Four & Five Star Quality B&Bs in Scotland in the Northern Highlands of Scotland including Orkney - Caithness Sutherland - Wester Ross

The main A9 road north of Inverness, crosses the Moray Firth by the Kessock bridge with spectacular views west into the mountains and east to the sea. On the Black Isle, which isn't an island at all, are places from where you can often watch the bottlenose dolphins of the Moray Firth. At the tip of the peninsula is Cromarty, once a busy fishing village but now very quiet with many of the original fishermens' cottages converted into holiday homes.

North again, over the Cromarty Firth by the bridge at the inland end, or the tiny car ferry from Cromarty, is a choice of either the main A9 road through Tain or the smaller A836. The A836 cuts the corner, going over Struie Hill with a panoramic view from the top, looking to the north down to Bonar Bridge. Then cross the Dornoch Firth to Dornoch itself, venue for golfing enthusiasts with its Championship course and a pleasant little town with its old cathedral and jailhouse exhibition, part of the castle, which is now a hotel.

The A9 continues north to John O' Groats before disappearing into the sea at the boat slipway! A side road leads to Duncansby Head and from here a path leads over the cliff tops to a view of the Duncansby Stacks, spectacular rock formations just off the coast. Further west and another side road leads to Dunnet Head, the most northerly point of mainland Britain.

This northern part of the Highland area is one of the last wildernesses in Europe. From the rolling moorlands on the east, the 'Flow Country', to the dramatic mountains on the west, this is the least populated part of Scotland. An ancient land, it has some of the oldest rock in the world - the Lewisian gneiss. Once high mountains, these rounded hills have been eroded and moulded by glaciers and time. This is the home of the golden eagle, the wildcat, the pinemarten and the red deer. Once it was home to many people in small communities until the infamous Highland clearances dispersed the population to all the corners of the globe.

The main road from Wick to Thurso cuts across this north-easterly corner of Caithness, before turning west along the "top" of Scotland toward the region of Sutherland. Sutherland was so named by the Norse inhabitants a thousand years ago when, to them, it was the south of their territory.

At Scrabster, near Thurso, is the departure point for car ferries to Orkney. The windswept Orkney Isles have some fascinating archaeological sites to discover from stone circles to once buried villages like Skara Brae.

West of Thurso is Melvich with a pretty bay, one of the small villages along this stretch of coast which leads to Durness. Explore Smoo Cave and some wonderful sandy beaches before maybe visiting Cape Wrath the sea-battered cliff top on the north-west corner. Access here can be restricted to certain times and days. The road now turns south to Scourie from where can be seen the island of Handa, a sanctuary for seabirds which can be accessed by boat from Scourie.

Ullapool is the starting point for ferries to Stornoway on the Isles of Lewis and Harris and was, only a few years ago, the centre of an international fishing trade when literally dozens of huge factory ships, from as far away as Japan and Korea, would anchor in outer Loch Broom and process fish brought to them by trawlers. Restrictions to conserve fish stocks have put an end to this.

South of Ullapool, Laide looks out over the beautiful beach of Gruinard Bay and, whilst a side road nearby leads along a promontory to the fabulous beach at Mellon Udrigle, the main road continues to Poolewe. Here are the world famous Inverewe Gardens (National Trust for Scotland), perhaps the best known visitor attraction of Wester Ross, where sub-tropical trees and plants are to be found - on roughly the same latitude as St. Petersburg and Churchill on Hudson Bay! This northerly latitude provides long daylight hours in the summer - it is possible to have over 16 hours of sunshine - and the North Atlantic Drift ensures a mild climate in the coastal fringes.

Mellon Udrigle

A few miles south of Poolewe is Gairloch set around a beautiful beach and with stunning views to the Torridon Mountains and the Isle of Skye. Sharing these views, is Gairloch's superbly scenic 9-hole golf course. From Ullapool and Gairloch, are boat trips watching for seals, dolphins, shark and even whales. River and sea angling and freshwater fishing are available and local people can advise on the best spots. The award-winning museums of local life in Gairloch and Ullapool are worth a visit.

The mountains may not be the highest but they are certainly spectacular and include several Munros (mountains over 3,000 feet high) - Slioch (the Spear), Beinn Eighe, Liathach (the Grey One), Ben Alligin and An Teallach (the Anvil) all of which offer challenges for the serious hill-walker and mountaineer. For the less energetic there are low level and coastal paths to walk, island-strewn lochs to photograph, paint or just look at, rocky shores to explore and sandy beaches on which to relax.

From Gairloch the road winds south-east along the beautiful Loch Maree before dividing at Kinlochewe to go either east to Inverness or south, via the awesomely fissured mountains of Torridon to Shieldaig, Lochcarron and Kyle of Lochalsh.