The prettiest villages and towns in Scotland: 17 to visit

Looking for the prettiest villages and towns in Scotland for a weekend escape? From palm-lined Plockton on Loch Carron to colourful Tobermory on Mull, Culross in Fife with its 17th-century cottages, Luss on Loch Lomond and Stromness on Orkney looking out over Scapa Flow. Here are the prettiest villages in Scotland.

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The prettiest villages and towns in the Highlands and Far North

The Highlands have some of Scotland’s most photographed villages, all set around the sea or sea lochs.

1. Plockton, Wester Ross

Plockton is regularly named Scotland’s prettiest village. This tiny settlement sits on sheltered Loch Carron, with white-harled cottages running along the shore, palm trees lining the waterfront and views across to Skye in the distance.

Half the fun of Plockton is the journey to get there – the Kyle Line train from Inverness is widely held to be one of the world’s most beautiful railway journeys, with views of Loch Carron as you arrive.

Once you are there, you’ll want to walk the seafront, take a seal-spotting boat trip from the harbour (Calum’s Seal Trips are the originals), and book ahead for dinner at the Plockton Inn for their seafood platter. The Plockton Hotel does the best pint in Wester Ross.

Stretch your legs with a walk up Frithard Hill for views back across the loch, or hire a kayak from Sea Kayak Plockton and paddle around the islands. The village was used as the filming location for the BBC series Hamish Macbeth in the 1990s.

• Stay – The Plockton Hotel on the seafront, The Plockton Inn just behind it, or Duncraig Castle, a Victorian castle conversion across the bay.
• How to get to Plockton – The beautiful Kyle line will take you to Plockton and Strathcarron from Inverness, approx 2 hours 40 minutes. Book your train tickets with trainline.com*.

2. Ullapool, Wester Ross

Ullapool is a postcard pretty fishing port of the north-west Highlands, sitting on Loch Broom and looking out toward the Summer Isles. With white-painted houses, the working harbour with the CalMac ferry sailing for Stornoway, and the mountains behind, Ullapool is the prettiest town on the NC500.

The town has a brilliant food and drink scene for its size. The Dipping Lugger does fine dining. The Seafood Shack has become one of the most loved seafood spots in the Highlands. The Ceilidh Place hosts traditional music sessions, ceilidhs and gigs almost every night through the season. The Arch Inn does the best Sunday lunch in the area.

Take a Summer Isles boat trip with Seascape Expeditions, drive 30 minutes north to Knockan Crag for the geology trail, or head to the Lochinver coast for the dramatic Stoer Lighthouse walk.

• Stay –  The Dipping Lugger has just three rooms above one of the best restaurants in the Highlands.  The Ceilidh Place, is Ullapool’s cultural heart with rooms above the bar.  Westlea is a quirky, beautifully done B&B in Ullapool with an art-filled interior and one of the best breakfasts in the Highlands.  The Arch Inn is on the waterfront with simple rooms and the best terrace in town.
• How to get to Ullapool – 1 hour 15 minutes’ drive north of Inverness on the A835, or by CityLink coach from Inverness.
• Read more – my full guide to the North Coast 500.

3. Fort Augustus, the Great Glen

Fort Augustus sits at the southern tip of Loch Ness, where the Caledonian Canal travels through five locks running right through the centre of the village. Pull up a chair outside the Lock Inn and watch the boats rise and fall on the canal as you eat.

The setting is the Highlands at their best – the loch stretches north, the hills close in on every side, and Ben Nevis isn’t far down the road.

Take a Loch Ness sightseeing cruise from the village pier, walk a section of the Great Glen Way (the towpath up to Invergarry is a lovely afternoon), or visit the Loch Ness Centre for the surprisingly honest story of the monster myth.

Urquhart Castle sitting on the loch is one of the largest castles in Scotland. Entry to the castle is £9 for adults or free with an Explorer Pass.

• Stay – The Lovat Hotel, a sustainable boutique hotel in a Victorian sandstone building above the village; Highland Club Scotland, self-catering apartments in the former Fort Augustus Abbey; or Inchnacardoch Hotel, a Victorian hunting lodge on the loch shore.
• How to get to Fort Augustus – on the A82 between Inverness (35 minutes) and Fort William (1 hour). The Loch Ness sightseeing cruises depart from the village.
• Read more – my guide to Fort Augustus and Loch Ness

4. Stromness, Orkney

Stromness is the second town of Orkney, smaller and quieter than Kirkwall and arguably the prettier of the two. The single main street is paved with flagstones, with stone houses gabled end-on to the sea so that each one originally had its own jetty for landing fish.

