Highlands: a matryoshka of Scottish essences
Head north from the city of Stirling, the 'gateway to the Highlands' , means delving into the Scottish image that every visitor has burned into their memory: a succession of lakes, mountains, deep valleys and endless miles and miles of solitude upholstered in heather and mist . As if that clichéd image weren't already captivating, the West Coast islands are the ultimate invitation to plunge into the rugged landscape of the Highlands: Islay , cradle of whiskeys with aromas of peat and sea; the wild Mull, or Jura , in whose solitudes the writer George Orwell wrote his 1984 novel.
Stirling, the gateway to the Highlands
The 26,484 square km that make up the Highlands are a gigantic matryoshka full of other smaller ones that treasure Scottish essences. Here are, for example, some of the most important geographical accidents in the country. Like Loch Lomond, whose 39 km long and eight wide make it the largest lake in Great Britain. Or that other category of charismatic scenarios of the region in which nature, history and legend merge . As the glencoe , the valley to which thousands of visitors arrive each year in search of its beauty.
the valley of glencoe
Other unmissable Highland settings where history and stunning landscapes merge is, for example, **Inveraray Castle**, the jewel of Argyll. With Loch Fyne as a backdrop, this residential fortress is one of the majestic examples of Scottish architecture of the 18th century . Its construction lasted between 1746 and 1758, with interior decoration by Robert Mylne, painted panels by Français Guinand, and wonders such as its tapestry room.
The Highlands in winter version
In addition to the geological vagaries and history that forged the character of the Highland Rangers, this region treasures corners where mystery is law . To touch that strange feeling, you just have to wander for a while through the ruins of Kilchurn Castle . Built by Sir Colin Campbell of Glenorchy in 1440, he is the guardian of Loch Awe. “Awe”, fear, is an ideal name for a lake in whose depths, according to tradition, a legendary monster slumbers.
Undoubtedly, another excellent starting point for touring the region is Inverness , the capital of the Highlands, a beautiful city that faces the river. Pregnant with Georgian and Victorian buildings , many passionate walkers in the Scottish mountains make Inverness their base camp before embarking on walking or cycling routes such as the Great Glen Walk , a 117-kilometre trail linking Inverness and Fort William, with such spectacular sights as the Cia Aig waterfall plunging into Loch Arkaig.
Highlands: photogenic castles and lots of green
Stopping in Inverness also allows you to approach an inescapable enclave to understand the history of the Highlands: three kilometers away is Drummoisse Moor, scene of the Battle of Culloden . The 5,000 Highlanders of the Jacobite troops put their lifestyle on the line that day. They lost – some 2,000 left their lives on the moor – and their defeat was the eclipse of traditional Highland life: the Disarming Acts forced the Scots to hand over their guns and bagpipes, considered weapons of war , while plaid, the traditional Highlander dress, was banned and clan chiefs were reduced to mere landowners. To imagine the magnitude of the battle it is recommended to visit the Culloden Battlefield & Visitor Centre.
Great Glen Walk: 117km between Inverness and Fort William
If the history of the Highlands is left behind To enter its legendary halo, Loch Ness is the perfect coordinate . And it is, whether it is to catch a glimpse of the spine of Nessie, the famous monster, or to get to know the many other attractions of the Great Glen, the narrow geological fault that glacial erosion pierced in the form of a deep valley with three crimped lakes: the Ness, the Oich and the Lochy. Like Urquhart Castle . Looking out over the mists of the lake, strolling through its walls and rooms in this 16th-century fortress – its foundations date back to the 13th century, although its origins are older, as it sits on the remains of an Iron Age broch – is take a trip to the ancestral past of the Highlands.
Following the Great Glen to the south, towns with character such as Fort Augustus or Fort William appear, both connected by the Caledonian Canal, in whose locks the fishing barges doze. In the distance, fog permitting, contemplating the profile of Ben Nevis (1,343 m), the highest peak in Great Britain, is an indelible postcard. Fort William is also part of one of Scotland's most unique rail routes . It's the Jacobite Steam Train , a steam train that, from May to October, chugs along the 'island highway', a lavish journey between Fort William and Mallaig Harbour. Another jewel of this road: the Glenfinnan Monument. Standing at the head of Loch Shiel, the landscape invites a picnic by the lake or take the required photograph of the Glenfinnan Viaduct, the setting for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Emulate Harry Potter on the Cairngorm Mountain Railway
Pivoting east and west of Inverness, this part of the Highlands awaits lovers of evocative scenarios with some of its most pristine natural corners. 25 km west of Loch Ness is what for many Scots is the most beautiful enclave in the country: glen affric , a Nature Reserve whose contours are dotted with lakes, mountains and one of the few Caledonian Scotch pine forests.
This area hosts another coordinate of the first order such as the Cairngorm National Park, the massif that extends over 260 km2 through the center of the Grampians. The National Park, with peaks like the Ben Macdui (1,309m), It is the synthesis of nature in its purest state. . An interesting getaway is the one that, after embarking on the funicular train Cairngorm Mountain Railway and rising to the heights, offers the Coire Cas Mountain Trail: it is a path of about 4 kilometers (1h 30 min) suitable for all profiles of walkers , without forgetting small charming towns such as Aviemore or Tomintoul.
Glen Affric Nature Reserve
Although if what you are looking for is to record in your memory a stamp that condenses all the elements of the Highlands, it is best to head towards the Eilean Donan Castle . There is no Scottish castle that better encapsulates the theatrical scenic beauty of the Highlands than this one. Reaching the ancestral stronghold of the MacRae clan has notorious attractions, including walking through the narrow valley of Glenshiel, on whose heights the Five Sisters of Kintail stand out, five peaks that are a triumph for the munrobagging , the munroes ascent collectors.
Located at the confluence of Loch Alsh and Loch Duich, opposite the village of Dornie, looking out over Eilean Donan, silhouetted against the mist and the mountains of the Kintail Peninsula as a backdrop, is a sublime sight. And, to a large extent, a déjà vú: immortalized by cinema, thanks to the movie Highlander (1985), starring Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery, its magnetism has made this fortress the most photographed in Scotland . Visiting the Eilean Donan is the closest thing to opening a chest full of treasures, an ancient stone box full of the essences of the irreducible Scottish Highlands.
Eilean Donan Castle: photogenic Scottish style