Scottish Highlands

Most trips are road trips. The classic run heads out of Glasgow through Loch Lomond into Glencoe, which is the most dramatic 15 minutes of driving in Britain: a U-shaped valley walled by the Three Sisters, with a history (the 1692 massacre) as dark as the weather. From there, Fort William sits under Ben Nevis and marks the start of the Road to the Isles toward Mallaig, passing the Glenfinnan Viaduct made famous by the Hogwarts Express.

The North Coast 500 loops from Inverness around the far north and back down the west coast: 500 miles of Applecross hairpins, empty white beaches at Achmelvich and Sandwood, and Assynt's strange isolated peaks. Give it a week minimum, not the long weekend people attempt. Passing places on single-track roads are for passing and letting people overtake, not parking, and that etiquette matters more than anything else you'll read.

Skye is the headline island, connected by bridge, and it is genuinely spectacular: the Old Man of Storr, the Quiraing landslip, the Fairy Pools below the Cuillin and the sea cliffs at Neist Point. It is also small, busy and short on parking, so start walks before 8am and book accommodation months ahead in summer.

For fewer people, take a ferry: Mull for Tobermory's painted harbour and the puffins of Staffa, Harris for beaches that look tropical until you touch the water, Islay for a coastline of peaty distilleries, or Orkney for Neolithic sites older than the pyramids at Skara Brae and the Ring of Brodgar.

Hiking here runs from gentle glen paths to serious mountain days. Ben Nevis by the Mountain Track is a long slog rather than a technical climb, but the summit plateau is dangerous in cloud; the Cairngorms offer higher, wilder plateau walking and Britain's only reindeer herd. Scotland's right to roam means you can walk and wild camp almost anywhere responsibly, which is rare in Europe.

Wildlife rewards patience: red deer everywhere, golden eagles over the Cairngorms, sea eagles on Mull, dolphins in the Moray Firth at Chanonry Point, and otters at dawn on the west coast sea lochs. For castles, Eilean Donan is the picture-perfect one, Dunnottar near Stonehaven the most dramatically sited, and Urquhart gives you Loch Ness with the ruins thrown in.

Distillery visits are the Highlands' indoor activity of choice. Speyside around Dufftown packs dozens within a short drive (Glenfiddich, Macallan, Aberlour), the west coast gives you Oban and Ben Nevis, and Islay is the peat-smoke pilgrimage. Book tours ahead and nominate a driver; measures are not small.

Food has improved dramatically: langoustines and scallops straight off the west coast boats, Cullen skink (smoked haddock chowder), venison, and the honest version of haggis with neeps and tatties. In remote areas the local hotel bar is often the only kitchen for 20 miles and stops serving food around 20:00, so plan dinner earlier than you'd like.

Fly or take the train to Inverness (INV), Glasgow (GLA) or Edinburgh (EDI); the Caledonian Sleeper from London to Fort William or Inverness is a genuinely pleasant way in. You need a car for the Highlands proper, and note that fuel stations in the far north can be 50 miles apart and closed on Sundays.

May, June and September are the best months: long daylight (near 18 hours in June), moderate crowds and, crucially, fewer midges. Those tiny biting flies peak from late June to August in still, damp conditions; repellent with DEET or Smidge and a head net are not a joke. Pack waterproofs regardless of forecast, and expect four seasons in one afternoon.