What to Do

Walks, wildlife, watersports, cultural sites, tours and seasonal events.

53 places across 9 regions.

Attractions

Ballachulish Visitor Centre

Visitor centre at the gateway to Glencoe, beside Loch Leven. Information, café and shop covering Glencoe, the West Highlands and the Lochaber UNESCO Global Geopark.

Lochaber Attraction

Ben Nevis Visitor Centre

Highland Council visitor centre in Glen Nevis, the standard starting point for ascents of Ben Nevis. Maps, ranger advice, weather updates, parking and the Mountain Track trailhead.

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs

Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park

Safari and adventure park on a 160-acre estate outside Stirling: drive-through reserves of lions, rhinos and Scotland's only giraffes, a boat trip to Chimp Island, walk-through lemurs, birds of prey and sea lion shows, a dinosaur trail and adventure play. Open spring to autumn.

Inverness

Chanonry Point

Lighthouse and shingle spit on the Black Isle reaching into the Moray Firth, the best land-based bottlenose dolphin viewing point in the United Kingdom.

Inverness Attraction

Culloden Battlefield

National Trust for Scotland site at the place of the 1746 Battle of Culloden, the last pitched battle on British soil. Visitor centre, immersive battlefield walk and the surviving Old Leanach Cottage.

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs

Deanston Distillery

Highland single malt distillery on the River Teith at Deanston near Doune, a former cotton mill turned to whisky in 1966, guided tours and tastings in the old weaving sheds, powered by its own hydro turbines; the waxy 12 year old is the core dram.

Lochaber Attraction

Glencoe National Trust Visitor Centre

National Trust for Scotland visitor centre in Glencoe, with exhibition on the 1692 Massacre, ranger-led walks, café and shop. The reference start point for the glen.

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs

Glengoyne Distillery

Highland single malt distillery below Dumgoyne hill on the A81 near Killearn, distilling since 1833 and home to Scotland's slowest stills: unpeated, sherry-cask whisky, guided tours and tastings, chocolate pairings and a blend-your-own Malt Master session. Open all year.

Wester Ross

Inverewe Garden

National Trust for Scotland garden on the shore of Loch Ewe at Poolewe, a 19th-century planted estate of subtropical species thriving in the Wester Ross microclimate, with garden, woodland, café and shop.

Inverness Attraction

Inverness Castle

The 19th-century sandstone castle above the River Ness, reopened in 2025 as a visitor experience operated by High Life Highland.

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs

Loch Katrine Pier Complex

Pier complex at the east end of Loch Katrine in the Trossachs, home port of the 1900 steamship Sir Walter Scott and the smaller Lady of the Lake; scenic cruises towards Stronachlachar through Rob Roy country, with bike hire, a cafe and a shop on site.

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs

Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park

Scotland's first national park, set up in 2002 and covering 1,865 square kilometres of the southern Highlands; centred on Loch Lomond, with 21 Munros including Ben Lomond, the West Highland Way and gateway villages such as Balloch, Aberfoyle and Callander.

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs

Loch Lomond Bird of Prey Centre

Bird of prey centre in woodland beside Loch Lomond Shores at Balloch, home to more than thirty owls, hawks, falcons, buzzards and a golden eagle, with a focus on rescue and conservation; daily flying displays plus hold-a-bird and falconry experiences.

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs

Loch Lomond Shores

Waterfront leisure and shopping complex at Balloch on the southern tip of Loch Lomond: the SEA LIFE aquarium in Drumkinnon Tower, a retail crescent and mall, cafes and a dinosaur-themed grill, a cruise and waterbus jetty, kayak and bike hire, adventure golf and free parking.

Inverness

Nessieland

Family-focused Loch Ness Monster attraction in Drumnadrochit, with a kid-oriented visitor experience and outdoor play area beside the loch.

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs

Scottish Real Ales

Specialist shop at the Lade Inn in Kilmahog, a mile north of Callander, stocking the largest range of bottled Scottish beers in the country: over 200 ales from more than 40 microbreweries, Shetland to the Borders, plus the inn's own WayLade, LadeBack and LadeOut.

