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More Information:
www.visithighlands.com 

www.highlandslochness.com/  

www.visithebrides.com/ 

 If you take your holiday in this part of Scotland you'll be wowed by the mountains, the glens, the lochs and the beaches.  

INVERNESS AND AREA                                               
In the Highlands you will find the most spectacular scenery in Scotland; the mountains of the Cairngorms form the striking landscapes, especially in the autumn, and you can take the CairnGorm Mountain Railway to the top for splendid views from the restaurant. In the Cairngorms National Park  there are way-marked walks on the Rothiemurches Estate and red deer mate in the autumn so you can hear their roaring.  Visit the Highland Wildlife Park near Aviemore to see the rare pine marten and the Scottish wildcat, both difficult to spot in the wild. Historic Scotland's Urquhart Castle, on the banks of Loch Ness slopes down to the shores of the loch and has a good visitor centre.

Inverness is the capital of the Highlands. To the east is the National Trust For Scotland’s Culloden Battlefield where Bonnie Prince Charlie’s army was defeated by government forces in 1746. Along the coast is Nairn, an attractive seaside resort, and Historic Scotland’s Fort George, built by the British Government after Culloden to maintain control over the Highlands. From the ramparts you may be lucky enough to spot dolphins in the Moray Firth. Not far away is Brodie Castle, one of the most inteesting of castles, with extensive woodlands.

If you head north from Inverness, you come to the lovely village of Dornoch and, further north, Golspie, near which is Dunrobin Castle and Gardens, home of the Duke of Sutherland.   You can take a couple of side tours, including a visit to the Falls of Shin, especially impressive after heavy rain.

On the rugged west coast is the National Trust for Scotland's Inverewe Garden at Inverewe with its exotic plants which thrive in the warm air of the Gulf Stream. 

THE OUTER HEBRIDES
If you love islands, then the Outer Hebrides are well worth the ferry journey from Ullapool  to Stornoway  with Caledonian MacBrayne.Enjoy the contrast between Lewis and Harris. The Calanais Standing Stones, the wild moorland, the birds and the beaches with white sands and turquoise seas will tempt you back time and again. Historic Scotland’s Black House, not far from Stornoway, is a traditional thatched cottage, now a museum depicting the life of the islanders in past centuries

FORT WILLIAM AND GLENCOE
You can visit the Glenfinnan Monument to Bonnie Prince Charlie and see the Glenfinnan Viaduct, made famous by the Harry Potter films.  Not to be missed is Glencoe, perhaps the most haunting of the Highland glens;  stop off at the Glencoe Visitor Centre to discover more about Glencoe and go for a guided walk with the NTS ranger.

West of Fort William, is the Ardnamurchan peninsula – at the end of this road, which runs through woods, is the most westerly point on the Scottish mainland. Climb the lighthouse steps and you’ll see far out to sea and perhaps spot whales. Or take the short ferry crossing from Kilchoan to Tobermory and explore Mull.  

From Fort William area it is a short journey south to Oban. Oban is known as the Gateway to the Isles, because Caledonian MacBrayne ferries from here to many of the Inner and Outer Hebrides.  But there is plenty to explore inland - Crarae and Arduaine Gardens, Kilmartin Glen with its many sculptured stones, and the Crinan Canal.   Oban and Inveraray are both good centres from which to explore the area.

View the Thistle Holiday Parks in the Highlands and Islands