Scotland

No visitor to Scotland ever arrives here without a serious set of expectations. And the good news is, they're almost always fulfilled. Whether you come with an open heart or whether you come with a backpack, a map and a stout pair of walking boats, Scotland offers a breathtaking landscape peppered with grand, baronial castles, a tome of myth and folklore, some of the wildest open plains in the whole of Great Britain and all of its loftiest peaks. Playing host to a range of rare and endangered wildlife including the Golden Eagle and Osprey, this hugely romantic landscape is sure to inspire even the hardest of hearts with its sweeping, glacial valleys, its marevllous, litling language, its enormous hospitality and its outstanding range of outdoor pursuits: golf, dolphin spotting, climbing, hiking, salmon fishing, mountain-biking, birdwatching, skiing, snowboarding - it's all here in this country within a country - a wild and uncomprising place with a warm and gentle underside.

• Dumfries & Galloway

Standing on the cliffs at Scotland's most southerly point, in the fresh ocean air, with views to Ireland, England and the Isle of Man, and bordering South Ayrshire, East Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. Welcome to Dumfries & Galloway, famous for being the ‘bleakest place on earth’ and celebrated by the cult horror movie, The Wicker Man, which was filmed almost entirely on location in the Kirkcudbright area - more..

• Ayrshire & Arran

Situated in south-west Scotland on the beautiful shores of the Firth of Clyde, Ayrshire has in the last seven years, played host the British Open Golf Championship twice, and eight times in total and boasts a number of attractive towns that include Ayr, Irvine and Kilmarnock - more..

• Scottish Borders

Covering about eighteen hundred square miles, Scottish Borders or ‘The Borders’ as it affectionately known lies at the far south of the Scottish region with the banks of the River Tweed flowing west to east and boasting the towns and villages of Jedburgh, Kelso, Melrose, Peebles, Roxburgh, Duns, and Galashiels - more..

• Greater Glasgow & the Clyde Valley

There’s no denying that Glasgow & Clyde Valley is one of Europe’s most exciting and beautiful destinations, combining the vigour, diversity and sophistication of a major international city with some of Scotland’s most spectacular scenery. Victorian red & honey sandstone, Italianate steeples and medieval spires - more..

• Edinburgh & the Lothians

A stunning city all round and arguably one of the most beautiful and most sophisticated in Great Britain. Famous for its castle, its festival, its university, its shopping and its restaurants, Edinburgh, is the country's second-largest city and is situated in the central lowlands on the south shore of the Firth of Forth on Scotland's East Coast - more..

• Argyll, the Isles, Loch Lomond, Stirling & the Trossachs

Situated where the West Highlands and the Lowlands of Scotland converge, Argyll, the Isles, Loch Lomond, Stirling and the Trossachs offer a spectacular range of unique landscapes, histories and traditions. Stirling, with it’s old town and historic castle overlooking the site of Bravehearts most famous victory, the Ochil Hills and the marvel of modern engineering that is The Falkirk Wheel - more..

• Fife

Situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with boundaries cutting across Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire, Fife – covering Glenrothes, Kirkcaldy, and Leven - is the perfect setting for a short break or a longer stay on Scotland's sunny east coast. Originally one of the Pictish kingdoms, known as Fib, and Fife is more commonly known as the Kingdom of Fife within Scotland - more..

• Perthshire

Towns and places to visit in Perthshire include Aberfeldy, Loch Tay and Glen Lyon, Auchterarder, Gleneagles and the Ochils, Blairgowrie and East Perthshire, Crieff, Comrie and Strathearn, Dunkeld and Birnam, Kinross-shire and Loch Leven, the Fair City of Perth, Pitlochry and Highland Perthshire, and some of the most scenic Scottish glens - more..

• Angus

Two thousand years of magic, mystery, and romance have gone into its making. Romantic castles, glistening beaches and stunning formal gardens; plus a rich blend of shopping, art, theatre and culture. Towns and attractions include Arbroath, Brechin, Kirriemuir and Montrose - more..

• Aberdeen, Moray Firth, Whiskey Trail, Grampia- Eastern Lowlands

The capital of the Grampian Highlands Aberdeen is even more unique thanks to the 'whiskey trial' treasures on its doorstep. Aberlour, Glenlivet, Elgin, Cardhu and Craigellachie Speyside Cooperage and Distillery. All set amoungst the ancient scots pine forests and beautiful heather-rolling plains. Then of course, the Royal House of Balmoral near Ballater - more..

• Glenshee/Lecht Ski Resorts - Eastern Highlands

You can’t come to Scotland in winter and fail to be tempted to visiting at least one of the three main ski-resorts. Situated on the northern side of the Cairnwell Pass between Blairgowrie and Braemar in the Highlands of Scotland, Glenshee is the largest and oldest commercial ski resort in Scotland - more..

• Glencoe & Loch Leven

Sharp steep foothills, massive angular and an ever changing sky; Highlander 1 and 3, Braveheart and Rob Roy were filmed in the Glen. But the famous pass is only the start. From the scene of the Appin Murder which inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write 'Kidnapped' to the high road to Kinlochleven, from the enchantment of Eilean Munde, the burial isle to the village of Glencoe, Ballachulish and Onich, it's easy to see why seasoned visitors return year after to year - more..

• The Great Glen/Glen Spean/Lochaber Region

The Great Glen also offered a strategic advantage historically in controlling the Highland Scottish clans, particularly around the time of the Jacobite uprisings of the 18th Century, and more formally acknowledged by the surrounding towns of Fort William in the south, Fort Augustus in the middle of the Glen, and Fort George, just to the north of Inverness - more..

• Inverness & the Black Isle & Mid Ross - Central Highlands

The self-proclaimed ‘capital of the highlands’ Inverness is a thriving town supported by an excellent range of shops, restaurants and historical sites. Castles like Brodie and Cawdor near the lovely little beaches and fishing vessels at Nairn offer a tantalising glimpse of the area’s proud, baronial past, the Glenlivet Distillery near Tain provides a worthwhile extension to the Whisky Trail - more..

• Aviemore & the Cairngorms - Central Highlands

The Cairngorms and Cairngorms National Park, the magical mountainous region in the Eastern Scottish Highlands, make up the United Kingdom’s largest national park, a large elevated plateau festooned with low, rounded glacial mountains. The scenery is spectacular, the wildlife thrilling and the skiing around Aviemore an absolute must - more..

• Wester Ross - Western Highlands

17 Munros and 30 Corbetts makes the mountains of the Western Highlands makes it exactly the formidable and breathtaking region so loved by walkers and climbers alike. In the uplands the casual visitor may want to look out for golden plover, greenshank, snipe and merlin before heading out to the coast at Ullapool and Gairloch - more..

• Northern Highlands - Sutherland & Caithness

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 - more..