The Minch topographic map

Some have called Edinburgh the Athens of the North for a variety of reasons. The earliest comparison between the two cities showed that they had a similar topography, with the Castle Rock of Edinburgh performing a similar role to the Athenian Acropolis. Both of them had flatter, fertile agricultural land…

Average elevation: 341 ft

Glasgow itself was reputed to have been founded by the Christian missionary Saint Mungo in the 6th century. He established a church on the Molendinar Burn, where the present Glasgow Cathedral stands, and in the following years Glasgow became a religious centre. Glasgow grew over the following centuries. The…

Average elevation: 420 ft

Average elevation: 89 ft

Two weather stations collect climate data for the area, Aberdeen/Dyce Airport, and Craibstone. Both are about 4 1⁄2 miles (7 km) to the north west of the city centre, and given that they are in close proximity to each other, exhibit very similar climatic regimes. Dyce tends to have marginally warmer daytime…

Average elevation: 171 ft

Dundee sits on the north bank of the Firth of Tay on the eastern, North Sea Coast of Scotland. The city lies 36.1 miles (58 km) NNE of Edinburgh and 360.6 miles (580 km) NNW of London. The built-up area occupies a roughly rectangular shape 8.3 miles (13 km) long by 2.5 miles (4 km) wide, aligned in an east to…

Average elevation: 269 ft

Fort William has an oceanic climate (Cfb) with moderate, but generally cool, temperatures and abundant precipitation. In the towns immediate vicinity, there are significant variations in elevation, which leads to some uninhabited areas near the town having a subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc), or, at the absolute…

Average elevation: 400 ft

Average elevation: 210 ft

Average elevation: 1,414 ft

Edinburgh has been popularly called the Athens of the North since the early 19th century. References to Athens, such as Athens of Britain and Modern Athens, had been made as early as the 1760s. The similarities were seen to be topographical but also intellectual. Edinburgh's Castle Rock reminded returning…

Average elevation: 387 ft

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Average elevation: 525 ft

The island's relief is spectacular, a 19th-century commentator remarking that "the interior is one heap of rude mountains, scarcely possessing an acre of level land". This combination of geology and topography make for less than ideal agricultural conditions, and it is doubtful that more than one tenth of the…

Average elevation: 387 ft

To the northeast of the town a hill fort, possibly of Pictish date or earlier, stands atop Barry (or 'barrow') Hill. It is considered to be one of the best preserved examples of an enclosed hilltop settlement in Scotland. The remains consist of massive collapsed stone ramparts that take advantage of the…

Average elevation: 410 ft

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Average elevation: 653 ft

The Scottish Highlands are renowned for their rugged, mountainous terrain that dominates much of the region. Stretching across the northern and central parts of Scotland, the landscape is shaped by ancient geological forces, including the Caledonian Orogeny, which caused significant tectonic collisions…

Average elevation: 2,976 ft

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Average elevation: 1,122 ft

The southern group of islands surrounds Scapa Flow. Hoy, to the west, is the second largest of the Orkney Isles and Ward Hill at its northern end is the highest elevation in the archipelago. The Old Man of Hoy is a well-known seastack. Graemsay and Flotta are both linked by ferry to the Mainland and Hoy, and…

Average elevation: 23 ft

Falkirk is located in an area of undulating topography between the Slamannan Plateau and the upper reaches of the Firth of Forth. The area to the north of Falkirk is part of the floodplain of the River Carron. Two tributaries of the River Carron - the East Burn and the West Burn flow through the town and form…

Average elevation: 226 ft

Average elevation: 564 ft

Average elevation: 384 ft

Average elevation: 92 ft

Ben Nevis has a highland (alpine) maritime (oceanic) polar climate (ET climate in the Köppen classification). Ben Nevis's elevation, maritime location and topography frequently lead to cool and cloudy weather conditions, which can pose a danger to ill-equipped walkers. According to the observations carried…

Average elevation: 2,992 ft

Caithness extends about 30 miles (48 km) north-south and about 30 miles (48 km) east-west, with a roughly triangular-shaped area of about 712 sq mi (1,840 km2). The topography is generally flat, in contrast to the majority of the remainder of the North of Scotland. Until the latter part of the 20th century…

