The outdoor guide Scotland
has been missing.
1,449 hills, 82 bothies, 40+ wild swim spots, 30 gravel routes, trail centres, wild camping — practical guides, honest reviews and tools that help you plan. Written by people who actually go outside in Scottish weather.
Written by Gary Innes — Munroist, hillwalker and outdoor guide based in the Scottish Highlands. Editorial policy →
What we cover
Hillwalking
1,449 hills · 824 in the classic lists (282 Munros · 222 Corbetts · 231 Grahams · 89 Donalds) · 625 Marilyns
1,449 Scottish hills with route info, terrain notes, winter conditions and maps. Munros, Corbetts, Grahams, Donalds and Marilyns — all five lists, all covered.
Bothies
82 shelters · Walk-in distances · Condition notes · Stalking seasons
Free mountain shelters, properly documented. Walk-in distance and time, sleeping spaces, fireplace, water source — and an honest call on whether the walk-in justifies the night.
Wild Swimming
40+ spots · Lochs · Rivers · Waterfalls · Beaches
Scotland gives you statutory access to swim almost anywhere. We cover 40+ spots with water temperature ranges, SEPA water quality status, cold-shock safety notes and nearest parking.
Gravel Cycling
30 routes · Railway paths · Highland epics · Island circuits
Gravel routes from 22km railway paths to 180km multi-day highland epics. Surface breakdown, named climbs, water sources, cafés and resupply points — the detail most guides skip.
Mountain Biking
40+ trail centres · 7stanes · Fort William
No "WalkHighlands for MTB" exists. We're building it. Every trail centre reviewed with café hours, bike wash, uplift, parking costs — the stuff Trailforks doesn't tell you.
Wild Camping
Access Code · Midges · Camping zones
Wild camping is legal in Scotland. But "legal" has rules. The Access Code explained properly, Camping Management Zone permits, midge strategy, and spots that aren't on every travel blog.
From the city by 10AM
Pick where you're leaving from.
- Hillwalking
The Cobbler
50 min drive · 6 hr day
Arrochar · 884m · Corbett
First proper mountain west of Glasgow. Short scramble to the true summit; most parties stop on the south peak and call it.
Read the route →
- Wild swim
Loch Lomond — Rowardennan
55 min drive · half-day
Eastern shore · sandy beach · cafe
Shallow, gravel-bottomed entry. Warmest by mid-June; book the Rowardennan car park early on weekends or you'll be parking a mile back.
Read the route →
- Easier day
Loch Lubnaig
75 min drive · gentle day
Trossachs · waterside path · 12km loop
Easier mood. Walk the eastern path, swim at the south end, eat at the Mhor 84. Good for a first wild swim or a recovery day.
Read the route →
Hill of the week · WEEK OF 15 JUNE
Beinn Bhuidhe
901m · 2956ft · Corbett · Argyll & Bute · NN203187 · OS Explorer 364
Beinn Bhuidhe sits at the head of Loch Fyne — the 'yellow hill', isolated and quietly under-walked because of a 10km approach up Glen Fyne. Take a bike: it cuts a 9-hour day to 6 and turns the walk-in from a slog into a perk. June is ideal — long days, dry tracks, and the upper grass face still firm underfoot. If the bike's at home, start at 7am and accept the headtorch home.
- Nearest parking
- PA26 8BG · 8 spaces
- Nearest pub
- Loch Fyne Oyster Bar, Cairndow · 3 min drive
Bothies
Free mountain shelters — walk-in distance, sleeping space, fireplace, water and an honest take on the night.
Corrour Bothy
Cairngorms · 10km walk-in · sleeps 6 · fire
Shenavall
North West Highlands · 10km walk-in · sleeps 10 · fire
Sourlies
Knoydart · 18km walk-in · sleeps 8 · fire
Ryvoan Bothy
Cairngorms · 3km walk-in · sleeps 6 · fire
Peanmeanach
Lochaber · 4km walk-in · sleeps 6 · fire
Ben Alder Cottage
Cairngorms · 16km walk-in · sleeps 8 · fire
Scottish Glens
Valley guides — access, parking, hills, bothies and what's at the end of the road.
Glen Affric
Ancient Caledonian pines, clear lochs and high Munros — the finest combination of forest and mountain in the Highlands.