Sutherland

Smoo Cave

Sea cave on the north coast at Durness, a vast triple-chambered cave eroded into the Durness limestone, with a free walkway into the outer chamber and seasonal small-boat tours into the inner ones.

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs

Sweeneys Cruises

Long-running family boat operator at Balloch on the southern end of Loch Lomond: scheduled one and two-hour circular cruises, a seasonal waterbus linking Balloch, Luss and Balmaha, sunset sailings, speedboat trips and private charters from the Balloch riverside.

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs

The David Marshall Lodge Visitor Centre

Forestry and Land Scotland visitor centre on the A821 above Aberfoyle, gateway to Queen Elizabeth Forest Park: the Bluebell cafe, a gift shop, live osprey and red squirrel cameras, waterfall and woodland trails, a children's play maze, and Go Ape treetop courses on site.

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs

The Hill House

Charles Rennie Mackintosh's 1904 Helensburgh masterpiece, currently enclosed in Carmody Groarke's "The Box" steel mesh conservation structure since 2019, elevated walkways round the exterior plus the original interior tour, tearoom and Mackintosh-inspired gift shop, run by NTS.

Activities

Oban

Achnalarig Stables

Riding centre on the edge of Oban offering hacks, lessons and trail rides.

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs

Action Adventure Activities

Outdoor activity operator at Gartmore near Aberfoyle, on the edge of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park: 4x4 off-road driving, quad bikes and buggies, archery and air-rifle target sports, paintball, abseiling, gorge walking and group adventure days.

Wester Ross

Gairloch Trekking Centre

Pony trekking from Croft 3 at Red Point, south of Gairloch, guided rides along forest tracks and the coast for all abilities, suitable for beginners and children.

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs

McLaren Leisure Centre

Community sports and leisure centre in Callander run as a social enterprise, with a 20-metre swimming pool, sauna, indoor sports hall, climbing wall, soft play, fitness suite and a full-size 3G pitch, plus a cafe and a holiday activity programme for all ages.

Tours

Isle of Mull

Isle of Mull Cheese & Distillery

Working dairy and gin distillery at Sgriob-ruadh Farm above Tobermory, cheese-making tours, glass-house café and farm shop.

Ullapool

Kayak Summer Isles

Sea-kayak guiding and instruction from Ullapool. Half-day, full-day and multi-day trips out to the Summer Isles, with all kit provided and BCU-qualified coaches.

Caithness

North Point Distillery

Independent organic distillery at Forss, north-west of Thurso, producing small-batch botanical spirits, gin, vodka and seasonal releases. Tours, tastings and on-site shop.

Ullapool

Seascape Expeditions

Marine wildlife boat trips from Ullapool's pier, run by marine biologists. Guided sea-eagle, seal, porpoise and dolphin spotting trips out to the Summer Isles aboard a converted RIB.

Lochaber

The Jacobite Steam Train

Seasonal steam-hauled tourist train from Fort William to Mallaig along the West Highland Line. The ride that became the Hogwarts Express.

Isle of Mull

Turus Mara

Wildlife and island cruises from Ulva Ferry and Dervaig, Staffa and Fingal's Cave, the Treshnish Isles, puffins, whales and dolphins.

Lochaber

Western Isles Cruises

Wildlife and sightseeing boat trips from Mallaig to the Small Isles and Knoydart. Eigg, Rùm, Muck, Canna and the inner Sound of Sleat by day-cruise.

Museums

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs

Breadalbane Folklore Centre, Killin

Heritage centre in a former mill beside the Falls of Dochart in Killin, once the Breadalbane Folklore Centre and reopened as The Old Mill: a volunteer-run space with heritage displays, a makers' market and the working waterwheel, and the story of the St Fillan healing stones.

Oban Attraction

Dunollie Castle, Museum & Grounds

MacDougall ancestral castle and museum overlooking Oban Bay, with woodland walks, the 1745 House, tea rooms, and views to Mull.

