16 of the most beautiful places in Scotland
For many, Scotland is all about the great outdoors: hiking through Highland glens lined with lochs that look like slices of fallen sky, exploring the giant forests of Perth and Kinross, its rivers rippling with salmon. If the weather gets rough, there'll be a rugged castle at hand, usually with a legend attached, and a distillery tour just down the road. And then there are its biggest cities, Glasgow for cutting-edge arts and breezy good humour, and architecturally elegant Edinburgh, the serious seat of government — two cities that couldn't be more different if they tried. My mother comes from the Isle of Skye, so for many years family holidays were annual pilgrimages north to rendezvous with cousins, scramble up mountains and stagger into peat bogs, cursing at midges. In more recent years I've ranged more widely across the whole country, particularly for my book Four Scottish Journeys. And I am pleased to say that the days when the accommodation was basic and the food was mainly beige have long since gone. There's every kind of quality — here are the most beautiful places to start.
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There is a deeply spiritual aura to this little green chip of land that lies off the southwestern corner of the island of Mull. Iona has been a place of pilgrimage ever since St Columba arrived in AD563 and today pilgrims step off the ferry and weave their way to Iona Abbey. At Iona's northern tip is the White Strand of the Monks, springy machair — wildflower-rich grassland — lined with white sand. The turquoise water is the perfect backdrop for contemplation while watching the gannets dive into the Sound. The island is at its best when the day-trippers have gone, so stay over at the St Columba Hotel and enjoy produce from its organic garden.
If there's anything that epitomises wild and romantic Scotland, it's the northwest coast up to Cape Wrath, the most exhilarating stretch of the popular North Coast 500 driving route. It begins at Applecross, a remote peninsula reached by a dramatic switchback road. Halfway up the coast is Ullapool, a free-spirited ferry port on Loch Broom, full of creativity and gastronomy. And while hiking Cape Wrath itself is only advisable for the fit and brave, this northwestern tip has surprisingly fine white sand beaches at Balnakeil. Stay in Ullapool's Ceilidh Place, where there's live music most nights.
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The Dukes of Atholl, who some 200 years ago owned most of the land between Perth and Inverness, planted 25 million trees, including larch, Douglas fir, maple, western hemlock and redwood, which is why this region has been designated Big Tree Country. The Queen's View, a historic viewpoint high above Loch Tummel, is particularly fabulous in autumn. Key resorts are Victorian Pitlochry and genteel Dunkeld, on the silvery Tay, where you should stay in the Dunkeld House Hotel for riverbank views. It's a 20-minute walk downstream to Birnam Wood, as mentioned in Macbeth.
The Great Glen is a giant fissure that runs diagonally from Fort William in the west to Inverness in the east. Several lochs line its length, including awe-inspiring Loch Ness, and there's a long-distance trail to pack your walking boots for too (scotlandsgreattrails.com). The lochs have all been linked to create the Caledonian Canal, connecting sea with sea, with cruises and boat rental. Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK, at 1,345m (4,413ft), looms over its western end by Fort William. The Ben is an arduous but straightforward 11-mile hike for the fit and the well prepared. Stay above Loch Ness in the quirky-cum-traditional Whitebridge Hotel.
Regularly cited as the most remote part of mainland British Isles, Knoydart is a mountainous peninsula on the west coast, opposite the Isle of Skye, with eagles overhead and whales and dolphins offshore; you can look out for all on a boat trip. A handful of small settlements are distributed along its only road, with the main community and Britain's most remote pub, the Old Forge, gathered at Inverie on a sheltered bay in Loch Nevis, where regular ferries connect it to the port of Mallaig. Stay at Doune Knoydart, which is on the peninsula's point looking towards Skye.
• More great hotels in the Highlands
Too often overlooked in the hurry to get north, the peninsulas around Scotland's west coast south of Oban are delightful tessellations of water and land. Probably the best known is the dangling Mull of Kintyre, mainly thanks to Paul McCartney and his song of the same name. Here you'll find Campbeltown, which is well known for its whisky festival held in May, and on a clear day you can see Northern Ireland from its west coast. Moving north, other notable landmarks are the Crinan Canal and the Ardfern peninsula, busy with yachts in summer. Don't miss Seil, with its Bridge over the Atlantic, which may sound grand but is actually a narrow tidal stream. Here you can get cosy in Ardfern's Galley of Lorne Inn, popular with overnighting yachtsmen.