Glen Nevis
The glen under Britain's highest mountain — a gorge walk, a wire bridge, a 120m waterfall, and a 7-hour slog to the top.
Glen Etive
Nineteen miles of single-track dead end — river pools, Skyfall scenery, and midges that will eat you alive if you stop moving.
Glen Coe
Scotland's most dramatic glacial glen — dark history, serious ridges, and the constant weight of big mountains on every side.
Glen Torridon
Torridonian sandstone and ancient quartzite — the oldest mountains in Britain and some of the finest walking in the northwest.
Glen Rosa
A sea crossing, a 3km walk, and then granite mountains above a glacial trough — the most complete mountain day reachable from Glasgow without a car.
Recent guides
All 90 articles →- Blog17 May 2026 · 15 min
What is the NC500? Scotland's North Coast 500, Honestly Explained
The North Coast 500 is a 516-mile (830 km) signposted scenic driving route around Scotland's north Highland coast, starting and finishing at Inverness Castle. Launched in 2015.
Read → - Blog17 May 2026 · 17 min
Wild Camping and Bothies on the NC500: Where, Legally
Wild camping on the NC500 is legal under the Scottish Outdoor Access Code — for tents, not motorhomes. Where to pitch responsibly, 7 bothies on or near the route, and the motorhome distinction that catches visitors out.
Read → - Blog17 May 2026 · 14 min
Cycling the NC500: Honest 9-Day Itinerary, Bike Choice, Wind & Bealach
Cycling the NC500 takes 5–14 days depending on pace. 9 is the sweet spot. Anticlockwise for tailwind. Gravel bike beats road. The Bealach na Bà is optional. Full itinerary, climbs, gear, accommodation.
Read → - Blog17 May 2026 · 13 min
The 12 Best Hill Walks on the NC500
Twelve hand-picked hills along the NC500 — ranked by character, not height. From Suilven's defining profile to An Teallach's pinnacle ridge. Walk-in times, difficulty, and which day of the route to climb each.
Read → - Hillwalking2 May 2026 · 7 min
What Is a Munro? Definition, History and How to Climb One
A Munro is a Scottish mountain over 914m (3,000 feet) — here's what that means, how the list came to exist, and what you actually need to climb one.
Read → - 2 May 2026 · 7 min
What Is a Bothy? Scotland's Mountain Shelters Explained
A bothy is an unlocked, unmanned mountain shelter in the Scottish (and northern English) hills — free to use, maintained by volunteers, no booking required.
Read →
Tools
Free. No sign-up for most.- 222 + 231 + 89 hills
Hill Tracker
Log your Corbetts, Grahams and Donalds. See nearest unbagged, track progress, plan the next one.
- 10 regions · 12 months
Midge Forecast
Seasonal baseline for all 10 Scottish regions plus a live 7-day forecast for any location. 120 region × month deep-dive pages behind it.
- 40+ centres mapped
Trail Centre Finder
Every Scottish MTB centre on one map. Filter by grade, facilities, drive time from wherever you are.
- 6 activity types
Gear Checklist
Scotland-specific packing list by activity, month, duration and experience. Midge net included.
More to plan
Long-Distance Routes
29 routes with day-by-day stages, from the West Highland Way to the Cape Wrath Trail.
Northern Lights
Live Kp alert, 18 dark sky sites and where to actually stand. Solar maximum is now.
Ski Scotland
All 5 Scottish centres — honest beginner ratings, touring notes and SAIS links.
Dog-Friendly
Hills, bothies, swims and routes filtered for dogs — livestock warnings included.
Itineraries
Multi-day trip plans with the hills, bothies and transport already worked out.
Why this site exists
WalkHighlands owns Munros.
2,208 walks. 18 years of authority. We don't compete. We cover the verticals they never will — bothies, mountain biking, Corbetts, Grahams, wild camping.
Honest, not scenic.
If a trail is boring, we say so. If a route is dangerous in winter, we say that clearly. No "hidden gems." No "breathtaking scenery." Grid references and parking postcodes.
Tools, not just words.
Nobody built a Corbett tracker. Nobody mapped every trail centre with facilities. Nobody built a midge forecast you can embed on a route page. So we did.
One email. Every week.
New routes, gear we actually rate, trail conditions, the odd bothy story. No spam.