The Highlands have two peak seasons in most people's minds: summer, for the long days, and winter, for the snow. The best one is neither. Come in October and you catch the birch and bracken turning gold and rust, the midges gone, the roads quiet, and the hills lit by a low sun that flatters everything it touches.
Where the colour is
Glen Affric, west of Inverness, is often called the most beautiful glen in Scotland and it earns it in autumn, when the old Caledonian pines stand dark against the gold of the birch. Further south, the woods around Pitlochry and the Pass of Killiecrankie put on a show that locals plan walks around. Perthshire even markets itself as Big Tree Country, and in October you understand why.
Practical notes
- This is the rutting season, so you may hear stags roaring across a glen at dawn. Keep your distance; they are wild and the males are not in a reasonable mood.
- Single-track roads have passing places. Use them to let faster cars by, and never park in one to take a photo.
- Daylight shortens fast through the month, so start walks early and carry a head torch in case you misjudge it.
Making a base
Inverness works as a hub for the north and west, with a train line that is a scenic trip in itself. For the central Highlands, Pitlochry or Aviemore put you within reach of forests, lochs and a decent choice of places to eat, which matters more than you would think once the summer cafes have shut for the year.
Pack for four seasons in a day, because you will get them. A bright still morning can turn to driving rain by lunch and clear again by tea. That changeability is the price of the emptiness and the light, and on balance it is a bargain. The glens you would share with a hundred others in July are, in October, very nearly your own.