Dear the Scottish Highlands, Leave No Trace

Reading time: 3 minutes

Photo: Daniel Kraft, CC BY-SA 3.0

Dear Highlands,

Your glens are wide and empty, your lochs long and dark, your mountains rounded by ice. Light shifts constantly across your hills.

Scotland has some of the most generous access rights in Europe, set out in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. With them comes a responsibility to leave places as you found them.

This letter is about weather, roads and leaving no trace.

What we love

♥Glencoe
A dramatic glen with steep mountains on both sides and a difficult history.
♥The Old Man of Storr
A rock pinnacle on the Isle of Skye. Very popular; arrive early.
♥Eilean Donan
A castle on a small island where three lochs meet.
♥Highland cattle
Shaggy and placid, but still large animals. Keep a distance, especially from calves.

What we'd tell a friend

Getting around: Trains reach places such as Inverness, Fort William and Kyle of Lochalsh. Buses run on main routes. Many roads are single-track; use passing places and let faster traffic by.
Midges: Small biting insects, worst on still, humid days in summer. Repellent and head nets help.
Weather: Waterproofs and layers in every season.

This is general guidance. Prices, timetables, opening hours and entry rules change, so please check the official sources below before you travel.

Handle with care

Follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code: take litter home, do not light fires where they cause damage, keep dogs under control near livestock, and park considerately, never in passing places.