Northern Highlands

No-one who travels here can fail to be struck by a sense of being somewhere different. The sheer atmosphere of these northlands makes a big impression.

Yet the Northern Highlands also offer splendid variety, all the way from the remote wildness of the austere rock-hewn landscapes of the far north west and Wester Ross, to the quintessentially Scottish architecture of the old burgh of Cromarty at the tip of the Black Isle or the ancient archaeological sites of Caithness.

Naturally, these sublime landscapes are made for walkers and climbers. There are lochs - all but uncountable in number, astonishing mountain architecture and a rugged coastline with intriguing inlets and fascinating rock formations and sea stacks.

Ultimately, however, it is the wilderness experience of the far north and its all but empty grandeur, which will leave the strongest impression.

Moderate Walks

In the Northern Highlands the landscape provides a constant reminder of the wild power of nature, and yet there are a surprisingly large number of short and easy walks. Most routes lie around the coast where nearly all the settlements are located and the sea is a constant presence.

Perhaps because of the relatively low population and non-intensive agriculture of the area, there are a profusion of archaeological sites, which make good destinations for walks. It is possible to explore chambered cairns, standing stones - often arranged in rows - and Pictish Brochs. Several archaeological and heritage trails, as at Dunbeath in the north-east, help to bring the past alive.

Longer Walks

There are few places in Britain where you can "get away from it all" as effectively as in the Northern Highlands. It is not uncommon to walk for miles along the rugged coastline or through the remote interior without meeting another soul. You leave civilisation behind on walks above rough cliffs to hidden bays or on paths through wild land where mountains rear up out of lochan studded moors. But for those who prefer a tamer landscape, the firths and forests of the south-east, provide miles of gentle walking on waymarked routes visiting beaches, woods and waterfalls.

Long Distance Routes

Hill Mountain Walks

For the hillwalker the Northern Highlands provide some of the most awe-inspiring landscapes in the country as well as a chance to really escape from the crowds. The true jewels in the crown are the superb individual mountains that line the west coast from Applecross and Torridon right up to the North coast. They are the most elemental of Scottish hills with barely any vegetation covering them their, very skeletons seem to be exposed.

Peaks such as Liathach, Beinn Eighe and Beinn Alligin (the three Torridon giants) and Fisherfield's An Teallach and A' Mhaighdean (said to be Scotland?s remotest Munro) regularly feature in hillwalkers' lists of the top ten mountains in Scotland. Traverses of their rocky ridges require varying amounts of scrambling, although on many of them there is an easier route just to the summit and back.

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