Wester Ross, Scotland: The Ultimate Travel Guide 2026

Sandwood Bay
Sandwood Bay
CC BY-SA 3.0 / Phillyacct

With over 3000 square miles of soaring mountains and atmospheric glens, ancient Caledonian forest and wild beaches set against a backdrop of fjord-like lochs; Wester Ross is one of the world’s most spectacular, and remote, regions and probably the most beautiful part of the famous North Coast 500.

Wester Ross is an area of the Northwest Highlands of Scotland in the council area of Highland. The area is loosely defined, and has never been used as a formal administrative region in its own right, but is generally regarded as lying to the west of the main watershed of Ross (the eastern part of Ross being Easter Ross), thus forming the western half of the county of Ross and Cromarty.

Wester Ross has one of the lowest population densities in Europe, with just 1.6 people per km2, who live mostly in small crofting townships along the coastline of the region. The area is renowned for the scenic splendour of its mountains and coastline, and the range of wildlife that can be seen. It is a popular tourist destination, receiving around 70,000 visitors each year.[8] Tourism forms a major part of the economic activity of the area, accounting for 35% of all employment. Other major economic activities in the area include commercial fishing, renewable energy, agriculture and fish farming.

The area gives its name to the Wester Ross National Scenic Area, one of 40 such areas in Scotland, which are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure their protection from inappropriate development.

Scenic spots including Loch Maree, Inverewe Garden, Corrieshalloch Gorge, Glen Docherty and the Bealach na Bà. Wester Ross was designated as a Biosphere Reserve under UNESCO’s “Man and the Biosphere” (MAB) Programme in April 2016. The Wester Ross Biosphere Reserve now covers 5,200 square kilometres of Wester Ross and Lochalsh. This new-style biosphere, which covers an area over 100 times larger than the original designation, is a place where people live and actively learn about their surroundings to inspire a legacy rich in both natural and cultural heritage.

Moira & Andy
Moira & Andy

Hey! We're Moira & Andy. From hiking the Camino to trips around Europe in Bert our campervan — we've been traveling together since retirement in 2020!

Read our full story here

Visiting Wester Ross for the first time and wondering what are the top places to see in the city? In this complete guide, I share the best things to do in Wester Ross on the first visit. To help you plan your trip, I have also included an interactive map and practical tips for visiting!

This website uses affiliate links which earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Best things to do and See in Wester Ross

Best Day Trips from Wester Ross

A day trip from Wester Ross offers the perfect opportunity to escape the urban rhythm and discover the surrounding region's charm. Whether you're drawn to scenic countryside, historic villages, or cultural landmarks, the area around Wester Ross provides a variety of easy-to-reach destinations ideal for a one-day itinerary.

Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve

Beinn Eighe from Abhainn Bruachaig
Beinn Eighe from Abhainn Bruachaig
CC BY-SA 2.0 / Ibn Musa / Beinn Eighe from Abhainn Bruachaig
Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve (locally pronounced “Ben Ay”) is a spectacular sweep of mountains and ancient woodland on the shores of Loch Maree, just outside the village of Kinlochewe in Wester Ross. It was the first place in Britain to be declared a National Nature Reserve in 1951, and you feel that “flagship” status immediately: Caledonian pine remnants down…
| Hours: Visitor Centre: April – October: Daily: 10:00–17:00. | Price: Free. | Website | Distance: 10.2km
Visiting Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve

Here is a complete selection of hotel options in Wester Ross. Feel free to review each one and choose the stay that best suits your needs.

