Far North

The Far North is Scotland's final frontier — the area from roughly the Black Isle north to Dunnet Head and Cape Wrath. The mountains here are smaller than the giants further south, but the context is different: they rise from sea-level moorland in complete isolation, with the Atlantic visible from most summits. Ben Hope (927m), the most northerly Munro, stands alone above Loch Hope with no other significant hills for miles in any direction. Ben Loyal, a few miles south, is technically a Corbett but looks bigger because of its isolated position and dramatic pinnacled ridgeline.

Cape Wrath is the endpoint of the Cape Wrath Trail and one of the most remote points on the British mainland. Getting there requires either a two-day walk from Kinlochbervie via Sandwood Bay, or a ferry across the Kyle of Durness plus a minibus over the headland — when the Ministry of Defence isn't using the area as a bombing range. Sandwood Bay itself, a four-mile beach of pink sand backed by dunes and a sea stack, is one of the finest beaches in Europe. The walk in from Blairmore is eight kilometres on a rough track, which keeps the numbers manageable.

The Black Isle isn't actually an island — it's a peninsula between the Cromarty and Beauly Firths east of Inverness. It's gentle farming country with good coastal walking and the Fortrose to Cromarty coast path. Chanonry Point, on the Moray Firth, is the best place in Scotland to see bottlenose dolphins from land. The contrast between the Black Isle and the wilderness further north makes it a sensible acclimatisation stop on the way up.