Can you recommend anywhere good to visit in the Scottish Highlands and Islands

aks SnoopPeee
A. The entire Highland region boasts beautiful and rugged scenery and is often overlooked by British tourists as weforget what is on our own doorstep. A few of the places of interest are:

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Aviemore: best known for its skiing and hiking. Salmon fishing is popular in the River Spey and its surrounding lochs and as it is situated in the only arctic plateau in Britain, Aviemore attracts rare animals�such as the wildcat, pine marten, red squirrel and osprey. Aviemore is Scotland's favourite all year round tourist attraction. The Cairngorm mountain area has been proposed as a World Heritage site, with Green tourism forming a lot of its attraction - good access to the forests and mountains is managed in partnership with conservation agencies, to ensure the environment is sustained.

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Northern Highlands: this region is spectacular -formed by sweeping moors, a rugged coastline, wooded glens and small villages - it offers some of the most dramatic landscapes in Europe. The area includes traditional crofting communities in northwest Sutherland, historic fishing villages in Caithness and the wooded hinterland of Mid Ross, in addition to the popular beaches of East Sutherland and the mountains of Wester Ross.

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Inverness, Nairn and Loch Ness: situated in the heart of the Highlands this area is very popular with tourists, where a trip on the Caledonian Canal to Loch Ness in search of the Loch Ness Monster forms a vital and fun part of every trip. The historical town of Inverness is a good base to other parts of the Highlands as it houses many hotels and restaurants and good travel connections to the surrounding area. Nairn has a beautiful sandy beach and dramatic coastline and is home to the famous championship golf course (it was the venue for the 1999 Walker Cup). The area is also famed for its dolphins.

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Badenoch & Strathspey: situated between the impressive peaks of the Cairngorm and Monadhliath mountains, this area is home to rivers, forests and rolling hills. It was featured in the BBC series Monarch of the Glen and extensively in the film Mrs Brown.

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Fort William and Lochaber: This area also hosts stunning scenery and is home to Ben Nevis, Britain's highest mountain. The ski slopes of Glencoe and Aonach Mor and the beaches of Morar are also very popular. The film Braveheart was set here and the area is famed for its glens, mountains and islands.

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Isle of Skye and Lochalsh: The Isle of Skye is an ideal place to visit to escape from it all. It has an abundance of historic castles, old crofts, heritage exhibitions and fantastic restaurants, plus some of the best scenery in the region, with lots of craggy hills and sweeping moors.

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Outer Hebrides: bleak, remote and treeless islands run in a 130-mile (209km) arc, completely exposed to the gales that sweep in from the Atlantic. It is traditional crafting country and swamped in Gaelic culture. Harris boasts the best scenery in the islands and combines beaches, mountains, and dunes to breath-taking effect. It also home of the Harris Tweed.

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Orkney Islands: Lying six miles off the north coast of Scotland, the Orkneys are known for their dramatic coastline and abundant marine life - with Europe's greatest concentration of prehistoric sites. Only 70 of the islands are inhabited. The largest island is known as Mainland and is home to the islands' main town, Kirkwall, and major port, Stromness. Kirkwall features one of Scotland's finest medieval cathedrals.

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Shetland Islands: Lying 60 miles north of Orkney, the Shetlands are remote and windswept and nearer to Scandinavia than Scotland, the nearest town is Bergen in Norway. Birds are the big attraction here.

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Contact the Highlands of Scotland Tourist Board for more information.

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Q. When is the best time to visit the Highlands
A. May to September is the best time to visit Scotland in general, as the weather is usually better than at other times of the year. Lots of places in the Highlands close from October for the winter.

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Q. What is the best way to reach the Highlands and Islands from England
A. There are various ways:

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By Air: Inverness is the aerial gateway to the Highlands - and only about 1hr 15mins from London. Daily services are operated by British Airways and Easyjet. International flights arrive at either Glasgow or Edinburgh, with connecting flights to Inverness and Wick running regularly. Gill Airways also operates a regular service from Newcastle and Aberdeen to Wick.

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By Rail: There are daily services to and from Inverness to Glasgow, Edinburgh and many major English cities. More information is available from British Rail or telephone 0345 484950. A regular sleeper service is also available from London, more information is available from GNER or telephone 0345 225225.
Rail services from Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh, Wick/Thurso, and Fort William to Mallaig provide an opportunity to check the scenery out from the comfort of the train. More information: ScotRail or telephone 0345 550033. Rail tickets for all UK destinations can be purchased online at http://www.thetrainline.com

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By Bus: Several operators run daily services to the Highlands from Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh, with connections from all other parts of the UK.
Contact Citylink or�National Express.

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By Boat: P&O operates a vehicle and passenger ferry service from Scrabster (near Thurso) to Orkney (Stromness). More information: http://www.poscottishferries.co.uk or telephone 01224 572615. Car and passenger ferry services are operated to and from the Hebrides by Caledonian MacBrayne or telephone 01475 650100.

John O'Groats Ferries offer a foot-passenger ferry service from John O'Groats to Orkney (Burwick). More information: http://www.jogferry.co.uk or telephone 01955 611353.

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Public transport: information on public transport timetables for the Highlands and Islands is available from the Highland Council.
Email: [email protected] or telephone 01463 702695

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If you have any other travel related questions please click here

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By Karen Anderson