The Heart 200 is a much easier and more varied drive than the North Coast 500 and does what its name suggests, looping around Scotland's striking heartlands, linking the towns of Stirling, Crieff, Perth, Dunkeld, Pitlochry, Aberfeldy and Callander. That means gorgeous castles at Stirling, endless golf courses at Gleneagles, great whiskies at Dewar's distillery in Aberfeldy, a thriving salmon river in the Tay and plenty of brilliant hiking routes, particularly the two-and-a-half-mile Birks of Aberfeldy circuit. Aberfeldy is the centre point of Scotland, so the Fortingall boutique hotel just outside the town in Glen Lyon makes for a handy place to stay.
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• More great Scottish road trips• Best Airbnbs in Scotland
It's the archetype of mystical and romantic Scotland — eagles overhead, deer in the glens, lochs that look like fallen slices of sky, and the Cuillin mountains rising into the mist. Skye's clan legends and crofting culture have long attracted visitors, but until the opening of the bridge that linked it to the mainland, its hospitality was spartan. These days the island has new distilleries, great gastronomy and hotel accommodation, and that has encouraged a steady flow of film directors who come to use the dramatic landscapes of the Quiraing and the Old Man of Storr as locations. The Bracken Hide is a stylish base, with glamping pods and an excellent bar.
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The border between England and Scotland has long been heavily contested, which is perhaps why the towns that lie just to its north — the likes of Melrose, Hawick, Kelso and Coldstream — have been such a force in Scottish rugby, and in the Scottish military, over the years. This is a place of handsome Georgian and Victorian town centres, of striking abbey ruins (at Melrose), and of rolling hills that nurture salmon rivers (the Tweed). It is also the location of grand country mansions such as Abbotsford, the home of author Sir Walter Scott. Schloss Roxburghe is the place to lay your head nearby, with huge, old-world rooms and a great spa.
Each of the Outer Hebrides has its own natural beauty. Barra is rugged, with its airstrip making use of a tidal beach. The Uists are low lying and waterlogged, lined on the west with springy wildflower-rich machair. But it is Lewis and Harris, two separate 'islands' but actually the same lump of land, which have the big-ticket attractions. On Harris it's the west coast's Caribbean-style white sand beaches such as Luskentyre, plus the architect-designed homes (some of which you can rent out). On Lewis, the standing stones at Callanish draw the visitors — as does Stornoway, the metropolis of the Outer Hebrides. As for where to bed down after a day of exploring, consider the boutique, modern Hotel Hebrides, conveniently located right by the Tarbert pier.
The archipelago that lies offshore from John O'Groats is quite unlike the Scottish Highlands. Orcadian accents are far gentler, reflecting Scandinavian origins, and the land is smoother and more fertile, well suited for grazing. Most remarkable on Mainland, the biggest of the islands, are the neolithic tombs and excavated villages, which had to be well built to withstand the weather. Also long-lasting is the tradition of the Ba' Game, a rugby-related mass scrum that rampages through the main town of Kirkwall every winter. Stay at the centrally located Ferry Inn for its comfortable rooms, bar, and restaurant serving posh pub grub.
• What to do in Orkney
Not as well-trodden as their northern relatives Skye and Mull, the Southern Hebrides are gentler, quieter landscapes, well worth an island-hopping odyssey. Colonsay, reached by ferry from Oban, is a land of farms and immaculate beaches, particularly up at Kiloran. Islay, which is ferry-connected to Colonsay and to the mainland, is whisky heaven, with nine distilleries, including Bowmore, Ardbeg and Laphroaig, all producing distinctive and peaty single malts. Family-run Port Askaig Hotel is known for its seafood and proximity to some of Islay's best beaches.
• Best distillery tours in Scotland
Ben Nevis may be the highest of Scotland's mountains, but the wildest are in the Cairngorms National Park, which cover a massive 1,748 square miles. Among the tops, a series of plateaux create a bleak, boulder-strewn semi-tundra, littered with rocky outcrops and rich in wild species such as capercaillie and golden eagle, as well as the UK's only free-ranging herd of reindeer. Aviemore is the adventure hub, but also in the national park is Braemar, known for the annual Braemar Gathering with its Highland games. For a unique, stylish stay, book into the Fife Arms, a former coaching inn in Braemar with a fabulous art collection and a fittingly cool crowd.
