The Highlands is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands. The term is also used for the area north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, although the exact boundaries are not clearly defined, particularly to the east. The Great Glen divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands. The Scottish Gaelic name of A' Ghàidhealtachd literally means "the place of the Gaels" and traditionally, from a Gaelic-speaking point of view, includes both the Western Isles and the Highlands.
The A9 is a major road in Scotland running from the Falkirk council area in central Scotland to Scrabster Harbour, Thurso in the far north, via Stirling, Bridge of Allan, Perth and Inverness. At 273 mi (439 km), it is the longest road in Scotland and the fifth-longest A-road in the United Kingdom. Historically it was the main road between Edinburgh and John o' Groats, and has been called the spine of Scotland. It is one of the three major north–south trunk routes linking the Central Belt to the Highlands - the others being the A82 and the A90.
The Mounth is the broad upland in northeast Scotland between the Highland Boundary and the River Dee, at the eastern end of the Grampians.
The Grampian Mountains is one of the three major mountain ranges in Scotland, that together occupy about half of Scotland. The other two ranges are the Northwest Highlands and the Southern Uplands. The Grampian range extends southwest to northeast between the Highland Boundary Fault and the Great Glen. The range includes many of the highest mountains in the British Isles, including Ben Nevis and Ben Macdui.
The Great Glen, also known as Glen Albyn or Glen More, is a glen in Scotland running for 62 miles (100 km) from Inverness on the edge of the Moray Firth, in an approximately straight line to Fort William at the head of Loch Linnhe. It follows a geological fault known as the Great Glen Fault, and bisects the Scottish Highlands into the Grampian Mountains to the southeast and the Northwest Highlands to the northwest.
Cairngorms National Park is a national park in northeast Scotland, established in 2003. It was the second of two national parks established by the Scottish Parliament, after Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, which was set up in 2002. The park covers the Cairngorms range of mountains, and surrounding hills. Already the largest national park in the United Kingdom, in 2010 it was expanded into Perth and Kinross.
The Lairig Ghru is one of the mountain passes through the Cairngorms of Scotland. The route and mountain pass partially lies on the Mar Lodge Estate.
The Highland Main Line is a railway line in Scotland. It is 118 mi (190 km) long and runs through the central Scottish Highlands, mainly following the route of the A9, and linking a series of small towns and villages with Perth at one end and Inverness at the other. Today, services between Inverness and Edinburgh, Glasgow and London use the line. At Inverness the line connects with the Far North Line, the Aberdeen-Inverness Line and the Kyle of Lochalsh Line. All trains are diesel-powered.
Loch Ericht is a freshwater loch on the border between the former Perthshire, now Perth and Kinross and the former Inverness-shire, now Highlands Council areas of Scotland. It has a north-east to south-west orientation. The village of Dalwhinnie lies at the north east end of the loch. Loch Ericht is the tenth largest freshwater lake in Scotland and has a good reputation for its trout fishing and Ferox trout.
Dalwhinnie is a small village in the Scottish Highlands. Dalwhinnie is located at the head of Glen Truim and the north-east end of Loch Ericht, on the western edge of the Cairngorms National Park.
The Monadhliath Mountains, or Monadh Liath, are a range of mountains in Scotland. Monadh Liath is Scottish Gaelic, and means "grey mountain range". Running in a northeast to southwest direction, it lies on the western side of Strathspey, to the west of the Cairngorms and to the south east of Loch Ness. Its southwestern limit is usually taken to be Corrieyairack Pass (763m) but similar uplands continue to Glen Roy and Spean Bridge. The range is within the Highland council area, and the south and east fringes are within the Cairngorms National Park. The high point of the range is Càrn Dearg, at 945 metres (3,100 ft), located 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of Inverness. This is one of four Munros in the Monadhliath, the others being A'Chailleach, Geal Chàrn, and Càrn Sgulain. The Monadhliath Mountains are designated a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).
The Slochd Summit is a mountain pass on the A9 road and the Highland Main Line Railway in the Scottish Highlands between Inverness and Aviemore. An old military road also goes through the pass. National Cycle Network route 7 also goes over the summit, largely following the old A9.
National Cycle Route 7 is a route of the National Cycle Network, running from Sunderland to Inverness.
Sgairneach Mhòr is a Scottish mountain which lies in a group of seven Munros near the summit of the Pass of Drumochter and are known as the Drumochter mountains or informerly as the “A9 Munros”. The mountain is situated 13 km SSW of Dalwhinnie and four km east of the large Loch Ericht.
A' Mharconaich is a mountain near Dalwhinnie in the Scottish Highlands. It is a Munro with a height of 975 metres (3,199 ft). It is in a group of mountains east of Loch Ericht and west of the A9 road and Pass of Drumochter, and are known accordingly as the Drumochter Hills. A' Mharconaich is just within the Cairngorms National Park although it is not part of the Cairngorms mountains.
A' Bhuidheanach Bheag is a Scottish mountain situated on the eastern side of the Pass of Drumochter, some 24 km WNW of Blair Atholl. The mountain straddles the border between Highland and Perth and Kinross council areas although the actual summit is in the latter.
The Sow of Atholl is a Scottish hill which is situated 27 kilometres west-northwest of the town of Blair Atholl in Perth and Kinross council area. It stands on the western side of the Pass of Drumochter in a group of hills which lie around Coire Dhomhain.
Beinn Udlamain is a Scottish mountain which stands just to the west of the summit of the Pass of Drumochter and east of Loch Ericht, some 30 km west-northwest of the village of Blair Atholl. The mountain’s summit stands on the border between the Highland and Perth and Kinross council areas.
The River Truim is a right bank tributary of the River Spey in the Scottish Highlands. Its headwaters meet to the north of the Pass of Drumochter and flow northwards as the Truim past the dam at the northern end of Loch Ericht and through the village of Dalwhinnie, highest village in the Scottish Highlands. The distillery at Dalwhinnie producing Dalwhinnie Single Malt is also the highest in Scotland. The waters of its most significant tributary, the Allt Cuaich, are diverted in part along an aqueduct to Loch Ericht. The river continues north-northeastwards down Glen Truim, over the Falls of Truim and on to meet the Spey 2.5 miles (4 km) southwest of Newtonmore. It is closely followed for almost its entire length by both the A9 road and the mainline railway from Perth to Inverness.
A network of military roads, sometimes called General Wade's Military Roads, was constructed in the Scottish Highlands during the middle part of the 18th century as part of an attempt by the British Government to bring order to a part of the country which had risen up in the Jacobite rebellion of 1715.
