|
|
|
The remote mountain, moorland and coastal scenery of the Highlands and Islands also provides a giant playground for anyone with a spirit of adventure. The Cairngorms, Ben Nevis and Glencoe Mountains are the best known areas but there are countless other great places to explore! For walkers, the West Highland Way from Milngavie in Glasgow along the shores of Loch Lomond to the foot of Ben Nevis is a 95 mile challenge. Cyclists will love touring the Scottish islands such as Arran which has a 56-mile perimeter cycle route and a more challenging route across the middle of the island, known as the String. The Great Glen Cycle Route follows the glen from Fort William to Inverness. Some of Britain's best skiing can be found in the Cairngorm, Nevis Range and Glencoe ski areas and of course there's also great fresh water and sea fishing and numerous good golf courses. To the south the island of Arran rises dramatically from the Firth of Clyde. There are rolling hills in the south of the island and mountains and lochs in the north. The 30 ft Glenashdale Falls, near Whiting Bay, are spectacular and on Machrie Moor, to the west, there are six stone circles amidst the moorland and hills. Goat Fell, at 874m high provides challenging walking and great views. There are also countless forest walks and coastal tracks on the island and you can often spot peregrine falcon, golden eagle and red deer. The peninsula of Kintyre is dotted with unspoiled beaches including Carradale, Machrihanish and Southend. You can catch a ferry to the beautiful isle of Gigha, where walking, cycling, birdwatching and horse riding are popular. To the north the busy fishing port of Tarbert has colourful buildings and a pretty natural harbour. Lochgilphead is surrounded by natural beauty. Near Kilmartin Glen, is the raised bog nature reserve of Moine Mhor where you can climb Dunadd Hill, and nearby Crinan Woods also has good walking. The whitewashed homes and storefronts of the town of Inverarary stand at the head of lovely Loch Fyne. The islands of Jura, Colonsay and Islay are noted for their peaceful fishing villages and wildlife - on Colonsay there are wild goats and on Islay you can see rare birds such as white fronted geese. Jura, famous for its whisky, is mountainous. The landmark Paps of Jura are visible from many hilltops in Argyll.
The busy port of Oban is the gateway to the islands. From McCaig's Tower visitors can enjoy panoramic views of the mountains of North Lorn to the south and the islands across Oban Bay to the west. Beautiful Loch Awe and the spectacular Falls of Lora, where Loch Etive meets the sea, are nearby. Sailing can be enjoyed on Loch Linnhe, the Firth of Lorn and the Sound of Mull. You could even spot seals, dolphins, whales and sea eagles. The romantic isle of Mull is great for wildlife and walking. The capital Tobermory has a distillery and colourful painted buildings set around a peaceful bay. The attractive lochside village of Dervailg is worth visiting as is the island of Iona, the birthplace of Christianity. The unspoiled islands of Coll and Tiree are said to be Britain's sunniest spots. Tiree is a popular with surfers and Coll is great for walking, especially in summer when the grasslands erupt into colour. North of Oban the landscape changes dramatically - the high peaks and spectacular mountain scenery of Glen Orchy with Rannoch Moor below is one of the wildest areas in Scotland. There's great hill walking and horse riding in the area. Glencoe is a famous ski area in winter and in summer walking and canyoning are popular. The narrow Aonach Eagach ridge is a good challenge for walkers. Right out to the west is Ardnamurchan Lighthouse - the most westerly point on the British mainland. There's good coastal and woodland walking and cycling. Gaelic is still spoken in many of the small coastal communities in the area. The area around Fort William is a giant adventure playground capped by Ben Nevis, Britain's highest peak at 1343m, a long hard walk for even the most experienced! There's excellent skiing on the Nevis Range in winter and in summer the area is good for mountain biking. Water sports can be enjoyed on Loch Oich, Loch Lochy and Loch Linnhe. Inland at Aviemore is Scotland's other outdoor adventure area and ski centre - the Cairngorms. There's great forest and mountain walks and cycle trails. Loch An Eilean is very picturesque and Loch Morlich provides great water sports opportunities. Just outside Nethybridge is the Abernethy Forest Nature Reserve - great for