Inverewe Garden

Inverewe Garden
Inverewe Garden
CC BY-SA 2.0 / Alexandre Dulaunoy
Inverewe Garden feels like a small miracle the first time you step through the gates: a lush, almost tropical pocket of colour and texture perched on a peninsula at the edge of Loch Ewe, surrounded by the rugged, weather-shaped landscapes of Wester Ross. One moment you’re in classic Highlands scenery—bare rock, wide skies, and salt-laced air—and the next you’re walking…
| Hours: (Summer) 1 May – 30 September: Daily: 09:30–18:00. (Shoulder) 2 April – 30 April; 1 October – 31 October: Daily: 09:30–17:00. (Winter) 1 November – 1 April: Wednesday – Sunday: 09:30–15:00. Closed on Monday – Tuesday. | Price: Adult: £5.00 (National Trust for Scotland members go free). | Website | Distance: 11.8km
Visiting Inverewe Garden

Traveling to a country with a different currency? Avoid ATM transaction fees and pay in local currency with a Wise Card. Having used it for over 5 years, we've saved loads on fees!

Flowerdale Glen

Flowerdale Glen
Flowerdale Glen
CC BY-SA 2.0 / N Chadwick
Flowerdale Glen is the kind of place you’re grateful for on a breezy Wester Ross day: a well-sheltered, green corridor running inland from Gairloch’s harbour area, where trees soften the wind and the sound of running water replaces road noise surprisingly quickly. In spring and early summer, the glen lives up to its name with wildflowers along the path edges,…
Location: Flowerdale Glen Car Park, Gairloch IV21 2BD, United Kingdom | Hours: 24 Hours | Price: Free. | Distance: 12.0km
Visiting Flowerdale Glen

Gairloch Museum

External shot of Gairloch Museum
External shot of Gairloch Museum
CC BY-SA 4.0 / Macfack
Gairloch Museum is an excellent introduction to the northwest Highlands: a compact, thoughtfully curated museum that covers local history, culture, and natural heritage without feeling overwhelming. What makes it especially memorable is the setting—its galleries are housed inside a converted Cold War Anti-Aircraft Operations Room, so the building itself adds a subtle undercurrent of drama to everything you see inside.…
Location: Gairloch Museum, Gairloch, UK | Hours: April – October: Monday – Saturday: 10:00–17:00. 3 November – 17 December 2025: Wednesday – Saturday: 10:00–16:00. Closed until Wednesday 7 January 2026. 7 January – 25 February 2026: Wednesday: 10:00–16:00. 28 February – 28 March 2026: Wednesday – Saturday: 10:00–16:00. | Price: Adult £8.00; Child (5–16) £2.00; Family (2 adults with accompanying children) £17.00; Under 5 free. | Website | Distance: 13.1km
Visiting Gairloch Museum

Torridon Countryside Centre and Deer Museum

Torridon is one of those places that makes you stop mid-drive, step out into the wind, and just stare. On the west coast of the Scottish Highlands, this National Trust for Scotland estate wraps around Upper Loch Torridon and sits under an uncompromising skyline of sandstone giants. The landscape feels ancient and elemental: steep ridges, glacial corries, peat-dark burns, and…
Location: Deer Museum Achnasheen IV22 2EW United Kingdom | Hours: 24 Hours | Price: Free. | Website | Distance: 16.6km
Visiting Torridon Countryside Centre and Deer Museum

Laide Wood

Chapel of Sand of Udrigil
Chapel of Sand of Udrigil
CC BY-SA 2.0 / Roger McLachlan
Laide Wood is a community woodland just south of Laide on the A832, a quietly brilliant place to stretch your legs between the big-name viewpoints of Wester Ross. The walk drops you into a surprising little world of deep watercourses, small lochans, and a lovely cascading burn, with a network of trails that range from short, easy loops to longer…
Location: Laide & Aultbea Community Wood, Laide, Achnasheen IV22 2NB, United Kingdom | Hours: 24 Hours | Price: Free | Website | Distance: 19.9km
Visiting Laide Wood

