The Islands

Coastlines, Mountains, Sea Lochs, and Island Routes

From the Inner and Outer Hebrides to Orkney and Shetland, Scotland's islands contain a diverse network of routes, landscapes, and places shaped by the sea, geology, weather, and centuries of island life. Trails such as the Hebridean Way, St Magnus Way, and the Skye Trail reveal many of these environments, while landscapes including the Isle of Skye, Harris and Lewis, Orkney, and the Shetland Islands showcase some of Scotland's most distinctive natural environments.

Long-distance routes pass through coastal cliffs, sandy beaches, sea lochs, mountain terrain, moorland, and remote settlements, linking places that have shaped the character of the islands for generations. Together, these routes and landscapes reveal the diversity of Scotland's islands while providing opportunities to explore at a slower pace through self-guided travel and independent exploration.