Scotland: Highlands and Isle of Skye

Edinburgh is built on extinct volcanic rock. A glacier scoured the hard basalt plug, upon which the castle now stands, leaving behind an elongated ridge. The Royal Mile lies precisely on this ridge, and this geology explains the entire layout of the Old Town: The lanes, the *Closes*, descend steeply on both sides.The city is divided into two contrasting halves. The Old Town is densely medieval, with tenements up to eleven stories high, which were among the tallest buildings in Europe in the 17th century. North of it, the New Town was developed from 1767 onwards, following the grid plan of the then 26-year-old James Craig, and is considered the world's largest contiguous Georgian quarter. Together, both have been on the World Heritage list since 1995.In August, Edinburgh transforms into an entirely different city thanks to the Fringe, the world's largest cultural festival: The population doubles, every space becomes a stage, and accommodation costs multiply. Those who want to experience the city more peacefully should visit in May or September.

The Cairngorms National Park, covering 4,528 square kilometers, is Britain's largest national park, roughly twice the size of the Saarland. Its core is a granite plateau, home to five of Scotland's six highest mountains. The high plateau features subarctic tundra, the only significant area of its kind in the British Isles, with snow lingering in sheltered hollows in some places until mid-summer.On its fringes lie the last major remnants of the Caledonian Forest, the original Scottish pine forest that once covered vast areas of the Highlands and has now shrunk to just a few percent of its former extent. Here live capercaillie, ptarmigan, Scottish crossbill, and Britain's only wild reindeer herd, which was reintroduced in 1952.The weather on the plateau is the country's harshest; wind speeds exceeding 280 km/h have been recorded on Cairn Gorm. Anyone heading up needs winter gear and navigation skills, even in spring. In the valleys, however, the park is straightforward: Aviemore, Braemar, and Speyside with its whisky distilleries are easily accessible year-round.

Glencoe is the most famous valley in the Highlands, a trough carved out by glaciers, with flanks that rise almost vertically. The subsoil is the remains of a collapsed Devonian volcano, and the Three Sisters on the south side are remnants of its crater rim. The A82 runs straight through, making the valley accessible even without hiking.In Scotland, the name is inextricably linked to the 1692 Massacre, when soldiers of the Campbells killed 38 members of the MacDonald clan after being billeted with them for twelve days. The breach of hospitality weighed heavier than the act itself and shapes the memory to this day.Fort William, at the north end of the valley, is the region's practical base: the end point of the West Highland Way, a starting point for Ben Nevis, and a station on the railway line to Mallaig, which crosses the Glenfinnan Viaduct. The town itself is functional, not beautiful.

The Isle of Skye is the largest island of the Inner Hebrides and has been connected to the mainland since 1995 via the Skye Bridge. Its Gaelic name An t-Eilean Sgitheanach is usually interpreted as the winged isle, which describes its rugged shape with long peninsulas.Geologically, Skye is divided into two parts. The Black Cuillin in the south are made of Gabbro, a rough, magnetic rock that has created Britain's most jagged mountain forms; the ridge is considered the island's most challenging mountain tour and is not for the inexperienced. The north, with the Trotternish Peninsula, is built from basalt layers that lie on softer ground and have therefore been sliding for millennia. From this, the rock pinnacles of the Old Man of Storr and the terraces of the Quiraing have emerged, forming Britain's largest active landslide.Skye is overcrowded in summer, with its infrastructure pushed to the limit. Those visiting in July or August should book accommodation and rental cars well in advance, and aim for parking at popular spots early in the day.

Glasgow is Scotland's largest city and the counterpart to Edinburgh: less pretty, significantly louder, with a self-confidence rooted in its industrial history. In the 19th century, about a fifth of all ships in the world were built on the Clyde. The decline from the 1960s onwards hit the city hard.What remained is a substance of red and blonde sandstone, showcasing its Victorian wealth, and a cultural scene that emerged from the structural upheaval. Since 2008, Glasgow has held the UNESCO title City of Music; on some evenings, over a hundred live concerts take place. Charles Rennie Mackintosh is influential for the cityscape, his Art Nouveau buildings blending Scottish, Japanese, and modern influences.The local dialect, the Glasgow Patter, is a challenge even for experienced English speakers. The city is considered Britain's friendliest, which visitors usually notice right at the train station.