 Everyone
has their own favourite ‘Highlands’. For some it’s the mighty, immense snow-capped
wilderness of the Cairngorms and the nature reserves of the Eastern Highlands.
For others it can be in the ethereal lower valleys and peaks closer to Loch Leven
and Glencoe. For a great number of people, however, it’s the big, wild and unearthly
Northern Highlands that fires the imagination.
No one who travels
to the Northern Highlands can fail to be struck by its ‘otherworldiness’. Very
scarcely populated and significant for its creeping glacial valleys and rock-hewn
landscapes, the region has an atmosphere that wrenches you squarely out of time
and plants you at the very birth of creation. It’s an archaeological heaven, literally
teeming with lofty ideas, and romantic, widescreen daydreams. The Northern
Highlands offer an excellent choice of things to do. Naturally, these sublime
landscapes are made for walkers and climbers. There are lochs - all but uncountable
numbers in the north-west - to satisfy anglers who love solitude. There is a good
choice of boat trips and cruises for close encounters with sea-caves, sea-stacks,
seals and dolphins - and even to a special garden accessible only by sea. Golf,
cycling, riding and watersports are all to be found here as well. Ultimately,
however, it is the wilderness experience of the far north and its all but empty
grandeur which will leave the strongest impression. |
Northern
Highlands