walking, cycling and wildlife. The RSPB Osprey Centre near Loch Garten is well worth a visit. The Victorian beach resort of Nairn has great golf and lovely beaches. The cosmopolitan town of Inverness is the capital of the highlands and an ideal base for exploring the Great Glen from Inverness to Fort William and famous Loch Ness. A cycle route runs the length of the glen. The picturesque town of Fort Augustus in the centre of the glen has good forest walking. One of the best views of Loch Ness is from the village of Dores. Culloden Moor, site of the last battle to be fought on British soil in 1746, is just east of Inverness. To the north of Inverness begin the remote Northern Highlands. There's lots of good munroe walking and cycling around the Glens of Affric and Strathfarrar and the peaks of Strathconon and Ben Wyvis. Dolphin watching trips can be taken from towns such as North Kessock and Cromarty. Salmon can be seen leaping out of the falls of Shin on Loch Shin at Lairg and there are great beaches at Dornoch, Embo, Golspie and Brora. North Caithness and the towns of Wick, John O'Groats and Thurso have attractive harbours, jagged sea cliffs, great sea angling and spectacular beaches. To the west Durness has great bird watching around the cliffs of Cape Wrath and Clo Mor, the highest sea cliffs in Britain. Kinlochbervie is a pretty fishing town and nearby is a rough track to Sandwood Bay, one of the remotest and most beautiful beaches in Scotland. Near the busy fishing port of Lochinver you can see the highest waterfall in Britain at Eas Coul Aulin. The mountainous area of Assynt provides good walking particularly the peaks of Suilven and Quinag. Rocky coast and pretty fishing villages surround the busy port of Ullapool. There are good beaches at Gruinard Bay and Mellon Udrigle. To the south of Loch Maree lies one of the most popular walking areas in Britain with peaks such as Slioch, Beinn Eighe (1182m), Liathach (1053m) and Beinn Alligin to be explored. The Lochalsh area has many picturesque villages including Plockton where the harbour is lined with tropical palm trees! Stunning mountain scenery including the Five Sisters of Kintail, the south Cluanie Ridge and Beinn Sgritheall surrounds the area. The Falls of Glomach near Shiel Bridge are a good day's walk but worth it. The magnificent Eilean Donan Castle sits on Loch Duich and dates from 1220. The Isle of Skye provides some of the best walking in the whole of Britain. The capital is Portree with it attractive harbour and there are pleasant walks in nearby Portree Forest. But it's the jagged mountain ridge of the Cuillins which dominates the skyline. Sgurr Alasdair at 1009m and Sgurr nan Gillean at 965m are popular climbs. The geological formations of the Old Man of Storr, Lealt Falls and Quiraing, to the north, also make remarkable viewing. The islands of Eigg, Rum and Muck lie to the south of Skye. The Rum Cuillin has great mountain walking with six main peaks, the highest of which is Askival at 812m. The Western
Isles or Outer Hebrides stretch for 130 miles from the Butt of Lewis
in the north to Vatersay in the south comprising eight main islands.
They are renowned for clean sandy beaches, beautiful wild flowers and
clean peaceful lochs. The Gaelic language is spoken almost everywhere.
Lewis has low-lying hills, rugged coastline and white sandy beaches.
The Lochs area of the island has some of the most remote and beautiful
villages in the western isles. Harris is more mountainous with the highest
point being An Clisham at 799m. Visit a local weaver to learn all about
the famous Harris Tweed. On South Uist there's good hill walking around
Beinn Mhorr and Hecla on the east coast. The Island of St Kilda was
deserted in the 1930s and is now owned by the National Trust. You can
still see the remains of the villages and houses which were left behind.
Shetland lies further north still and is a group of more than 100 islands with 1450km of crystal clear coastline. There are miles of beautiful beaches and wild life such as puffins, gannets, guillemots, porpoises, seals and whales frequently visit. There's good walking and horse riding on heather-clad hills and coastal paths and more than 1000 miles of quiet roads for cyclists. Diving is popular and there are hundreds of wreck sites to explore. Shetland is one of the best places in Britain for brown trout and sea angling. The isles are also known for their arts and crafts, in particular knitwear, and traditional music.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
