Auchtertyre Farm

There's so much to see and do within just a couple of miles of Auchtertyre Farm, whether you want to photograph the sunset, loch and castle at Eilean Donan (five minutes' drive), take a waymarked woodland walk through the forests around Lochalsh (five minutes), hop aboard Red Moon Cruises for a tour of the coast (five minutes) or head to the nearest swimming pool and leisure centre (five minutes). Thanks to the road bridge, crossing over to the Isle of Skye takes around 10 minutes without traffic. Getting to well-known scenic spots like the Fairy Pools (an hour) and the Old Man of Storr (an hour and 10 minutes) should definitely be on the agenda, but there's a lot to see and do in the island's biggest town of Portree (an hour). Even if the Hebrides are going to be your focus, there are lots of parts of the local mainland that are also well worth exploring. The Falls of Glomach (30 minutes), for instance, is one of the highest and most-isolated waterfalls in Britain – so much so that getting there involves a 12-mile round trip on foot – but the views at the other end are more than worth it.