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Read our full review of the Fife Arms
The Neuk (nook) of Fife is an intimate place of fishing villages such as Crail and Pittenweem, whose red-roofed cottages cluster together along the harbour wall. Colourful boats bob in the bay, and Pittenweem still has a morning fish market, mostly for lobster and crab. Further round the Neuk, the scene changes at St Andrews. This handsome town is dominated by two institutions, the Royal and Ancient, one of the most historic golf clubs in the world, and the university, which attracts students from the top echelons of society, including royalty. The Peat Inn is the place to stay, a 15-minute drive from East Neuk's villages, with elegant rooms and an excellent, Michelin-starred restaurant.
This hugely accessible national park just north of Glasgow has a bit of everything. Scenic Loch Lomond is a place of boat cruises and water sports, with the long-distance West Highland Way following its eastern shore. There are more cruises over in neighbouring Loch Katrine, which visitors can cruise aboard the steamship Sir Walter Scott. Between the lochs, the hills and glens are cloaked in oak and fir, particularly around the adventure centre of Aberfoyle. And finally, several mountains rise silently out of the northern part of the park, a foretaste of the wilderness beyond. Cameron House has an unbeatable location on the southwest banks of Loch Lomond, as well as a sprawling spa and rooftop infinity pool.
A dramatic set of hills, the seat of government, a famous castle, a major annual festival and a long literary tradition — it's hard to know where to begin with the Scottish capital. Experience the views from Edinburgh Castle, which hosts its Royal Military Tattoo every August; take a ghost tour through the dank alleys and staircases of the Old Town; and see the elegant New Town, which — despite the name — is mostly from the late 18th century. Affordable stays in Edinburgh aren't always easy to come by, but we love 3 John's Place, which has B&B doubles from just over £100.
• More great affordable hotels in Edinburgh• Best restaurants in Edinburgh
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The former coaching inn, the Seafield Arms in Cullen, has stylish bedrooms with just-subtle-enough tartan decor, a lounge for whiskies beside the fire and easy strolls to the Room-only doubles from £150 ( • I love Scotland more than anywhere else. These are my 25 top stays The single-track road may initially lack promise: a ribbon of tarmac plunging along a furrow in the landscape. But persist through the steep-sided grey of Glen Valtos on Lewis's far west coast and eventually you'll emerge at the most incredible beach you've ever seen. A bold claim perhaps, but Uig Sands has that effect on people, generally rendered speechless by this expanse of golden sand, deposited and smoothed to a sheen between one set of hills and the next by the retreating Atlantic. You'll romp, you'll whoop, you'll write in the sand — then it's time to head to wee Abhainn Dearg Distillery for a dram of whisky, and to wait for an incredible sunset. Afterwards, continue enjoying the view from Uig Sands, a restaurant with rooms that stares out across the beach and serves seafood suppers fresh from the Room-only doubles from £120 ( Ripples of sand rush up to meet you before a delicate thud and a gentle spray of seawater herald your arrival into Barra on the world's only scheduled beach landing. The second-southernmost of the inhabited Outer Hebrides islands defies easy pigeonholing: is it remote because it's 60-odd miles west of the mainland, or accessible because it's a one-hour direct flight from Glasgow? Either way, it's a beauty — its shell-rich beaches backed by tufty machair grassland, its largest village, Castlebay, low-slung around a curved shoreline that protects the offshore medieval stronghold Kisimul Castle. Take a coastal hike to spot seals basking on the rocks of Seal Bay and view a rainbow of summer wildflowers blooming in the machair. The Castlebay hotel in the centre of the village has simple sea-view doubles, Barra seafood dinners and trad music in the B&B doubles from £125 ( If the waters off Coll were Mediterranean not Atlantic, the island would be overrun, and the price you pay for its tranquillity is that near-constant breeze keeping your jumper in place. Despite its exposed location to the west of Mull, though, Coll clocks up some of the highest sunshine hours in the UK, tempting visitors to the beach (there are more than 30), onto boat trips to look for basking sharks and out for corncrake-spotting strolls through the RSPB reserve. It's a Dark Sky island too, with virtually zero light pollution to detract from the stars, while dinner is taken seriously here and might feature local lobster and brown crab alongside Coll-reared Hebridean lamb. The Coll hotel is the hub of the community and has bright and breezy rooms, creel-caught seafood and free bikes for B&B doubles from £145 ( Where have we missed? Let us know about your favourite under-the-radar Scottish spots below