Shieldaig Peninsula and Island

Shieldaig Peninsula
Shieldaig Peninsula
CC BY-SA 2.0 / Mal Grey
Shieldaig is one of those places that feels like it’s been designed for slow travel: a small line of whitewashed buildings along the water, a sheltered bay, and an island of distinctive Scots pines sitting just offshore. The setting is the real headline—on calm days the loch turns mirror-still, and on wilder days you get that classic Wester Ross drama…
Location: Shieldaig Peninsula, Scotland | Hours: 24 Hours | Price: Free | Website | Distance: 20.8km
Visiting Shieldaig Peninsula and Island

Mellon Udrigle Bay

Mellon Udrigle Bay
Mellon Udrigle Bay
CC BY-SA 2.0 / Roger McLachlan
Mellon Udrigle Beach is the kind of Highland coastline that makes you stop mid-drive and rethink your schedule: a bright sweep of white sand, shallow turquoise water, and a natural curve of land that shelters the bay from the worst of the westerly winds. On a calm day it can feel almost unreal, with the sea turning glassy and the…
Location: Mellon Udrigle Beach, Achnasheen IV22 2NT, United Kingdom | Hours: 24 Hours | Price: Free | Website | Distance: 24.1km
Visiting Mellon Udrigle Bay

Rua Reidh Lighthouse

Rua Reidh Lighthouse
Rua Reidh Lighthouse
CC BY-SA 2.0 / ms.akr
Rua Reidh Lighthouse stands on a remote, wave-battered headland at Rubha Rèidh, close to the entrance of Loch Ewe in Wester Ross. It is the kind of place you come for the scale of the coastline: black rock, restless water, and a horizon that feels more Hebridean than mainland, with the Minch stretching out toward distant islands on a clear…
Location: Rua Reidh Lighthouse, Melvaig, Gairloch, UK | Hours: 24 Hours. The lighthouse buildings operate as private accommodation and are not open for public tours; vehicle access to the lighthouse is for booked guests only. | Price: Free (exterior viewing only). | Website | Distance: 27.2km
Visiting Rua Reidh Lighthouse

Corrieshalloch Gorge

Scotland Corrieshalloch Gorge Waterfall
Scotland Corrieshalloch Gorge Waterfall
CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wojsyl
Corrieshalloch Gorge is the kind of Highland stop that delivers a genuine wow-factor without demanding a full day of hiking. The River Droma cuts through a sheer-sided slot in the landscape before dropping in a series of powerful cascades, crowned by the Falls of Measach plunging around 45 metres into the gorge. It’s dramatic, noisy, and unexpectedly lush, with a…
Location: Corrieshalloch Gorge National Nature Reserve, Braemore, Garve, UK | Hours: (Summer) 2 April – 31 October: Daily: 09:30–16:00. (Winter) 1 November – 1 April: Friday – Sunday: 09:30–15:00. Thursday: 09:30–15:00 (toilets only). | Price: Free (parking charges apply). | Website | Distance: 28.1km
Visiting Corrieshalloch Gorge

Rubha Cadail Lighthouse

Rhue Lighthouse
Rhue Lighthouse
CC BY-SA 3.0 / Michael Walsh
Rhue Lighthouse, known in Gaelic as Rubha Cadail, stands on the point that separates Loch Kanaird and Loch Broom, marking the northern side of the entrance into the upper reaches of Loch Broom and the harbour approach to Ullapool. It’s a small lighthouse with a big sense of place: open water ahead, shifting light across the loch, and that unmistakable…
Location: Rhue Lighthouse, Rhue, Ullapool, UK | Hours: 24 Hours | Price: Free (External viewing only) | Distance: 30.3km
Visiting Rubha Cadail Lighthouse

Lochcarron

Village of Lochcarron
Village of Lochcarron
CC BY-SA 2.0 / Trevor Littlewood
Lochcarron is a picturesque village on the shores of Loch Carron, where the water narrows and widens with the tides and the hills rise quickly behind the houses. It’s the sort of place where you can start the day with a short lochside stroll, spot seabirds and seals from the shore, and end up lingering far longer than planned simply…
Location: Lochcarron, Strathcarron, UK | Hours: 24 Hours | Price: Free. | Website | Distance: 32.4km
Visiting Lochcarron

