nature Archive

North Ronaldsay – Sheep, Lighthouses and Birdlife at the Edge of Orkney

Black-and-white striped North Ronaldsay lighthouse in warm evening light

Seaweed-eating sheep, two lighthouses and rare migrant birds: the best things to do on North Ronaldsay, plus walking and travel tips.

Glen Coe – A Dream Setting for Death

What a beautiful landscape, what a brutal story. The Highland valley of Glen Coe was the setting for Scotland’s most infamous massacre. Two lines in a letter can be this deadly: “You are hereby ordered to fall upon the rebells, the McDonalds of Glenco, and put all to the sword under seventy.” In other words: […]

Balnakeil Village – Murder, Sea and Chocolate

This place unites opposites: a visit to the ghost village of Balnakeil and, right next door, a thoroughly lively artists’ community … So here lies the murderer Donald McMurdo, his grave fittingly marked with a skull. He’s said to have had 18 people on his conscience (the exact number of his victims isn’t entirely certain). […]

Sango Sands – A Beach With a View

Barefoot on the beach, white sand between your toes … even at the very top of Scotland that’s possible. Sango Sands is one of the most beautiful stretches of coast in the Highlands. The turquoise water of the Atlantic rolls gently over the fine sand and washes around black rocks. Green headlands reach far out […]

Isle of Iona – The Sacred Island of the Scots

It is considered a spiritual centre of Scotland – the place from which Christianity spread into the Highlands. The small island of Iona is geographically little more than an appendage of Mull. And yet it is so much more important than that. Emerald green, the isle sits on a turquoise sea as the small ferry […]

Clootie Well – A Magical Spring on the Black Isle

Suddenly there’s clothing hanging in the forest. The trees are wrapped in colourful rags – wherever you look. And at the centre of this collection of rags, a spring rises out of a hillside. This is the Clootie Well on the Black Isle. This belief reaches far back into Celtic times: if you dip a […]

Ceannabeinne – A Dazzling Beach in the Highlands

Azure water, reddish rock, white sand – Scotland’s north seduces with dreamlike coastlines. Where the Atlantic and the North Sea collide lies one of the most beautiful beaches, Ceannabeinne. Framed by a curving bay, lined with green grass where rabbits roam, Ceannabeinne lies right on the road to Durness. Visitors can easily make their way […]

Applecross – A Refuge in Scotland’s Beautiful Wilderness

A remote peninsula in the west of Scotland, with overwhelming nature and a wild mountain backdrop. Right in the middle: the small village of Applecross. The drive there is one of the most impressive experiences of a trip to Scotland. Lonely lochs, wind-swept bays with turquoise sea, steeply rising mountains – Applecross is one of […]

Inverewe Garden – a Colourful Garden in the Highlands

Gartenanlage im Walled Garden von Inverewe

On a barren hillside in the Highlands, a Scotsman created a Garden of Eden – Inverewe Garden. Here he coaxed magnificent plants from all over the world into thriving, and today every visitor can marvel at them. Inverewe Garden covers almost 21 hectares – roughly the size of 40 football pitches. And it needs every […]

Smoo Cave – an Emerald Cave in the Highlands

Grün schimmernde Algen an kalten Steinwänden, ein unterirdischer Wasserfall, eine große Kammer, die sich zu einer Bucht mit Sandstrand öffnet – die Smoo Cave ist eine beeindruckende Naturschönheit im Norden Schottlands.