The Scottish Highlands: Ancient Castles, Whisky Distilleries & Wild Atlantic Coastline

The Scottish Highlands encompass an area of 16,000 square miles — roughly the size of Switzerland — with a population of barely 250,000. Much of this landscape has been largely unchanged since the last Ice Age retreated 12,000 years ago, leaving behind a topography of glacial lochs, ancient mountain ranges, and river valleys whose scale and solitude are unique in Western Europe. Add the world's finest single malt whisky, ancient castle ruins that have weathered a thousand years of Highland history, and some of Britain's most extraordinary small luxury hotels, and you have one of the great slow travel destinations.

The North Coast 500 (northcoast500.com) — Scotland's answer to Route 66, a 516-mile circular road route beginning and ending in Inverness — has become the defining Highland road journey, taking in the dramatic Atlantic coastline of Wester Ross, the deserted white-sand beaches of Sutherland, the mountains of Torridon, and the remotest village pubs of Caithness. The drive is best accomplished in five to seven days, stopping at distilleries, fishing villages, and hill trails along the way.

Where to Stay: Highland Luxury

Gleneagles (gleneagles.com) in Perthshire is the grande dame of Scottish luxury hotels — a 1924 Edwardian palace with three championship golf courses, two Roux-conceived restaurants, a world-class spa, falconry, shooting, and equestrian activities across 850 acres of Perthshire farmland. It is the Highlands' most complete resort experience. Rooms from $700/night, suites from $2,000/night.

Inverlochy Castle (inverlochycastlehotel.com) near Fort William, beneath Ben Nevis (the UK's highest mountain), is the definitive Scottish castle hotel — a turreted Victorian shooting lodge on a private estate with loch fishing, a boat house, and chef-driven Scottish cuisine using produce sourced from the estate and local farms. Queen Victoria stayed here in 1873 and wrote in her diary: 'I never saw a lovelier or more romantic spot.' Suites from $800/night.

The Torridon (thetorridon.com) on the shores of Upper Loch Torridon in Wester Ross offers the most remote luxury in Scotland — 58 rooms and suites in a Victorian shooting lodge, with access to 58 square miles of private estate for deer stalking, sea kayaking, hillwalking, and stargazing (the Torridon has some of Scotland's darkest skies). The bothan (estate cottage) accommodation allows full wilderness immersion. Rooms from $500/night.

The Whisky Distillery Trail

Single malt Scotch whisky is one of Scotland's greatest cultural exports, and visiting the distilleries of Speyside — the whisky heartland concentrated around the River Spey between Inverness and Aberdeen — is one of the great food and drink travel experiences.

Glenfiddich Distillery (glenfiddich.com) in Dufftown, the world's most awarded single malt Scotch whisky, offers exceptional guided tours of its traditional copper pot stills, dunnage warehouses, and cooperage — with tastings ranging from standard expressions to ultra-rare single cask bottlings. The Solera Vault experience, which includes vertical tastings of aged expressions, is considered among the finest distillery experiences in Scotland.

The Macallan Estate (themacallan.com) near Craigellachie opened its extraordinary new distillery and visitor centre in 2018 — a wave-roofed structure designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour Partners that has been described as the finest piece of architecture in Scotland since the Scottish Parliament building. The Archival Experience, tasting through historical expressions back to the 1940s, is available for serious collectors by private arrangement.

For the Isle of Islay's peated malts, Lagavulin (malts.com/en-row/distilleries/lagavulin), Laphroaig (laphroaig.com), and Ardbeg (ardbeg.com) sit within three miles of each other on Islay's southern coast — three of the world's most celebrated distilleries, each with a deeply individual character.

Glencoe and Ben Nevis

Glencoe (visitscotland.com/destinations-maps/glencoe) — the great glacial valley in Argyll — is one of the most dramatic landscapes in Britain, its narrow floor shadowed by 1,000-metre volcanic walls on three sides. The Glencoe Mountain Resort (glencoemountain.co.uk) offers skiing in winter; in summer, the valley is one of Scotland's finest walking destinations. The Three Sisters — three massive ridges of Bidean nam Bian — are among the most photographed mountains in Scotland.

Getting There

Inverness Airport (INV) is the gateway to the northern Highlands, with direct flights from London Heathrow, Gatwick, and Edinburgh. Edinburgh Airport (EDI) offers the widest international connections. A hire car is essential — and Scotland drives on the left. The Caledonian Sleeper (sleeper.scot), overnight from London Euston to Inverness, Fort William, or Aberdeen, is one of Britain's great train journeys and eliminates the need for a hotel night.