Attadale Gardens

Attadale Gardens
Attadale Gardens
CC BY-SA 2.0 / David Crocker
Attadale Gardens is the kind of place that resets your pace the moment you arrive. You enter through sweeping water gardens that feel almost theatrical—ponds, bridges, and planted banks leading you up toward the house—then the paths pull you into quieter corners where sculptures appear when you least expect them. Set on the shores of Loch Carron in Wester Ross,…
Location: Attadale Gardens, Attadale Gardens, Strathcarron, UK | Hours: April – October: Daily: 10:00–17:00. Closed: November – March. | Price: £12.50 per adult; children up to age 15 free. | Website | Distance: 33.1km
Visiting Attadale Gardens

Applecross Heritage Centre & Clachan Church

In Applecross Heritage Centre
In Applecross Heritage Centre
CC BY-SA 2.0 / sylvia duckworth
Applecross Heritage Centre is a warm, volunteer-run micro-museum in the tiny hamlet of Clachan on the Applecross peninsula—an easy-to-miss turn that often becomes a trip highlight once you’re inside. Set in a restored outbuilding near the churchyard, it’s the kind of place where the displays feel personal and rooted: crofting life, maritime links, local names, and the everyday details that…
Location: Applecross Heritage Centre, Clachan, Applecross, Strathcarron IV54 8ND, United Kingdom. | Hours: April – October: Monday – Saturday: 12:00–16:00. Closed on Sundays. | Price: April – October: Monday – Saturday: 12:00–16:00. Closed on Sundays. | Website | Distance: 33.7km
Visiting Applecross Heritage Centre & Clachan Church

Applecross Broch & the Archaeological Trail

Broch excavations at Applecross
Broch excavations at Applecross
CC BY-SA 2.0 / Colin Park
Applecross Broch is one of those Highland stops that feels quietly special: a set of Iron Age ruins perched above Applecross Campsite, just outside the village, with views that immediately remind you why people drive all this way. You’re not looking at a “polished” attraction behind barriers—this is a real archaeological site in a working landscape, where you can read…
| Hours: 24 Hours | Price: Free | Distance: 34.9km
Visiting Applecross Broch & the Archaeological Trail

Strome Castle

Strome Castle
Strome Castle
CC BY-SA 2.0 / David Brown
Strome Castle is the kind of Highland ruin that feels discovered rather than visited—perched on a rocky outcrop above Loch Carron, with the water and mountains doing most of the “wow” work before you even reach the stones. It sits on the quiet northern shore of the loch, a few miles from Lochcarron, and the approach alone (single-track road, shifting…
Location: Strome Castle, Strathcarron, UK | Hours: 24 Hours | Price: Free | Website | Distance: 37.0km
Visiting Strome Castle

Stac Pollaidh

Stac Pollaidh from Loch Lurgain
Stac Pollaidh from Loch Lurgain
CC BY-SA 2.0 / Richard Webb
Stac Pollaidh rises abruptly from the roadside in Coigach, a small but dramatic hill with a jagged crest of Torridonian sandstone that looks far more alpine than its modest height suggests. The steep slopes lead up to a line of pinnacles and gullies, and the sense of “instant wilderness” is part of the magic—you can go from car park to…
Location: Stac Pollaidh, Ullapool, UK | Hours: 24 Hours | Price: Free (parking charges apply at the Stac Pollaidh car park: £6 per car; £8 for small campervan/motorhome/minibus; £3 per motorbike). | Distance: 42.6km
Visiting Stac Pollaidh