Wander the back lanes, look at the date stones above the doors (most are 17th and 18th century), and end up at the Pier Arts Centre on the harbour.

Walk up Brinkie’s Brae behind the town for the best view across to Hoy. Browse the second-hand bookshops on the main street, particularly Stromness Books and Prints. Eat at The Storehouse Restaurant or Hamnavoe Restaurant on the harbour, both serving Orkney lamb, beef and fish.

The town is a great place to stay for visiting Skara Brae, the Ring of Brodgar and the rest of Neolithic Orkney are all within 20 minutes’ drive.

• Stay – The Stromness Hotel, a Victorian seafront hotel with views across the harbour.
• How to get to Stromness – by NorthLink ferry from Scrabster (1.5 hours) or fly to Kirkwall and drive (20 minutes).
• Read more – my full guide to visiting Orkney.

The prettiest village in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs

5. Luss, Loch Lomond

Luss is a picture-perfect conservation village on the western shore of Loch Lomond, with rows of sandstone cottages running down to a small pier looking out to the islands. The most photographed view in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs is the line of cottages on Pier Road with the loch and Ben Lomond beyond.

Walk the pier and along the loch shore, hop on a Sweeney’s Cruise out to Inchmurrin and the loch islands, and have lunch on the terrace at the Loch Lomond Arms Hotel. The Coach House Coffee Shop in the village (formerly the village pub, now a café) is famous for its scones.

For an active day, the Conic Hill walk above Balmaha (15 minutes’ drive south) is the best short hill walk in the National Park, with views down the loch. Outlander fans will recognise Luss as a Highland settlement in Blood of My Blood, dressed for the prequel’s clan gathering scenes.

• Stay The Loch Lomond Arms Hotel, an 18th-century coaching inn in the village or Lodge on Loch Lomond, a lochside resort just north of Luss.
• How to get to Luss – 45 minutes’ drive from Glasgow on the A82.
• Read more – my full guide to Loch Lomond.

The prettiest villages in the Inner Hebrides

6. Tobermory, Isle of Mull

Tobermory is a picture-book pretty harbour with rainbow-coloured cottages on the waterfront, the inspiration for the BBC’s Balamory and one of the most photographed spots in Scotland.

Spend a morning wandering the harbour shops, an afternoon on a whale-watching boat trip with Sea Life Surveys (you have a good chance of seeing minke whales, dolphins and sea eagles), and an evening at the Mishnish Hotel’s bar for traditional music.

The Tobermory Distillery on the harbour does excellent tours (you get both Tobermory and Ledaig single malts). The Mull Aquarium next door is the UK’s first catch-and-release aquarium, returning every fish to the sea after a few weeks. For dinner, book ahead at Café Fish on the pier, where the fishing boats deliver straight to the kitchen.

• Stay at The Western Isles Hotel, a Victorian landmark on the cliff above the harbour, or The Tobermory Hotel on the seafront itself.
• How to get to Tobermory – by CalMac ferry from Oban to Craignure (45 minutes), then drive across Mull (45 minutes). Or the smaller ferry from Kilchoan on the mainland (35 minutes).
• Read more – my full guide to the Isle of Mull.

7. Portnahaven, Isle of Islay

Portnahaven sits at the quiet end of Islay, a tiny village at the very tip of the Rhinns peninsula with whitewashed cottages. The seals haul out on the rocks of the harbour at low tide and you can sit and watch them from the harbour wall.

The pub, An Tigh Seinnse (the gossip house) looks straight out across the bay and is one of the best places in Scotland to drink an Islay malt while watching the Atlantic. The walk south along the cliffs to the World’s End rock and the view of the Rhinns of Islay lighthouse is the best short walk on Islay.

Portnahaven is your base for the west of Islay – Bruichladdich Distillery is 15 minutes back along the coast, Kilchoman Distillery is 20 minutes north, and the surfing beaches at Machir Bay and Saligo Bay are both within half an hour.

