www.visithighlands.com

Tourist board website for the Highlands

www.highlandslochness.com/

Excellent information on the Highlands and Loch Ness

www.visithebrides.com/

Official Outer Hebrides website

In the Highlands are the most spectacular scenery in Scotland; the mountains of the Cairngorms form the most striking landscapes in the world. In the Cairngorms National Park you can explore the way-marked walks and perhaps spot red deer on the hilltops. Visit the Highland Wildlife Park near Aviemore to see the rare pine martens and Scottish wild cat or nearby Leault Farm to watch sheepdogs at work. You may even be lucky enough to spot the Loch Ness Monster on a boat cruise from Inverness to Historic Scotland’s Urquhart Castle.

Inverness on the River Ness is the capital of the Highlands. Not far away is the National Trust For Scotland’s (NTS) new visitor centre at Culloden, which tells the story of the defeat of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s army in 1746. Along the coast is Nairn, an attractive seaside resort, and nearby is Historic Scotland’s Fort George, a sprawling fort that was built by the British Government after Culloden in order to maintain control over the Highlanders. Dolphins can often be spotted in the Moray Firth from the ramparts of Fort George.

On the east coast to the north of Inverness is Dunrobin Castle and Gardens, home of the Duke of Sutherland. On the rugged west coast is Inverewe Garden at Poolewe with an amazing array of exotic plants which thrive in the warm air of the Gulf Stream. From nearby Gairloch there are boat trips to see dolphins and, sometimes, whales.

If you love islands, then Lewis and Harris is well worth the ferry journey from Ullapool; the Calanais Standing Stones, the wild moorland, the birds and the beaches with white sands and turquoise seaswill tempt you back time and again. Historic Scotland’s Black House, not far from Stornoway, is a traditional thatched cottage which is now a museum depicting the life of the islanders in the past.

In the south-west corner of this area, west of Fort William, is the Ardnamurchan peninsula – at the end of this road, which twists and turns through beautiful woods and past sparkling lochs, is the most westerly point on the Scottish mainland. Climb the lighthouse steps and you’ll see far out to sea.  Or take the short ferry crossing to Tobermory and explore Mull. Or visit the Glenfinnan Monument to Bonnie Prince Charlie.

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View the Thistle Holiday Parks in the Highlands and Islands