south, through Wester Ross (Applecross, Loch Torridon, Loch Maree, Gairloch, Loch Ewe, Gruinard Bay and Ullapool and Achiltibuie on Loch Broom), to Lochinver and Drumbeg in Assynt and on to Scourie, Kinlochbervie, Durness, Tongue and Bettyhill in the Mackay Country of North West Sutherland.
The North West Highlands possesses some of Scotland’s most majestic and rugged hills, most impressive rivers and lochs, and most serrated, fjord-like coastline, with small fishing villages nestling in sheltered bays, myriad off-shore islands, and gold and silver beaches. This ancient landscape comprises some of the oldest rocks in Europe – and the atmosphere is timeless too.
The Centre. Inland, the hills are more rounded and isolated, and heathery moorland prevails, especially in Caithness & Sutherland where the “wet desert” of the Flow Country is home to a wide range of wildlife. Settlements are few and include Rosehall, Lairg and Kinbrace, while sporting lodges and estate houses and cottages such as Borrobol Estate line the straths (valleys) of the great salmon rivers that drain the area. A fascinating area to visit for walkers, fishermen, cyclists and others, this is also an ideal base from which to explore the three coasts on day trips.
The North East Highlands begin with the rich farmland of the Black Isle and Easter Ross, with their pretty market towns and fishing villages, including Tain, Alness, Cromarty, Rosemarkie, Fortrose, Avoch, Muir of Ord and Dingwall.
Further north the fertile land, backed by heather-clad hills, narrows to a thin strip north of the Dornoch Firth and the landscape becomes more Highland in character. Ardgay and Bonar Bridge lie at the head of the Firth and Dornoch, Golspie, Brora and Helmsdale follow the beach-lined coast north before crossing the hills of The Ord into the “big sky” and open pasture country of Caithness. Here you will find long sandy beaches, mighty sea cliffs, outstanding links golf courses and small fishing villages and towns, including Wick, Thurso, Halkirk and John o' Groats.
Finally, offshore lie the four great island groups of: The Isle of Skye and its satellites, principally Raasay; the long chain of the Outer Hebrides, stretching north from Barra through the Uists and Benbecula to Harris and Lewis; and the Orkney and Shetland archipelagos of the Northern Isles. While these islands are all very different, those of the west are distinctly Gaelic in character, while those of the north retain the feel of their Norse past.
