Vacation Scotland

The Island of Islay is famed for its whisky; but it is also a very beautiful place with a complicated landscape of rolling, heather-clad hills, broad coastal grasslands and soft sandy beaches. As a result of Islay’s unusually fertile land, the population was always higher and history has often been played out here; indeed, the island [...]

In ancient times the people of the Highlands didn’t consider the Grampian Mountains as a single block, but as a complex series of ranges and valleys; each with their own characteristics, lofty peaks and secret pathways. A few of the old names have come down to us; and the broad plateau of hills lying to [...]

From the Highland capital, Inverness, the A9 Trunk Road continues north through the Black Isle, and over the Cromarty and Dornoch Firths making towards a ridge of blue mountains in the distance; for the land beyond is the great county of Sutherland. Sutherland is a an odd name for a district in the far north [...]

25,000 years ago Scotlandwas buried under a huge ice-cap over 4000ft thick; and as it slowly flowed towards the oceans the action at the base ground away nearly everything in its path, carving through the bedrock. As the ice moved down the Forth valley it reached an immovable object: Edinburgh Castle Rock; a tough plug [...]

The mist hung low on the hills and a light breeze rippled the dark waters of the loch as we wandered down the grassy slopes to ancient Finlaggan. The beautiful Isle of Islay (Eilean Ìle) may be more famous for its whiskies, such as Laphroaig, Bowmore and Lagavullin, than for its scenery or its history, [...]

On a few of our extended tours we visit the stunning valley of Glen Affric: a fantastic landscape of ancient forest and high snow-capped mountains. This is the domain of the Wildcat and Golden Eagle; a time-capsule where the Caledonian Pine Forest thrives. Originally part of the Chisholm domains, Glen Affric has survived the Highland Clearances, sheep grazing and being over run by deer on the sporting estate. Now a National Nature Reserve, and owned in part by the Forestry Commission and the NTS – its future is secure, and a wonderful experience for any visitor.