The Central Highlands - The Rough Guide to Scottish Highlands and Islands - page 123

The Central Highlands
The Central Highlands lie right in the heart of Scotland, bounded by the
country's two major geological fissures: the Highland Fault, which runs along
a line drawn approximately from Arran to Aberdeen and marks the southern
extent of Scotland's Highlands, and the Great Glen, the string of lochs that
runs on a similar southwest-northeast axis between Fort William and
Inverness. The appeal of the region is undoubtedly its landscape, a
concentrated mix of mountain, glen, loch and moorland that responds to
each season with a dramatic blend of colour and mood, combined with the
outdoor activities the landscape inspires. It's also an area with a rich history,
stemming in large part from the fact that along the geological divide of
north and south is a significant cultural and social shift, and it is no surprise
that the region is littered with castles, battlefields and monuments from the
centuries of power struggle between the Highlanders and the Sassenachs,
whether from lowland Scotland or south of the border.

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Northwest of Glasgow, the elongated teardrop of Loch Lomond is at the heart of
Scotland's first national park. The magnificent scenery around the loch continues east
into the fabled mountains and lochs of the Trossachs , where hikers and mountain-bikers
are drawn to explore the forested glens and fugitive Highlanders such as Rob Roy once
roamed. North of the Trossachs, the massive county of Perthshire lies right at the heart of
the Central Highlands, with lochs Tay and Rannoch stacked up across the middle of the
region, each surrounded by impressive hills and progressively more remote countryside.
Further to the east are the Grampian Mountains . Within this range the Angus glens ,
immediately north of Perth and Dundee, are renowned for their prettiness and easy
accessibility, while closer to Aberdeen the river valleys of Deeside and Donside combine
the drama of peaks such as Lochnagar with the richly wooded glens and dramatic
castles which so enchanted Queen Victoria. The northern side of the Grampians are
dominated by the dramatic Cairngorm massif, the largest area of land over 2500ft in
Britain and centre of Scotland's second national park. These hills, with their deserved
reputation for superb outdoor sports in both summer and winter, are complemented
by the atmospheric ancient woodlands of Strathspey . A little way downstream is the
whisky-producing region of Speyside , where various trails lead you to the distilleries,
home of some of the world's most famous single malts.
With no sizeable towns in the region other than useful service centres such as
Callander, Pitlochry and Aviemore, orientation is best done by means of the traditional
transport routes - many of which follow historic trading or military roads between the

High roads and low roads around Loch
Lomond p.130
The West Highland Way p.133
Rob Roy p.136
Climbing the Ben Lawers group p.144
Walks around Pitlochry p.145
Rannoch Moor p.150
Skiing in Glen Shee p.151

Walks from Glen Doll p.155
Exploring Glen Tanar p.159
Deeside and Donside Highland Games
p.160
Cairngorms National Park p.164
Walks around Aviemore p.167
The Speyside Way p.176
Touring malt whisky country p.177