Glen Coe Scotland Hike by Craig James

Glen Coe, Highlands

Located in the Highlands and once part of the county of Argyll, Glen Coe is one of Scotland’s most beautiful areas. In fact it is part of the National Scenic Area which includes Ben Nevis. On one side the glen is framed by rugged mountains; on the other, the landscape is gentler. Once owned by Clan Donald, the area is part of the National Trust for Scotland and is guaranteed to stay wild. Glen Coe is a popular tourist attraction partly because of its history (it was where the infamous 1682 Massacre of Glencoe took place). Just as importantly, it offers excellent climbing and walking routes. The main settlement is the village of Glencoe, which offers lots of self-catering accommodation for visitors to the area.

Cairngorms National Park

Cairngorms National Park is a relatively new park which was established in 2003. The largest such park in Britain it is 4,528 km squared and includes parts of the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Highland, Moray and Perth and Kinross regions. The park encompasses the Cairgngorms Mountains, home to five of Scotland’s highest mountains. The tallest of these is Ben Macdhuit at 1,309 metres. The mountains can stay snowy for much of the year and have experienced the coldest temperature ever recorded in the UK, -27.2 degrees Celsius. So it’s no surprise that the area is known for skiing and winter sports, including ice climbing. Wildlife spotters also enjoy a visit to this region. The national park includes the remains of the ancient Caledonian forest and is a good place to spot wildlife including deer, hares, squirrels, wild cats, otters, birds and even reindeer!

Cairngorms National Park by Alden Chadwick

Glenan Bay, Argyll

For something a bit different, check out Glenan Bay, which is a walker’s paradise – and a beautiful spot to picnic. Start at the Glenan Forest Nature Reserve and step back in time to see unspoilt countryside. While many of the trees aren’t that attractive, the views certainly are and visitors enjoy the chance to enjoy the Glenan Bay vista. Away from the main path, the abandoned village of Glenan, which dates back to the early 14th century, can be seen. Glenan Bay is popular with campers and stargazers as the pitch black night and lack of light make it easy to spot the constellations.

Scotland has a lot to offer and these three locations offer a fantastic introduction to its natural beauty.

Emma Ross writes for Embrace Scotland, a leading provider of self catering cottages in Scotland.

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The three hundred kilometres of trails will take you through amazing gorges and canyons, with lots of lazily flowing rivers, bubbling streams and gurgling waterfalls. You will need to pass through the installed ladders or metal grids on the certain parts of the limestone rocks which adds some flavor to your trip adventure. Yet there is nothing to worry about, since there is no extreme climbing performance waiting for you on the way. Therefore you can in good conscience take some of the popular routes, leading e.g. through one of the most romantic gorges – Suchá Belá, or through Hornád Canyon (Prielom Hornádu), Veľký Sokol, Kláštorska gorge or Sokolia valley, where you can enjoy the beauty of the highest waterfall in Slovak Paradise – Závojový waterfall (75 metres high).

Most of the Slovak Paradise is covered by forests, which is a home to many animals. Among the most famous inhabitants are such as the brown bear, gray wolf or lynx. But do not worry, they live in inaccessible areas, and the likelihood that you meet them during your trip is almost zero. However you will be accompanied by butterflies, birds and hares and if you will have a luck you should also meet basking otters. Right thanks to this diversity of animal and plant species Slovak Paradise became the first protected area in Slovakia already in 1964 and 24 years later was declared a national park.

Very popular are also local karst caves, whose concentration is here undoubtedly the largest from all over Slovakia. However only one cave is open to the public from the three hundred discovered underground caves. It is Dobšinská ice cave, which in addition to its fabulous formations boasts the title of the first electrically lit cave in the world. Today’s 1km long guided tour is already equipped with modern facilities. Looking at the beautiful ice decoration you will understand why it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The caves in the Slovak Paradise were discovered many thousands of years ago by ancestors of modern man. Several prehistoric tools were found here from the Stone Age and Palaeolithic Age, while the age of others is estimated at 45 million years.

The ideal starting point for your tours around this beautiful national park can be Čingov village, Podlesok, Dedinky or Hrabušice. For higher security there are mainly one-way trails so the map should really not be left at home. When planning a trip do not forget the appropriate footwear and be always prepared for the rain. Never leave the marked trails, otherwise you can get lost easily.

If your ways lead to Slovakia, Slovak Paradise National park should not be missed.

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Finnish forests offer not a large number of species. The importance of landscape and forestry has only pine, spruce and birch. With considerable isolation of the country and small population, many species that are now very rare in othe rparts of Europe, survived in the wild here. In southern and central Finland, you can normally see the elk, the largest of nearly seventy species of mammals. There are living several hundreds of brown bears. In addition, there are living arctic foxes, wolves, lynx, marten, muskrat, beavers, otters, wolverines, lemmings, hares and hedgehogs.

All the water in Finland is so clean that also in Tampere – Finland’s third largest city, you can find trouts in the lake that is in the middle of the city.

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