Scotland

Scotland is usually split, for holiday purposes, into two very different halves: the Highlands, Islands and Central Scotland in the north, and Southern Scotland and the Borders below the Central Belt.

The northern half takes in Aberdeen and Grampian, Angus, Argyll and the Isles, Fife, the Highlands proper, the Isle of Skye, Orkney, Perth, Kinross & Clackmannanshire, Shetland and the Western Isles — a huge spread of coastline, glens and genuinely remote island territory. It's where most people picture when they think of a Scottish self-catering cottage: a stone-built property with a view of a loch or a sea crossing to reach it. Argyll and the Isles alone covers everything from the sailing waters around Oban to the islands of Mull and beyond, and a lot of the country's self-catering stock is concentrated in exactly these areas.

Southern Scotland and the Borders — Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Edinburgh and the Lothians, Glasgow and Lanarkshire, and the Borders itself — is quieter and less mountainous, but has its own appeal: rolling countryside, abbey ruins, and much easier access if you're driving up from England. Edinburgh and the Lothians also gives you the option of a self-catering base within reach of the capital without paying city-centre prices.

Choosing a base

If a single scenic drive or a specific hill walk is the priority, the Highlands and Skye reward the extra travel time. If you want a shorter journey from the south, want to combine a city visit with the countryside, or are travelling in winter when the far north can be hard going, the Borders or Dumfries and Galloway are the more practical choice.