Edinburgh is a stately, dramatic capital built on seven hills, with Edinburgh Castle dominating a skyline of grand neoclassical buildings, gardens, and views of Arthur's Seat. Though rich in history, it is very modern too: home to major festivals, museums, the Scottish Parliament, and a strong financial sector. It mixes culture, learning, nightlife, and old legends, while the sea, Fife, and nearby hills are never far away.

Scotland's Isle of May is a Scottish Natural Heritage National Nature Reserve and a major seabird breeding site, with about 250,000 seabirds and over 40,000 occupied puffin burrows. Species include kittiwakes, shags, eiders, guillemots, razorbills, Arctic, Sandwich and Common Terns, and several gulls. It lies about 4 nautical miles off mainland Scotland and is used to survey migrating passerines and ring breeding seabirds. The island is small: 1.8 km long and under 0.5 km wide.

David Attenborough called the Farne Islands his favourite UK place to see nature at its best. The small islands lie 2.4 km off Northumberland and are dolerite outcrops shaped by erosion into cliffs and columns. Treeless and easy to view from boat, they're cared for by the National Trust. The Inner Farnes once housed Saint Cuthbert, who in 676 CE protected eider ducks in one of the world's earliest bird laws. The islands also host seabirds, puffins, and grey seals.

Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, was a major pilgrimage site in Anglo-Saxon England. Reached by causeway at low tide, it has a village, priory ruins, castle, and harbour. Aidan founded a priory there in 635 CE; Cuthbert lived there and was later venerated as a saint. Vikings raided it in 793 CE, and the monks left for 400 years. The castle, built in 1550 from priory stones, is now cared for by the National Trust.

Fair Isle, midway between Shetland and Orkney, is a tiny, beautiful island known for birds, knitwear and historic shipwrecks. Home to about 70 people, it offers a warm welcome and is one of Britain's most successful communities. Its dramatic Sheep Rock rises over 100m above cloudy turquoise seas. The oceanic climate brings mild but stormy winters and fast-changing summer weather. Once called the "island of peace" by Norse settlers, it has seen over 100 wrecks, including El Gran Grifon.

The Shetland Islands, Britain's northernmost point, lie between Scotland and Norway across 100 islands linked by bridges and ferries. Rich in 5,000 years of history, they offer Neolithic sites, Iron Age brochs like the Broch of Mousa, wild cliffs and beaches, abundant seals and seabirds, and hardy Shetland ponies. Lerwick, the capital, greets visitors with stone waterfront buildings.

The Faroe Islands are a remote North Atlantic archipelago of 18 islands and a self-governing part of Denmark, famed for dramatic misty mountains, ocean vistas, cliffs, fjords, waterfalls, and glacier-carved valleys. Tórshavn, one of the world's tiniest capitals, offers half-timbered houses, Viking history, local food, and a charming old town. Mykines is ideal for puffins and seabirds, and the islands are perfect for hiking and scenic exploration.

Vestmanna, on Streymoy in the Faroe Islands, lies among Hægstafjall, Økslin, Loysingafjall, and Moskurfjall on the North Atlantic coast. Home to about 1,200 people, it has small shops, cafes, local cakes, handicrafts, and seafood soup. Its main draw is the bird cliffs: nearly 700 m high and 6 km long, packed with kittiwakes, guillemots, black guillemots, and puffins. A boat trip beneath them is unforgettable.

The Shiant Islands, between Lewis and Skye in the Outer Hebrides, have spectacular cliffs of tall hexagonal rock columns, like a giant honeycomb, formed when magma cooled slowly underground and exposed by erosion. The tallest reaches 120 m. In spring and summer, seabirds abound: some soar, some dive with stubby wings, and others nest in burrows or on cliffs. Guillemots lay eggs on bare ledges. The islands once had many black rats, but eradication in 2016 restored peace to the colonies.

St. Kilda is a remote archipelago 50 miles off Harris. Uninhabited since 1930, it shelters huge seabird colonies: the UK's largest Atlantic puffin colony and the world's largest gannet colony on Boreray. It is also home to Soay sheep, St. Kilda mice, and the rare St. Kilda wren. A National Trust for Scotland project is restoring historic dwellings. It's the UK's only dual UNESCO World Heritage Site, for both natural and cultural significance.

Lunga is the largest island in the Treshnish archipelago. Of volcanic origin and once inhabited until the 19th century, it still has remains of black houses. Now rich in plant and bird life, it is famous for puffins that breed on the plateau and can be watched from very close. The 81-hectare island also has rare plants such as primroses and orchids, plus sweeping views from 300-foot cliffs.

Iona, in Scotland's Inner Hebrides, is a tiny, მშვიდ, spiritually significant island about 200 miles east of Edinburgh. Just 3 miles long and 1.5 miles wide, it has around 120 residents (more in summer) and a warm climate from the Gulf Stream, with sandy beaches and green fields. Its main attraction is Iona Abbey, founded in 563 by St Columba, seen as the cradle of Christianity. Nearby are St Martin's Cross and Rèilig Odhrain, said to hold the remains of Scottish kings.

Reborn as a cool modern city, Belfast blends culture, architecture and cosy pubs. Explore the Maritime Quarter and Titanic District, where the Titanic Museum tells the story of the famous ship built here, alongside SS Nomadic and the Maritime Mile. See the Salmon of Knowledge, tour the Peace Lines and murals by black taxi, then visit the light-filled Metropolitan Arts Centre and lively Cathedral Quarter.

Dublin blends cobbled streets, buskers, and lively pubs with warm, cosmopolitan energy. Its history runs from Viking trading port to Georgian capital, and its role in the 1916 Easter Rising is preserved at Kilmainham Gaol. See St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Book of Kells at Trinity College, and the Guinness Storehouse, and explore the city's rich literary legacy, from Joyce to the Museum of Literature.