Seclusion, scenery and mostly quietness all around, broken only by the sound of rustling leaves or chirping birds, Scotland is rife with green spaces. In keeping with the shifting travel preferences, where more travellers pursuing quiet travel and slow-paced life, the constituent United Kingdom country can be a serene gateway.

In a press statement, the official tourism board, Visit Scotland, says that the serene landscapes of the region offer a perfect escape for those seeking quiet, reflective travel in nature’s embrace.

To assist with embracing this trend Visit Scotland has compiled a guide to some of the best quiet travel locations and experiences across Scotland. 

Cycle the Highlands of the Lowlands: Galloway Forest Park

Cycling is one of the best ways to explore Scotland

Dumfries & Galloway is often described as ‘Scotland in miniature’. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Galloway Forest Park which is home to 250 lochs or lakes, expansive forests, undulating hills of heather and tranquil glens. It also boasts 7 Stanes mountain biking trails at Glentrool.

The tourism board says that visitors can take their time exploring this microcosm of Scotland on trails like the Big Country Route, a 58-km route filled with exhilarating descents and breathtaking views. With so much to see and do, visitors can easily spend a week or longer in this often bypassed wilderness. Stay in one of the five bothies, or small cottages, located within the park on the shores of Loch Ken, or opt for one of the three off-grid eco bothies which come with their own kayak and a timber hot tub.

Take a Twilight Walk on Orkney: Mainland Orkney

Spending ‘white nights’ in Orkney can be an unforgettable experience

Visit Scotland says that midsummer in the Northern Isles is a period of never-ending days, known as the white nights in Orkney and the simmer dim in Shetland, which gives visitors the chance to explore more of the islands than any other time of the year without being pressured for time.

The Orkney Mainland, where the Atlantic and North Seas intersect, is renowned for its spectacular sunsets, particularly during the white night season. Adventure-hearts can explore the sun as it almost dips below the horizon at around 22:00 at a dramatic spot like Longagleeb, where the sea slices a cleft through the coastline, before embarking on a twilight walk as you continue onwards to the causeway at the Brough of Birsay. Here, travellers can cross over to an empty tidal island to see Pictish and Norse ruins illuminated by the light of one of the famous Stevenson lighthouses. Continue further afield and pick a spot to watch the sunrise at around 04:00.  

Have a Spa Experience on Wheels: Scottish Highlands

There are several train journeys criss-crossing Scottish Highlands

According to the press statement, rail journeys are a great way to relax, de-stress and reflect upon the passing countryside. For a unique experience, take this classic slow travel to the next level onboard the Belmond Royal Scotsman, a luxury train that snakes across the Scottish Highlands, and book an appointment at its unique spa.

Experience the kinds of treatments you would find at any luxury spa, including facials, massages and manicures during this smoothest and most leisurely of rail journeys. Constructed from sustainable wood, the twin treatment rooms also offer spellbinding views of the beautiful Scottish landscapes unfolding outside your window whilst you’re cocooned in luxury.

Cruise the Caledonian Canal: The Great Glen

One can also opt for a gentle cruise in Scottish canals

Visit Scotland says that slow travel is all about doing as much or a little as you like on holiday. A gentle cruise aboard a traditional barge as it flows down the serene waters of the Caledonian Canal might be the perfect choice for your next Scottish break. As the vessel slowly makes its way through Scotland’s majestic Great Glen, travellers can choose whether to simply lay back and admire the shimmering lochs and magnificent mountains floating by, or disembark and explore the landscape on walks, bike rides, or even kayak excursions.

Forage for your Supper in the Highlands: Roshven, Lochailort

Camping out in the wilderness is a unique experience

Slow travel means taking everything at a slower pace. This also applies to sampling the local food and drink. While on the trip, visitors can take the chance to embrace their inner hunter-gatherer with Wildwood Bushcraft and go foraging for wild ingredients at unspoiled Highland destinations to create their own naturally sourced, nutritious and sustainable feast cooked over a campfire.

Similar courses are available from Coeur Sauvage, where visitors will learn how to forage for incredible Scottish ingredients. Discover fantastic new flavours along the way, whilst they forge a deeper connection with the natural world.

Top tip: The 150-acre Lynbreck Croft in the Highlands provides courses in foraging, woodcraft and low-intensive farming.

Play Midnight Golf on Shetland: Lerwick

With longer days, the summer is ideal to tee off for some night golf

The organisation adds that travellers won’t experience a more leisurely and relaxed game of golf at any other time or place than at Shetland Golf Club during midsummer or da simmer dim. They can make the most of up to 19 hours of daylight during June and July and head to the second-most northerly 18-hole course in Britain. Located just north of Lerwick, travellers can take part in golf competitions that tee off at midnight surrounded by some of the most breathtaking coastal scenery imaginable. Other courses such as Asta Golf Club and Whalsay Golf Club also offer extended opening hours throughout the summer period.

Top tip: Try the Shetland Late Summer Experience. This seven-day trip led by local naturalists explores the archipelago’s remarkable wildlife. It starts on the Mainland at Sumburgh Head before continuing to St Ninian’s Isle and onwards to Unst, the most northerly island in the UK.

Live the Rural Life: Various locations

Scottish rural settings offer an ideal slow travel experience

Wake up on a real Scottish working farm and discover a new way of living. From modern purpose-built accommodation to beautifully appointed rooms in centuries-old farmhouses, visitors can stay on a farm can be as luxurious or basic as they desire. They can spend their days learning about the day-to-day reality of farm life while getting their hands dirty working with crops or livestock, and discover how fine local produce is grown from scratch. Enjoy home-cooked meals prepared using those same ingredients, as they take their pick from an array of courses, family-friendly activities and other unique offerings.

Follow the Affric Kintail Way: Highlands

This 70 km offbeat route connects Loch Ness to Loch Duich

Follow a route less travelled on the Affric Kintail Way. Launched in 2015, it offers an equally beautiful but much less crowded alternative to the famous West Highland Way. What is more, it can easily be tackled in four bitesize chunks.

This 70-km route stretches from Loch Ness to Loch Duich on the west coast, passing through one of Scotland’s most dramatic glens, Glen Affric. Visitors can take the time to explore the many detours scattered along the route which encompasses old drovers’ roads, and tracks through fragrant pine forests, past serene lochs and lush glens.

Once they reach the head of Glen Affric, they can continue onwards toward the peaks of Beinn Fhada and the Five Sisters of Kintail until reaching the sea.

Cruise Around St Kilda: Outer Hebrides

Just getting to St Kilda in Outer Hebrides can be adventure enough for some

Visit Scotland says that visitors can also go with the flow on a sailing holiday to St Kilda in the Outer Hebrides. This cluster of four islands is famed for its flourishing birdlife and immense sheer cliffs which jut up to 330 m out of the Atlantic.

It is also among the most inaccessible of Scotland’s islands, with just a few small cruise companies that set sail to this UNESCO World Heritage Site during the summer months, weather conditions permitting.

Travellers can join the Island Cruising aboard the MV Cuma, a former marine research ship, for a six-day cruise. While waiting for just the right weather conditions to chart a course to St Kilda, the skipper will sail to other islands, allowing passengers the opportunity to explore Scarp, Taransay, and the Monarch and Flannan isles. With no set itinerary, savour the freedom of the open sea as you drop anchor in empty bays, and catch sightings of whales, dolphins and seals, and discover the beauty of the Hebrides.