There are mountains in the north of Scotland and on the islands off the west coast. This area, almost two-thirds of the country, is often called ‘the Highlands and Islands’. It is one of the loneliest places in Europe: fewer people live here per square kilometre than almost anywhere else in Europe. Yet it is from this area that much of ‘traditional’ Scotland comes: traditional music and dance, the Highland Games, clans and tartans, and the Gaelic language.