Average elevation: 259 ft

Average elevation: 535 ft

Average elevation: 787 ft

Average elevation: 33 ft

Robert Gordon's map Aberdeen, Banf, Murrey &c. to Inverness: [and] Fra the north water to Ross, which is dated at some time between 1636 and 1652, shows Buckie in its own right as a community some small distance from the coast with the community of Freuchny sitting nearer the shore to the north. Robert Gordon…

Average elevation: 141 ft

Due to its prominence when seen from the lower ground of the Central Belt, Ben Vorlich is one of the most commonly seen of Munros, Scotland's peaks of at least 3,000 ft (914.4 m) elevation. It lies in an area of land bounded to the north by Loch Earn and to the west by Loch Lubnaig. The town of Callander lies…

Average elevation: 2,119 ft

Average elevation: 1,539 ft

The island has three endemic species of tree, the Arran whitebeams. These trees are the Scottish or Arran whitebeam (Sorbus arranensis), the bastard mountain ash or cut-leaved whitebeam (Sorbus pseudofennica) and the Catacol whitebeam (Sorbus pseudomeinichii). If rarity is measured by numbers alone they are…

Average elevation: 322 ft

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Average elevation: 79 ft

Walter Scott's 1822 novel The Pirate is set in "a remote part of Shetland", and was inspired by his 1814 visit to the islands. The name Jarlshof meaning "Earl's Mansion" is a coinage of his. Robert Cowie, a doctor born in Lerwick published the 1874 work.Shetland: Descriptive and Historical; Being a Graduation…

Average elevation: 13 ft

Towards the end of the 16th century, a detailed assessment on the size of the townscape was carried out. The first estimate of the parish population in 1639 was between 3,000 and 3,200 and around 3,400 by 1691. At the beginning of the 18th century, the population declined. A census by Webster's Topographical…

Average elevation: 164 ft

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Average elevation: 2,241 ft

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Average elevation: 948 ft

Two weather stations collect climate data for the area, Aberdeen/Dyce Airport, and Craibstone. Both are about 4+1⁄2 miles (7 km) to the north west of the city centre, and given that they are in close proximity to each other, exhibit very similar climatic regimes. Dyce tends to have marginally warmer daytime…

Average elevation: 151 ft

Angus can be split into three geographic areas. To the north and west, the topography is mountainous. This is the area of the Grampian Mountains, Mounth hills and Five Glens of Angus, which is sparsely populated and where the main industry is hill farming. Glas Maol – the highest point in Angus at 1,068 m…

Average elevation: 833 ft

Average elevation: 604 ft

Average elevation: 433 ft

Beyond Loch Snizort to the west of Trotternish is the Waternish peninsula, which ends in Ardmore Point's double rock arch. Duirinish peninsula is separated from Waternish by Loch Dunvegan, which contains the island of Isay. It is ringed by sea cliffs that reach 296 metres (971 feet) on the west at Waterstein…

Average elevation: 207 ft

Average elevation: 243 ft

Average elevation: 600 ft

The number of hours of natural sunshine in South Ayrshire is controlled by the length of day and by cloudiness. In general, December is the dullest month and May or June the sunniest. Sunshine duration decreases with increasing altitude, increasing latitude and distance from the coast. Local topography also…

Average elevation: 495 ft

Average elevation: 341 ft

Average elevation: 262 ft

Average elevation: 1,414 ft

East Ayrshire is located on the west coat of Scotland, sharing borders with the following neighbouring council areas; North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire. Blackcraig Hill reaches an elevation of 2,298 feet (700 metres), the highest peak in East…

Average elevation: 738 ft

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Ailsa Craig and the County Antrim coast of Ulster and Rathlin Island are all clearly visible from the Mull. On clearer days it is also possible to make out Malin Head in Inishowen in County Donegal in the west of Ulster, and the Ayrshire coast on the other side of Ailsa Craig. Other islands in the Firth of…

Average elevation: 276 ft

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Average elevation: 843 ft