Highlands and Islands

What it is like

The Highlands and Islands cover about half of Scotland's land but a small share of its people. Inverness is the only city and the main centre for shopping, hospitals and services. The University of the Highlands and Islands has campuses across the region.

Life here is shaped by distance. A trip to a specialist hospital, a big supermarket or an airport can take hours, and the weather affects roads and ferries. In return you get space, quiet, close communities and some of the finest landscape in Europe.

Where people live

Inverness and the Moray Firth: Inverness, Nairn, Culloden and the Black Isle villages.

Inland and west coast: Aviemore in the Cairngorms, Fort William under Ben Nevis, Ullapool, and Oban, the main ferry port for many islands.

Islands: Skye, joined to the mainland by a bridge. Lewis and Harris, with Stornoway as the main town. Orkney and Shetland in the far north. Mull, Islay and many smaller islands off the west coast.

Getting about

Inverness has an airport, a railway to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen, and the A9 south to Perth. Many islands depend on CalMac ferries on the west coast and NorthLink ferries to Orkney and Shetland, plus Loganair flights. Outside Inverness you will need a car, and on islands you should book ferries well ahead in summer.

Before you move

• Check broadband and mobile coverage at the exact address if you will work from home. It varies a lot between neighbouring villages.
• Find out where the nearest GP, school and hospital are, and how you would get there in winter.
• Visit outside summer. A place feels different in January.

Homes

Homes for sale are scarce in many areas, and tourist hotspots such as Skye have high prices driven by holiday lets and second homes. Rural properties may have private water supplies, septic tanks or oil heating; read the Home Report closely and ask your solicitor about rights of access. Some land is held as crofts, which have their own rules; ask your solicitor before offering on a croft. Many homes sell at or near the offers over price, or at a fixed price.

Long-term rented homes are hard to find in many places. See our guide to renting.

Schools

Places follow catchment by address. Many primaries are small, with mixed-age classes. On some islands, secondary pupils from smaller islands stay in a school hostel during the week. Gaelic-medium education is widely available, especially in the Western Isles and Skye.