• Stay at The Machrie Hotel and Golf Links, the smartest hotel on Islay; Bridgend Hotel or a country house hotel in the centre of the island
• How to get to Portnahaven – CalMac ferry from Kennacraig on Kintyre to Port Ellen or Port Askaig on Islay (2 hours). Portnahaven is 20 minutes’ drive from Bowmore, the island’s capital.
• Read more – my complete guide to the Isle of Islay.

The prettiest town in Argyll

8. Inveraray, Loch Fyne

Inveraray is a white-harled Georgian town on the shore of Loch Fyne, with a single wide street of symmetrical white-painted facades that the Duke of Argyll built in the 1750s. Approach from the Glasgow road and the first view is the gateway arch with Inveraray Castle behind it, looking like a film set.

Tour Inveraray Castle for the family home of the Duke of Argyll and chief of Clan Campbell (the State Dining Room appeared as Duneagle Castle in Downton Abbey). Visit Inveraray Jail, the brilliant small museum that recreates Victorian prison life with audio guides voiced from the original prisoners’ actual letters.

For lunch or dinner, drive 10 minutes north to the Loch Fyne Oyster Bar at Cairndow, the original Loch Fyne restaurant and still the best place in Scotland for oysters straight from the loch.

• Stay at The Loch Fyne Hotel and Spa, a lochside resort just outside the town or The Inveraray Inn, opened in 1755 and one of the oldest coaching inns in Scotland.
• How to get to Inveraray – on the A83, 1 hour 20 minutes’ drive from Glasgow.
• Read more – my full guide to Inveraray and Argyll and my Clans of Scotland guide for the Campbell history.

The prettiest villages in Perthshire

Perthshire is famed for its big trees and autumn colours, and the small towns and villages around the Tay have some of the best in Scotland.

9. Dunkeld

Dunkeld sits on the River Tay, half-an-hour north of Perth, with NTS-restored cottages on the historic main street, a magnificent ruined cathedral on the riverbank, and lovely walks along the river and through the woods. It’s my favourite Perthshire small town for a weekend stay.

Visit The Hermitage just outside the town, an 18th-century pleasure garden with some of the tallest Douglas Firs in Britain leading to Ossian’s Hall and the Black Linn Falls. Cross the bridge to Birnam to see the Birnam Oak, one of the oldest trees in Scotland.

Browse the independent shops on the main street before stopping for a pint and a pizza in the beer garden at The Taybank on the river. The Loch of the Lowes Wildlife Reserve nearby is brilliant for seeing nesting ospreys in spring and summer.

• Stay at – The Taybank, a stylish boutique hotel with a beer garden on the river; Dunkeld House Hotel, a Victorian country house in 280 acres of grounds; or The Atholl Arms in the town centre.
• How to get there – Dunkeld is on the A9, 1.5 hours’ drive north of Edinburgh. The train to Birnam (a 5-minute walk from Dunkeld) runs from Edinburgh and Glasgow.
• Read more my full guide to Dunkeld.

The prettiest villages in Fife

Fife’ pretty villages are dotted right along its coastline, the legacy of centuries of fishing trade with the Low Countries.

10. Culross

The most complete 17th-century village in Scotland and the location of Outlander’s Cranesmuir. Culross sits on the Firth of Forth in West Fife, with cobbled streets running uphill from the harbour to the abbey. The white-harled cottages, the lemon-yellow Culross Palace, the Mercat Cross and Tanhouse Brae are all preserved as they were in the 1600s.

Tour Culross Palace and its terraced kitchen garden (also used as Claire’s herb garden at Castle Leoch in Outlander), walk the Wee Causeway for the witch trial procession scene, and climb up to Culross Abbey for views over the Firth of Forth. Lunch at The Red Lion is brilliantly local: haggis nachos, fish and chips, pies. Stickman Food Co., a taco van by the west car park, is open at weekends. The Mercat cafe on the cross does great coffee.

• Stay at The Dundonald, a lovely guesthouse on one of the village’s most characterful streets.
• How to get to Culross – 40 minutes’ drive from Edinburgh over the Queensferry Crossing.
• Read more – my full guide to visiting Culross and the Outlander filming locations guide.

