#outer-hebrides

#outer-hebrides

Highland cows are a tough and hardy breed known for their shaggy coat and upturned horns. They were brought in to restore and maintain the reserve through wild grazing.

Please do enjoy walking around the site, but just give them some space. We're asking people to remember that these are not pets - they are conservation grazers doing an important job. Jessica Allam, Senior Wilder Grazing Ranger at Kent Wildlife Trust, emphasizes the need for visitors to respect the animals' boundaries and understand their conservation role.

Island communities have long experienced mobile coverage challenges, and addressing total not-spots is a key focus of the £1.3bn Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme. Launched in 2020, the SRN is a joint initiative between the government and the UK's mobile network operators - EE and Virgin Media O2 (VMO2), as well as Three and Vodafone before their merger - to extend 4G connectivity to 95% of the UK's landmass by the end of 2025.

Achaphubuil, a tiny hamlet, is surrounded by mountains and ancient forest, making it an ideal location for artists seeking beauty, privacy, and peace.

The event was the following day: we had 250 tickets sold, we'd done so many rehearsals, and inside there were lighting rigs, performers' equipment, shop stock. It was truly heartbreaking. So many businesses lost so much money and time, and now the loss of the space itself is having a huge impact on the wider community.

No. It's out of our hands really. We can only do a certain amount. It's a game for us to play against an opponent that's had the upper hand on us for years. We're playing them away from home. They've got a brilliant record at home. It's a challenge but a real opportunity for us to go and deliver an even better performance than we did last week.

SaxaVord Spaceport on Unst is gearing up for its inaugural test launch in the coming months, featuring a rocket developed by German firm RFA. The Shetland Islands facility has confirmed a limited number of viewing passes for a designated remote area, which will first be offered to Unst's approximately 600 inhabitants.

Svalbard was ranked as the least crowded island in Europe, according to retreat booking platform BookRetreats.com, which looked at tourism patterns across Europe's islands. The study, which drew on European Commission data measuring overnight tourist stays per square kilometer, found Svalbard boasted just 2.4 overnight stays.

"I liked our last holiday house better," announces my niece on arrival at Gairnsheil Lodge's Laggan Cottage in the Scottish Highlands. The thing about six-year-olds is that they famously have very little taste, and this isn't the first thing we've disagreed on (other topics include bedtimes, what constitutes 'dinner' and how often you should brush your hair). You'd think for someone who was being treated to a bucket list holiday she'd have a little more respect.

The Traitors, and its stunning home in Scotland's Ardross Castle, returned to our screens on New Year's Day 2026 for a highly anticipated fourth run. The latest series follows the runaway success of The Celebrity Traitors in autumn 2025, where the UK was gripped by a host of household names entering the now-instantly-recognisable property to scheme, plot and accuse each other of being a traitor.

Some of the best hotels in Scotland exist outside of the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow -but that's not to say you can't find somewhere exceptional to stay wherever you wish to lay your head across the country. Whether you're looking for a cosmopolitan city break or hoping to explore Scotland's stunning coastline on the road trip of a lifetime, there's somewhere stunning for any type of traveler.

The best places to visit in May take advantage of that elusive window of perfect weather as spring turns to summer, when it's not too hot and it's not too cold-all you need is a light jacket. That frees up essential space in our carry-ons (big puffy jackets and thermal leggings can stay home, finally), creating more room for souvenirs from wherever we may go.

Scotland's Knoydart peninsula is sometimes called Britain's "last wilderness." The land juts out between Loch Nevis and Loch Hourn-that's "Loch Heaven" and "Loch Hell," respectively-and has no through roads, no connections to the U.K.'s road network. What few locals live here, in the craggy Highlands of the west coast, get around on foot, by boat, or drive between their tiny communities down narrow lanes. They help each other with whatever resources they have.

I'm learning to go slowly, not too fast too soon. It's probably the reason I got the fracture in the first place.

Thanks to increased solar activity, combined with clearer winter skies and longer hours of darkness, there have already been numerous reports of sightings throughout January across Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and England. In light of this, travel specialists Japan-101 have analysed 100 UK towns and cities to identify the best locations for viewing the phenomenon. Each was scored out of 100 based on artificial light levels, air pollution and cloud cover, and totalled to determine an index score out of 100.