The Great Glen and Strathspey are in the central Scottish Highlands. These two valleys are natural transport routes converging on Inverness, which became the region's chief town.
Inverness is a city in The Great Glen and Strathspey area of the Scottish Highlands, at the point where the River Ness flows out into the Moray Firth. Inverness is the only city of any size in the Highlands, and is the region's commercial and administrative centre.
Loch Ness is a lake or loch which runs for 23 miles along the fault line of the Great Glen in the Scottish Highlands. It's a mile wide, very deep, and dark with peat.
Fort William is a town at the foot of the Great Glen, on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands. It's the main transport, commercial and visitor hub for the area: its attractions include Ben Nevis, Nevis Range ski resort, the Caledonian Canal, and "The Jacobite" steam train.
Destinations to Discover
Explore places such as Cairngorms National Park and Glencoe.
The Cairngorms are a range of mountains between the Highlands region and Aberdeenshire, plus smaller areas of Angus, Perth and Kinross, and Moray. The national park, established in 2003, is by far the largest in Britain – it's named for the Cairn Gorm…
Glencoe is a hauntingly scenic valley in the western Scottish Highlands, a branch of The Great Glen which carves coast to coast. It's also the name of the village at its foot, where the glen meets the sea at Loch Leven.
Aviemore is a town in the Spey Valley of Highland Scotland. It's the main base for skiing and other outdoor activities in Cairngorms National Park. It's the largest of a straggle of villages including Rothiemurcus and Coylumbridge, also described here, and in 2020 had a population of 3230.
Mallaig is a ferry port and fishing village on the west coast of The Great Glen and Strathspey region of the Scottish Highlands, with a population of 660 in 2020. The name is Norse, Mel vik, sand-dune bay.
Fort Augustus is a village in The Great Glen, the fault line that traverses the Scottish Highlands. It's at the south end of Loch Ness, midway between Fort William and Inverness, and in 2023 had a population of about 650.
Drumnadrochit is a village in the Great Glen, the fault line that traverses the Scottish Highlands. With a population of 1130 in 2020, it stands on the west shore of Loch Ness at the outlet of the River Enrick.
Glenfinnan is a village in the Western Highlands of Scotland, between Fort William and Mallaig. Standing at the head of Loch Shiel, it's famous as the place where "Bonnie Prince Charlie" launched his 1745 Jacobite rebellion.
Kingussie is a town in Speyside in the central Scottish Highlands, with a population of 1470 in 2020. The Spey valley here broadens into a "strath" as it emerges from the hills, and turns north.
Grantown-on-Spey is a town in the Spey Valley in the central Scottish Highlands, 20 miles southeast of Inverness. To the west is the "strath" or broad valley of the River Spey, which here narrows to descend east through the Cairngorms towards the coast in Moray.
Arisaig is a village on the coast of Lochaber in the Scottish Highlands, with a population of about 300. It stands on the "Road to the Isles", the traditional route from the south via Fort William to Mallaig and thence to Skye.
Ardnamurchan Peninsula is in Lochaber in the Scottish Highlands. It's the most westerly and remote part of mainland Britain, accessed only by a long, winding single-track lane.
Culloden is a village 4 miles east of Inverness in The Great Glen and Strathspey region of the Highlands, nowadays a commuter town for the city, with a population of 3830 in 2022.
Carrbridge is a village in the Spey Valley in the central Highlands of Scotland, 24 miles southeast of Inverness and six miles north of Aviemore. Its Gaelic name is Drochaid Chàrr but derives from Norse: "boggy area".
