The Highlands & the West Coast
The Scottish Highlands (website: www.visithighlands.com) contain some of Britain’s most breathtaking scenery. Railway and road traverse the countryside between the capital and Inverness, passing through the Grampian Mountains and the Forest of Atholl. The lochs of the central highlands feed the River Tay, one of the best fishing rivers in the British Isles. Tayside, and Speyside to the north, are Scotland’s major whiskey-producing areas, with dozens of distilleries. Also in the Highlands are the Pass of Killiecrankie, Blair Atholl, Kingussie and Aviemore, the winter ski resort.
(Highlands of Scotland Tourist Board website: www.visithighlands.com.) The UK’s northernmost city, many of whose buildings date back to the 17th century. Inverness is also famous for its location at the head of Loch Ness, deep-water home of the mythical monster. The site of the Battle of Culloden where the government forces, including many of the lowland clans, crushed Bonnie Prince Charlie’s forces in 1746.
One of the best-known towns on the West Coast, as well as the largest resort. Above the town looms Britain’s highest mountain, Ben Nevis (1343m/4406ft). Attractions in the town include the Ben Nevis Distillery and Visitor Centre. Nearby is Glencoe, where the Campbells massacred the Macdonald clan in their sleep; when shrouded in mist, Glencoe still has a haunting atmosphere. The Glencoe Visitor Centre tells this story, while Celtic myth and legend is the topic of Highland Mysteryworld close by.
On the West Coast (Tourist Board website: www.visitscottishheartlands.com) at the mouth of Loch Linnhe is Oban, gateway to many of the islands and the beautiful region of Kintyre. Further north is the town of Mallaig, which, like Oban, is a rail terminus. One of the best ways to reach Mallaig is on the Jacobite Steam Train from Fort William, which runs through some spectacular scenery. The so-called ‘Road to the Isles’, which also passes through Glenfinnan and Arisaig, a pretty resort known for its white sands, is the driving alternative.
Ullapool is still an important fishing port, and is also the departure point for car ferries to the Outer Hebrides. North of Ullapool, the road passes through Inverpolly Nature Reserve into Sutherland, and the landscape becomes even wilder, with isolated mountains rising from a rocky plateau. Fishing villages dot the rugged coastline. Inland is one of Europe’s last great wildernesses, an area of mountains, moorland, lochs and rivers, rich in wildlife.
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