This breathtaking Highland landscape is Britain’s newest nature reserve

If a visit to the Torridon Peaks isn’t already on your bucket list, we’d hazard a guess that it soon will be. That’s because the breathtaking region in the northwest Highlands has just been named Scotland's newest national nature reserve (NNR).

The area begins at the point where its eponymous loch meets the sea and stretches all the way to the peaks of mountains Beinn Alligin and Liathach. Protected by the National Trust for Scotland, it’s easily stompable via 18 miles of well-trodden paths and is home to five of the trust’s 46 munros as well as wildlife like otters and golden eagles. Like we said, it’s a must for the bucket list.

Torridon even swiped the number two spot on Time Out’s best cycling routes in the UK and views of its epic terrain are part of what makes the Kyle Line rail route one of the most scenic in the world.

NatureScot, the government body which looks after the country’s natural heritage, has just given the green light to an application to have Torridon added to the official list of national nature reserves.

The area of around 12,602 acres will join 43 other NNRs in Scotland, including the neighbouring Beinn Eighe area which became the UK’s OG nature reserve in 1951. Plus, it’s the first site to be added to Scotland’s list of NNRs for almost a decade, the most recent previous additions being Glen Coe in the Highlands and the Mar Lodge Estate in Aberdeenshire, both recognised in 2017.

Unlike some National Trust sites, it’s also completely free to visit, so grab your walking boots and we’ll see you on the mountain top. 

Did you see that a brand-new long distance walking route will open in one of England’s most beautiful regions next month?

Plus: new artist-designed cabins with sunken outdoor baths have opened in the Cotswolds.