Places to Explore In The Northern Highlands and the Western Isles

Achiltibuie

Off the beaten track, Achiltibuie is a small coastal community set at the foot of magnificent mountains. It looks out over the Summer Isles, whose...

• 0 Restaurants
• 0 Hotels
• 1 Things To Do

Dingwall

This pretty market town and royal burgh (a Scottish town granted a royal charter) makes for a very pleasant stop if you're heading north from...

• 0 Restaurants
• 2 Hotels
• 1 Things To Do

Dornoch

A town of sandstone houses, tiny rose-filled gardens, and a 13th-century cathedral with stunning traditional and modern stained-glass windows, Dornoch is well worth a visit...

• 2 Restaurants
• 2 Hotels
• 3 Things To Do

Dunbeath

• 0 Restaurants
• 0 Hotels
• 0 Things To Do

Durness

The sudden patches of green surrounding the village of Durness, on the north coast, are caused by the richer limestone outcrops among the acid moorlands...

• 1 Restaurants
• 0 Hotels
• 6 Things To Do

Gairloch

Aside from its restaurants and lodgings, peaceful Gairloch has one further advantage: lying just a short way from the mountains of the interior, this small...

• 0 Restaurants
• 1 Hotels
• 3 Things To Do

Golspie

The little coastal town of Golspie is worth a stop if you're heading for Dunrobin Castle. It has a number of shops and accommodations...

• 0 Restaurants
• 0 Hotels
• 0 Things To Do

Helmsdale

Helmsdale is a fascinating fishing village with a checkered past. It was a busy Viking settlement and then the scene of an aristocratic poisoning plot...

• 0 Restaurants
• 0 Hotels
• 1 Things To Do

Isle of Harris

For most people, Harris is forever linked to tweed. Woven here and on nearby islands, the tweed has colors that echo the tones of the...

• 2 Restaurants
• 3 Hotels
• 7 Things To Do

Isle of Lewis

The history of Lewis stretches back 5,000 years, as archaeological sites scattered across the island attest. Here, the Highland past persists in the Gaelic that...

• 1 Restaurants
• 1 Hotels
• 8 Things To Do

Isle of Raasay

This beautiful and rugged isle lies a few miles off Skye's east coast and offers a pleasant escape from its tourist hordes. Although only 10...

• 0 Restaurants
• 1 Hotels
• 1 Things To Do

Isle of Skye

The misty Isle of Skye is awash with romance and myth, lush green gardens, and steep, magnetic mountains. Its extraordinary natural beauty and royal connections...

• 8 Restaurants
• 9 Hotels
• 27 Things To Do

John o'Groats

The windswept little outpost of John O'Groats is usually taken to be the northernmost community on the Scottish mainland, though that is not strictly accurate...

• 0 Restaurants
• 1 Hotels
• 2 Things To Do

Kylesku

This tiny settlement once served as a ferry crossing, before being usurped by the (incredibly photogenic) Kylesku Bridge. Today it's a lovely stop for lunch...

• 0 Restaurants
• 1 Hotels
• 2 Things To Do

Lochcarron

Strung along the shore, the village of Lochcarron has some attractive croft buildings, a couple of churches (one an 18th-century ruin set in a graveyard)...

• 0 Restaurants
• 0 Hotels
• 0 Things To Do

Lochinver

Lochinver is a very pretty quiet shoreside community of whitewashed cottages, with lovely beaches to the north, a harbor used by the west-coast fishing fleet...

• 1 Restaurants
• 2 Hotels
• 4 Things To Do

North Uist

Stunning coastal scenery and ancient ruins are the main draws on North Uist. You’ll find art everywhere on the island, from the ends of roads...

• 0 Restaurants
• 0 Hotels
• 4 Things To Do

Scourie

Scourie is a small settlement catering to visitors—fisherfolk especially—with a range of accommodations. The bay-side town makes a good base for a trip to the...

• 1 Restaurants
• 1 Hotels
• 1 Things To Do

Shieldaig

Just west of the southern coast of Upper Loch Torridon is Shieldaig, a village that sits in an attractive crescent overlooking a loch of its...

• 1 Restaurants
• 1 Hotels
• 3 Things To Do

South Uist

Carpets of wildflowers in spring and early summer, superb deserted beaches, and historical connections to Flora Macdonald and Bonnie Prince Charlie head the list of...

• 1 Restaurants
• 1 Hotels
• 3 Things To Do

St. Kilda

The most distant corner of the British Isles, this archipelago of five islands has double World Heritage status, recognized for both its natural and cultural...

• 0 Restaurants
• 0 Hotels
• 1 Things To Do

Thurso

The town of Thurso is quite substantial for a community so far north. In town are the Thurso Heritage Museum and Old St. Peter's Kirk...

• 0 Restaurants
• 1 Hotels
• 4 Things To Do

Tongue

A popular pit stop between Thurso and Durness, Tongue has some worthwhile sights and good accommodations options...

• 0 Restaurants
• 2 Hotels
• 2 Things To Do

Ullapool

Ullapool is an ideal base for hiking throughout Sutherland and taking wildlife and nature cruises, especially to the Summer Isles. By the shores of salty...

• 2 Restaurants
• 3 Hotels
• 4 Things To Do

Wick

Wick is a substantial town that was built on its fishing industry. The town itself is not very appealing, but it does have the gaunt...

• 0 Restaurants
• 0 Hotels
• 4 Things To Do