11. Falkland

Falkland is a royal burgh sitting at the foot of the Lomond Hills in central Fife, with the most complete medieval streetscape in Scotland after Culross. Cobbled streets, painted shopfronts, a 17th-century village square and Falkland Palace, the country residence of the Stuart kings, all squeezed into a small space at the foot of the hills.

Outlander fans will recognise the village as 1940s Inverness from season one: have a coffee at The Covenanter Inn on the square (used as Mrs Baird’s B&B) and find the Bruce Fountain (where Claire first thinks she sees the ghost of Jamie).

Beyond the village, the Falkland Estate walks lead up the Maspie Den to its waterfall and the Yad Falls. The East Lomond climb above the village is the best short hill walk in Fife, with views across to Edinburgh on a clear day.

• Stay at The Covenanter Hotel on the village square, used as a filming location in Outlander.
• How to get to Falkland – 1 hour’s drive north of Edinburgh over the Forth Road Bridge.
• Read more – my full guide to Falkland and the Falkland Estate and the Outlander filming locations guide.

12. Dysart

Dysart is a beautiful harbour village just east of Kirkcaldy, on the Fife coast. Crow-stepped gables, red pantile roofs and narrow alleys lead down to the small harbour, with the Sailor’s Walk continuing along the coast to Ravenscraig Castle and West Wemyss. Outlander fans will recognise the harbour as Le Havre, France, in season three.

Walk the harbour and St Serf’s Tower, then continue along the Sailor’s Walk to West Wemyss for a coffee at the Wemyss Caves Visitor Centre. The Pictish caves just below the village are one of the most underrated archaeological sites in Scotland, with rock carvings going back 5,000 years.

The Harbourmaster’s House café on the harbour is the place for a coffee and a slice of cake.

• Stay – Dysart works best as a day trip from Edinburgh.
• How to get to Dysart – by Train from Edinburgh to Kirkcaldy (40 minutes) and a 15-minute walk along the coast. Or by car, 1 hour from Edinburgh.

13. The East Neuk of Fife (Crail, Anstruther, Pittenweem, St Monans, Elie)

The East Neuk is a string of fishing villages on the south-eastern corner of Fife, with each one worth a stop. Drive the coastal A917 from St Andrews south and visit the villages one by one.

Start in Crail with its little harbour and lobster hut on the seafront (buy a freshly cooked lobster platter to eat on the wall). Anstruther is your fish and chips stop – the Anstruther Fish Bar, voted UK Fish and Chip Shop of the Year more times than any other, has a queue down the street most lunchtimes. The Wee Chippie is the local’s favourite.

Pittenweem is great for watching the fishing boats and browsing the harbour-front galleries (the village holds an arts festival every August). Walk on the beach at Elie and Earlsferry, then climb the Elie Chain Walk if you fancy a bit of adventure (a steep coastal scramble with chains bolted into the rock).

End at St Monans, the quirkiest of the East Neuk villages, with its welly garden, its wiggly pier and its 14th-century kirk built on the rocks above the sea.

• Stay – The East Neuk is full of beautiful self-catering cottages. My favourite is Dreel Cottage in Anstruther. For something quirkier, Catchpenny Safari Lodges at Elie are safari tents with views over Elie Lighthouse and the Lady’s Tower.
• How to get to the East Neuk – by Bus from Edinburgh (X60) or St Andrews (95). 1.5 hours’ drive from Edinburgh.
• Read more – my full guide to the East Neuk of Fife.

The prettiest villages on the Moray Firth and North-East Coast

The North-East coast is one of the most underrated stretches of coastline in Scotland: 80 miles of sandy beaches, fishing villages tucked under cliffs and Georgian planned harbour towns, stretching east from Findhorn to Fraserburgh.

14. Crovie, Aberdeenshire

Crovie is the smallest and most extraordinary fishing village in Scotland – a single row of cottages running along the foot of a cliff on the Aberdeenshire coast.

The walk over the headland to neighbouring Gardenstown is the best thing to do – about 30 minutes each way, with views back along the bay to Crovie.

Gardenstown has a tearoom and the lovely Garden Coffee Shop for lunch. The drive east along the coast to Pennan (the next entry) and Rosehearty takes in the most dramatic stretch of Aberdeenshire coast. Visit Troup Head for the gannet and puffin colony.

