The eastern Highlands is a great elbow of land that juts into the North Sea between Perth and the Firth of Tay in the south, and Inverness and Moray Firth in the north. There are excellent hill walks in the Grampians, and the Cairngorm plateaus are as bleak and demanding as any Scottish mountains. The coastline, especially from Stonehaven to Buckie, is particularly attractive. Braemar is surrounded by good walking country, and every September hosts Scotland's most important Highland Games, the Braemar Gathering. The largest city in the north-east is prosperous Aberdeen, a lively, attractive place fattened on the proceeds of a long history of sea trade and, currently, the North Sea oil industry, for which it's the onshore base.
Few people visit the small fishing villages of the north coast, but some are very pretty.
Further west along this coast, experiments with alternative lifestyles continue at the Findhorn Foundation, an international spiritual community that welcomes outsiders. Further spiritual guidance is provided in neighbouring Speyside, where whisky distilleries welcome visitors with tours and free drams. Enter words and phrases in the box, separated by commas eg.