United Kingdom

Scottish Highlands

The Scottish Highlands offer Europe's grandest empty landscapes: sea lochs, whisky glens and mountains that change character with every shift of weather. Castle hotels, sporting estates and remote lodges turn all that drama into deeply comfortable stays, with stalking, fishing and single malts as the traditional currency.

Best areas to stay

Cairngorms & Speyside

Britain's largest national park pairs ancient pine forest and ski hills with the densest concentration of whisky distilleries on the planet.

Inverness & Loch Ness

The Highland capital anchors the region, with the Great Glen, Culloden and castle country all within an easy drive.

Glencoe & Fort William

The west's most theatrical scenery — Glen Coe's walls, Ben Nevis and the Road to the Isles — with fine lodges scattered through the glens.

Isle of Skye & the northwest

The Cuillin ridge, sea-cliff walks and a serious food scene make Skye the flagship of the wild northwest coast.

Dining & nightlife

Highland dining leans on superb raw materials — langoustines, scallops, venison and Aberdeen Angus — served in lodge dining rooms and celebrated restaurants-with-rooms. Nightlife means a dram by the fire or live music in an Inverness or Skye pub.

Travelling as a family

Children get castles, canoe trips, Harry Potter's viaduct at Glenfinnan and the chance of dolphins in the Moray Firth. Estate cottages and larger lodges suit multigenerational groups better than small country hotels.

Travelling as a couple

A turreted castle suite, a private boat on a sea loch and dinner after a day on the hill make the Highlands a distinctive romantic escape. The Caledonian Sleeper from London adds old-fashioned glamour to arrival.

Cultural highlights

Eilean Donan and the great castles of the Great Glen
Speyside's single malt distilleries
The battlefield at Culloden and Clava Cairns
The Glenfinnan Viaduct and Jacobite steam railway

When to visit

May and June bring long daylight, relatively dry weather and few midges, while September and October offer stags roaring and hillsides turning bronze. July and August are peak season on Skye and the North Coast 500. Winter is short-dayed and moody but magnificent for lodge stays.

Cool, fast-changing oceanic climate; four seasons in a day is standard, and midges bite on still summer evenings in the west.

Practical notes

Fly into Inverness (INV), or take the Caledonian Sleeper from London to Inverness or Fort William
A car is essential; many west-coast routes are single-track with passing places
Book Skye and North Coast 500 accommodation months ahead for summer
Pack midge repellent and waterproofs from June to September

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