• Stay – The Garden Apartment in nearby Gardenstown is a comfortable base for the area, or The Saplinbrae hotel near Mintlaw for something larger.
• How to gey to Crovie – by car only. 1 hour from Aberdeen, around 3 hours from Edinburgh.
• Read more – my guide to the Moray Firth coast.

15. Pennan, Aberdeenshire

Pennan is located a few miles further east along the Aberdeenshire coast from Crovie. A single row of whitewashed cottages running along the foot of a sheer cliff with the North Sea at the doorstep, Pennan is most famous as the filming location for Bill Forsyth’s 1983 film Local Hero.

Have a pint at The Pennan Inn (also seen in the film), walk west along the coast to Crovie, or east to Rosehearty along the cliff path. For a longer day, drive 15 minutes east to Fraserburgh and the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses, then continue to the white-sand beach at Rosehearty.

• Stay – The Pennan Inn is the village pub with a handful of rooms above the bar. For more options, The Saplinbrae hotel near Mintlaw is the nearest larger base.
• How to get to Pennan – by car only. 1 hour 15 minutes from Aberdeen.

The prettiest villages and towns in the Scottish Borders and the South

The Borders and Dumfries and Galloway are the most overlooked corners of Scotland for visitors.

16. St Abbs, Berwickshire

St Abbs is a cliffside fishing village on the Berwickshire coast, with whitewashed cottages running down to the harbour and St Abbs Head rising above. The village has had its share of fame on screen – the new harbour scenes in Avengers: Endgame (2019) were filmed at St Abbs, transforming it into the fictional New Asgard. There’s a small Endgame plaque on the harbour wall.

The walk around St Abbs Head is one of the best coastal walks in Britain – it is about three miles to the lighthouse and back, with sea cliffs holding thousands of nesting seabirds (guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes, puffins, fulmars) between April and July.

Lunch at the Ebbcarrs Café on the harbour, do a snorkel trip with St Abbs Marine Station (you can sometimes see seals and even basking sharks), or drive 10 minutes south to Coldingham Bay for one of the best sandy beaches in the south-east.

• Stay at – The Castle Rock Guest House on the seafront has the views; for a wider Borders base, The Anchor Inn in Cockburnspath nearby is a good country pub with rooms.
• How to get to St Abbs – 1.5 hours’ drive south from Edinburgh on the A1.
• Read more – my guide to St Abbs.

17. Kirkcudbright, Dumfries and Galloway

Kirkcudbright (pronounced “kir-koo-bree”) is an artists’ town in Scotland’s south-west, with a colony of painters who settled here from the 1880s onwards and gave the town its bohemian flavour. The High Street has brightly painted Georgian houses, independent galleries on every corner, and the 16th-century MacLellan’s Castle dominating the harbour.

Visit Broughton House, the home of the artist E.A. Hornel, kept as a museum by the National Trust for Scotland with his studio and Japanese garden still as he left them. The Kirkcudbright Galleries on the High Street showcase the Kirkcudbright Artists’ Town collection.

Walk to the harbour for the views to MacLellan’s Castle, browse the small artisan shops on the side streets, and book ahead for dinner at The Selkirk Arms (where Robert Burns wrote the Selkirk Grace at the table).

Kirkcudbright is also the natural starting point for exploring Dumfries and Galloway: Threave Castle and Gardens are 15 minutes’ drive away, the Galloway Forest Park (the UK’s first Dark Sky Park) is 30 minutes inland.

• Stay at The Selkirk Arms Hotel, where Robert Burns wrote the Selkirk Grace, or The Anchorlee Guest House on the seafront.
• How to get to Kirkubright – 2.5 hours’ drive south-west from Edinburgh or 1.5 hours from Glasgow.

Frequently asked questions

Are you planning a weekend in a pretty Scottish village? Let me know which one you’re heading to.

Love from Scotland x

Read more

• Best places to visit in Fife
• How to visit Culross, Fife: Scotland’s prettiest village and Outlander’s Cranesmuir
• The East Neuk of Fife
• Things to do in Perthshire
• How to visit Inverness
• How to visit Orkney
• The North Coast 500
• Outlander filming locations in Scotland
• Scottish clans: a travel guide to 12 of the most famous