The Rough Guide to Scottish Highlands & Islands (Rough Guides) Paperback – May 16, 2017

Even by Scottish standards, the legendary Highlands are off the beaten path. They require a little extra effort to reach. However, they reward the persistent traveler with stunning natural scenery (weather permitting) and lots to see and do. This 2017 edition is the latest version of the Rough Guide to the Scottish Highlands & Islands. The content has been updated and the book is packed with interesting information.The Highlands are located north of Glasgow and Edinburgh, and west of Aberdeen, which with Inverness are the principal entry points into the region. The Islands are just a bit further, reached by bridge, ferry or short aircraft hop from mainland Scotland. Together, the Highlands and Islands encompass a large area with few major population centers and a thin transportation and hospitality infrastructure. The elbow room and the opportunity to wander are a magnet for many visitors, but planning ahead is recommended, especially to reach some of the remoter islands.This guide is divided by geographic area: the southeast coast of Argyll, the Central Highlands including the Cairngorms, the Great Glen including Loch Ness, sparsely populated Northern Scotland, Skye, the Western Isles, Orkney, and the Shetlands. Each section discusses items of interest such as castles, lochs, mountain walking, whisky distilleries, and museums. The sections include maps and graphics of the few towns, along with information on how to get there and where to eat and to stay. This edition also includes lots of websites and a healthy if limited selection of color photographs. There are practical hints on how to avoid school holidays and how to minimize the impact of the highly variable weather.This reviewer's favorite area is the vast Cairngorms National Park, set in the rugged Grampian Mountains. It can be easily explored by day trips from any of several pleasant small towns such as Braemar, which also hosts the annual Highland Gathering, a celebrated highland games often attended by members of the British royal family from nearby Balmoral Castle (which can also be toured, but go early in the day). Many towns in the Highlands have their own games. Pitlochry, for example, has theirs in September, a true municipal celebration of highland culture that includes competitive highland dancing and a huge bagpipe band competition along with the usual athletics, all in the town's riverside park. Edzell, a granite-built town on the southeastern corner of the Cairngorms, has its own castle, magnificent ruins that feature a rebuilt garden, and ready access to Glen Esk.With averagely good weather, the Scottish Highlands and Islands provide superb opportunities to explore, whether on foot or bike, or by automobile or train (or even ferry). The region and this guide are highly recommended.

a very informative book and gives great pictures and useful tips

Great information, beautiful pictures of sites with many useful details. Perfect size to tuck away in your bag. Highly recommend if you're planning a trip.

Very comprehensive overview of the areas covered, easy to use and well indexed for the traveler.

an excellent concise guide

This is not really a 'rough' guide. The cover's actually quite smooth, and so are the pages. If the publishers intend humor with their title, might I suggest they put a picture of a dog on the front. (i.e. 'The Woof Guide'). Maybe a dog in a kilt, playing the bagpipes?

not a bad book, but the information on the Shetland islands was sparse and that was where I was going.

Perfect

Another brilliant book from the Rough Guide stable. A pleasure to read, it provides a lovely balance between the main attractions of a location and some local history. While it is pretty comprehensive, it's not supposed to be totally exhaustive and the last word on the Scottish Highlands and Islands. After all, everyone's experience and emphasis will be different and that will apply to the excellent authors of this guide. However, starting with the information in this book, it's an excellent jumping off point to drill down for more detail on the Internet. Besides, unless you want to wild camp, you will need to do this in order to book accommodation. And, of course, if you want to do some mountaineering, you will need the appropriate Ordnance Survey or Harvey maps, as emphasised in this book. Have a safe trip!

arrived in 2 days from order - even with no charge shipping. Book is the current edition of one I found very helpful from the library as I planned our trip. Nice extra info

Ich habe mir für eine Schottland-Reise sowohl den "Rough Guide to Scotland" als auch den "Rough Guide to the Scottish Highlands and Islands" gekauft. Leider musste ich feststellen, dass der "Rough Guide to the Scotthish Highlands and Islands" kaum mehr Information enthält als der "Rough Guide to Scotland", der gesamt Schottland umfasst und gleich viel kostet. Der Text ist bis auf wenige Ergänzungen ident. Ich hätte mir eindeutig mehr erwartet!

It's difficult to compress everything you need to know about a region into a handy paperback, but this RG provides just the right level of insight, maps and commentary with the usual curated list of places to stay, eat and visit.Definitely worth the money.And then buy an OS Roadmap (green cover), and download an Offline GoogleMap of the area you're visiting before you head out.

Good rough guide. Plenty of info and must see and do’s. Well laid out considering the amount of info that’s packed into it. Would recommend for a general overview of Scotland.