Wester Ross Attraction

Gairloch Museum

Award-winning local-history museum in a converted Cold War nuclear bunker at Achtercairn, Gairloch. Crofting, fishing and Highland archaeology galleries; Art Fund Museum of the Year finalist 2020.

Lochaber

Mallaig Heritage Centre

Local-history museum at the Mallaig railway station, covering Knoydart, the Small Isles, the Road to the Isles and the Highland fishing industry.

Wester Ross Attraction

Russian Arctic Convoy Museum

Museum at Aultbea on Loch Ewe telling the story of the WWII Arctic convoys mustered in the loch. Permanent exhibition, archive and visitor café.

Inverness

The Loch Ness Centre

The Drumnadrochit visitor experience covering the natural and scientific history of Loch Ness, geology, ecology and the long search for evidence of the Loch Ness Monster.

Ullapool

Ullapool Museum

Local-history museum housed in the former Telford parliamentary church on West Argyle Street, the British Fisheries Society's 1788 founding of the burgh, the Highland Clearances, the herring fishery, emigrant ships and the working harbour.

Beaches

Sutherland

Sandwood Bay

A mile-long beach of pink-tinged sand backed by dunes on the far north-west coast, reached only by a 7 km walk in from Blairmore. The southern-approach gateway to Cape Wrath, owned and managed by the John Muir Trust.

Other what to do

Isle of Mull

An Tobar & Mull Theatre

Mull's arts centre, performance theatre, gallery, music venue and café at Druimfin, just outside Tobermory.

Inverness Attraction

Beauly Priory

13th-century priory ruins in the centre of Beauly, twelve miles west of Inverness. A free, unstaffed Historic Environment Scotland site.

Caithness Attraction

Castle of Mey

Sixteenth-century castle on the Pentland Firth coast, bought and restored by the late Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 1952 and open to visitors in summer. Walled gardens, café and shop.

Inverness

Cawdor Castle

Privately owned medieval tower-house castle and gardens at Cawdor, near Nairn. Continuously inhabited by the Cawdor family for over 600 years.

Inverness Attraction

Clava Cairns

Bronze Age burial cairns and standing stones near Culloden, around 4,000 years old. A free Historic Environment Scotland site, with no visitor centre, just the stones, the trees and the river.

Isle of Mull Attraction

Duart Castle

Seat of Clan Maclean since the 13th century, on a clifftop above the Sound of Mull. Castle, grounds, tea rooms and clan museum.

Oban Attraction

Dunstaffnage Castle & Chapel

13th-century stronghold of the MacDougalls and later the Campbells, on a coastal headland three miles north of Oban. Cared for by Historic Environment Scotland.

Ullapool

Fisk Gallery & Workshop

Working gallery and printmaker's workshop at Polbain on the Coigach peninsula, run by artist Lucy Fisk, original prints and paintings of the Summer Isles, Inverpolly and the north-west coast.

Lochaber Attraction

Glenfinnan Monument & Visitor Centre

National Trust for Scotland monument at the head of Loch Shiel, marking the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Viewing platform for the Glenfinnan Viaduct and the Hogwarts Express.

Sutherland

Highland Stoneware

Working pottery and shop in Lochinver, hand-painted stoneware made on site, with an open studio that allows visitors to watch the painting and decoration process.

Wester Ross

Inchgowan Fine Art

Working art studio and gallery on Flowerdale Bay in Gairloch. Original landscapes and prints by Inchgowan's resident artist; visitors welcome by appointment or on open days.

Oban

Scifi Planet

Independent shop on George Street, Oban, stocked with science-fiction collectibles, comics, models and games.

Wester Ross

The Gale Centre

Community-run visitor and information centre at Achtercairn, Gairloch, café, shop, exhibition space and the meeting point for many local events and walking groups.

Inverness Attraction

Urquhart Castle

Historic Environment Scotland castle on the west shore of Loch Ness at Drumnadrochit. One of the largest castles in Scotland and one of the most-visited HES sites.