Eilean Donan Castle

Eilean Donan Castle Scotland
Eilean Donan Castle Scotland
CC BY-SA 4.0 / JoachimKohler-HB
Eilean Donan Castle is one of those places that feels instantly familiar, even on a first visit—an island castle framed by water and mountains, sitting right where three sea lochs meet (Loch Duich, Loch Long, and Loch Alsh). A footbridge links the tidal island to the mainland, and the approach builds anticipation in the best way: first the lochs, then…
Location: Eilean Donan Castle, Dornie, Kyle of Lochalsh, UK | Hours: 1 February – 29 March 2025: Daily: 10:00–16:00; 30 March – 31 May 2025: Daily: 10:00–18:00; 1 June – 30 June 2025: Daily: 09:00–18:00; 1 July – 31 August 2025: Daily: 09:00–18:00; 1 September – 30 September 2025: Daily: 09:30–18:00; 1 October – 25 October 2025: Daily: 10:00–18:00; 26 October – 22 December 2025: Daily: 10:00–16:00. Closed on 1, 5, 8, 14, 15, 16 and 27 November 2025. | Price: £12.00; Concessions (60+): £11.00; Children (5–15): £6.50; Under 5s: Free; Family (2 adults + 3 children 5–15): £35.00. | Website | Distance: 46.2km
Visiting Eilean Donan Castle

Isle of Skye

Old Man of Storr on the Isle of Skye
Old Man of Storr on the Isle of Skye
Visiting the Isle of Skye is a journey into the heart of Scotland's breathtaking natural beauty and rich cultural heritage. From its rugged coastline to its mist-shrouded mountains, Skye captivates visitors with its dramatic landscapes and ancient history. The largest of the Inner Hebrides, it's home to some of Scotland's most iconic landscapes. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous…
Visiting Isle of Skye

Inverness

Inverness pano
Inverness pano
CC BY-SA 3.0 / Avarim
Inverness meaning "Mouth of the River Ness" is a city in the Scottish Highlands. Inverness attracts visitors from across the world for its natural landscapes, quaint towns, medieval ruins, and prehistoric sites. Located in the Scottish Highlands, it’s a great place for nature lovers looking to explore its vast landscape. There are many hiking and cycling trails of various lengths…
Visiting Inverness
Powered by GetYourGuide

Dornoch

Dornoch beach
Dornoch beach
CC BY-SA 3.0 / Neil Aitkenhead
Dornoch is a town, seaside resort, parish and former royal burgh in the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Dornoch Firth, near to where it opens into the Moray Firth to the east. The name 'Dornoch' is derived from the Gaelic for 'pebbly place', suggesting that the area contained pebbles…
Visiting Dornoch

Sutherland

Sandwood Bay
Sandwood Bay
CC BY-SA 3.0 / Phillyacct
Experience the most incredible landscapes and seascapes. Sutherland makes up a large part of the North Coast 500, and will leave a lasting memory too. From the dramatic north-western scenery, where the mountains meet the sea, to the varied lands of the east – with scattered fishing communities, award winning golf courses, fairy tale castles, archaeological wonders and quaint harbours.…
Visiting Sutherland
Powered by GetYourGuide

Isle of Mull

Tobermory waterfront
Tobermory waterfront
CC BY-SA 4.0 / DeFacto
The Isle of Mull or just Mull is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the council area of Argyll and Bute. Covering 875 square kilometres (338 sq mi), Mull is the fourth-largest island in both Scotland and the United Kingdom. Much of the year-round population lives in the…
Visiting Isle of Mull
Powered by GetYourGuide

Where to Stay in Wester Ross

Staying in Ullapool or Gairloch offers scenic accommodations with easy access to the North Coast 500 route and breathtaking landscapes. For a more remote experience, cottages or lodges along the coast provide secluded stays with panoramic views.

A 3 to 4-day stay is ideal for exploring the rugged coastline, hiking in the Torridon Mountains, and enjoying fresh seafood. A 5-day stay allows for road-tripping through the Highlands, boat trips, and wildlife spotting.

Using the our Hotel and Accomodation map, you can compare hotels and short-term rental accommodations in Wester Ross. Simply insert your travel dates and group size, and you’ll see the best deals for your stay.

Wester Ross Accommodation Map

Similar Blogs