13 Nov 2026, 01:25 PM

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From the Isle of Skye to the Cairngorms, our explorers find white-sand beaches, secret lochs and solitude• Tell us about your favourite European national park – the best tip wins a £200 holiday voucherAt Camasunary bay on the Strathaird peninsula of the Isle of Skye, we watched an otter at low tide lifting seaweed to find crabs. Boots off, we crossed one of Skye’s shortest (and coldest) rivers, before slogging upwards through unforgiving heather to the col beneath the pathless hill Sgùrr na Strì. The mountain view from the summit’s glaciated slabs is perhaps the finest in Scotland – or even Europe. Below is landlocked Loch Coruisk, girdled by the black teeth of the entire Cuillin ridge. Extraordinary. An hour passed, maybe two, before we headed back. The otter was by then long gone, hopefully just as replete and satisfied as we were.

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