Scotland's natural spaces are calling

Scotland offers a vast natural playground for hikers, and we’re not just talking about its famous 282 Munro mountains. The Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park is backed up by the Cairngorms (the UK’s largest national park), a flurry of nature reserves and endless lashings of glorious green space – both urban and rural. Scotland’s Great Trails (29 of them) provide a structure to your adventure. The 155km West Highland Way is justifiably world famous, sweeping all the way from Milngavie, just outside Glasgow, to Fort William deep in the Highlands.

But how about the lesser-known Fife Coastal Path? This big-skied coastal adventure traces the Firth of Forth and then curls around Fife on its 186km journey from Kincardine to Newburgh.

Further north the 102km Cateran Trail is an adventurous route around Perthshire and the Angus Glens on the historic drovers' tracks once trod by the legendary Cateran cattle thieves.

Out west in Argyll & The Isles, the Kintyre Way offers a life-affirming way to explore this quiet, deeply dramatic peninsula. This largely coastal escape sweeps 160km from the sands of Machrihanish up to picturesque Tarbert and is only walked by a thousand or so people in an entire year.

All of Scotland’s Great Trails, and many more walks, can be reached via public transport, meaning well-prepared and well-equipped walkers can enjoy a sustainable holiday that has a low-impact on the natural world you’re savouring.

Did you know Scotland is home to its very own wildlife ‘Big Five’? Scotland is a world-class wildlife destination year-round, its mainland and 790 plus islands brimming with all manner of creatures.

No island brims more than Arran, sporting all the Big Five – red deer, red squirrels, golden eagles, otters and harbour seals – and you might even see them all in one brilliant day.

The Isle of Mull in Argyll & The Isles is a haven for birdwatchers, who come not just for golden eagles, but their larger barn door-sized cousins, the mighty sea eagle. On Islay, also in Argyll & The Isles, it’s all about the annual geese migrations with thousands of birds wintering on this mild island – it’s a spirit-soaring sight at sunset watching the flocks soar right over your head. The greatest concentration of seabirds is out in the wildly beautiful St Kilda archipelago off the coast of the Outer Hebrides.

Up north, Shetland and Orkney are both awash with cute puffins in summer, as are the mighty Bass Rock off the East Lothian coast (also famous for its huge gannet colony), the Isle of May in Fife and Ailsa Craig, off the Ayrshire Coast. Shetland is, of course, also home to the cutely diminutive Shetland Pony. On the mainland, the rutting of the UK’s largest land mammal in autumn is an unforgettable experience. The roar of the stags echoes around the Perthshire and Highland glens. This is just one of the wildlife highlights in a country that packs a serious wildlife punch.

With the most northerly pod of bottlenose dolphins in the world, Scotland is an essential pilgrimage for fans of marine mammals. The Moray Firth pod – also the world’s largest bottlenose dolphins – ‘commute’ all over the east coast, but there are always dolphins in their home firth, which you can encounter on boat trips out of Inverness and Cromarty. If you prefer to keep your legs on land, Aberdeen offers shore-based dolphin viewing, as does Chanonry Point on the Moray Firth

Scotland’s waters are also alive with all manner of whales – from minke to killer – best viewed on boats out of the Isle of Mull. From July to September, basking sharks ease into the waters off the Isle of Coll and around the Isle of Arran. Take a high adventure, eco-conscious sailing tour with Basking Shark Scotland – under careful supervision you can enter the water to watch this graceful giant of the deep.

The Scottish Wildlife Trust also list superb snorkelling trails. Have an up-close encounter with anemones, crabs and starfish on the self-led Lochaber Snorkel Trail, new for 2021. There is shipwreck diving too. Orkney is one of the world’s best dive locations and you can uncover the fascinating wartime secrets of famous Scapa Flow with an expert guide. For an intensive marine wildlife experience, book a tour on a small cruise ship. Majestic Line, Hebrides Cruises and Fleur de Lys are just some of the low-impact options that run love-aboard trips where you can encounter myriad species. With any water-based activity always follow the advice of Water Safety Scotland.

With so little light pollution and swathes of seriously dark night skies, Scotland is hard to beat for a stargazing experience, especially in autumn and winter. Scotland is home to the UK’s first Dark Sky Park  – Galloway Forest Park – which is only the second in Europe designated by the International Dark Sky Association. Scotland’s second Dark Sky Park is Tomintoul & Glenlivet in the Cairngorms National Park, the darkest in the UK and also the world’s most northerly. 

Further Dark Sky Discovery Sites sparkle with stars throughout Scotland, such as Midlothian’s Newbattle Abbey and the Dark Sky Town of Moffat in Dumfries & Galloway. Scotland even has its own Dark Sky Islands in Coll, over 30km from the nearest lamp post, and Orkney’s North Ronaldsay, also an International Dark Sky Community.

Then there are the Northern Lights. The Aurora Borealis. The Mirrie Dancers, as they're traditionally known in Scotland. Call them what you want, but there is no denying the spectacular solar lightshow that is one of the world’s great natural phenomenon. Top spots on the mainland include Aberdeenshire, Rannoch Moor and Wester Ross, while the Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland have starry skies worth going that bit further north for. On a dark, solar active night you can even see them in the skies from Edinburgh.

Scotland’s nature tends to have an instantly calming effect, even more so if you really immerse yourself in it. In these turbulent times Scotland has become a real haven for wild swimming, with countless spots where you can take to the waters – following, of course, all the safety precautions.

If you’d like to discover wild swimming with a little help head to Carfrae Farm in East Lothian and enjoy ‘Mindful Loch Swimming’ in Danskine Loch, where you can slow right down and press reset. Staying here bathed in nature allows you to relax and rejuvenate. Tune into nature and experience the restorative power of the trees with forest bathing, a new wellness activity that’s becoming more and more popular in Scotland.

Scots have long known the benefits of walking to mental and physical health, but now at Rural Remedy down in The Cheviots you can stroll along with a trained and BACP registered counsellor. Relax afterwards in one of their lovingly restored cottages.

Myriad hotels are set amongst Scotland’s bountiful nature, such as The Torridon, a grand country house hotel gazing out to the eponymous loch and towering Torridon mountains. They have a more informal inn here too. Numerous campsites and glamping sites around Scotland also let you be at one with nature. Comrie Croft is a shining example. From The Steading to Kata tents, Comrie Croft offers a host of sleeping options within the forest. The fruit and vegetables grown here grace their lovely tearoom and you can hire bikes to explore the forested hillsides too.