Regional Spotlight: Scottish Highlands

The Scottish Highlands with its castles, forts and gorgeous scenery - not to mention the elusive Loch Ness monster - has long been a tourist haven and a Mecca for those looking to get away from it all. And the arrival of the budget airlines to Highlands capital Inverness has made it more accessible.

"The Highlands are extremely popular across all the areas," says Stuart Ferguson, director of the Edinburgh office of agents Christie & Co. "It's a beautiful area with good quality businesses. People are also starting to invest in properties and we're seeing more quality businesses come on to the market."

Hotels are particularly popular at the moment, says Ferguson, offering a good investment, plus a lifestyle and an income in the short term. A typical hotel in the area has 20-30 rooms. As elsewhere in Scotland there are a lot of businesses in villages that call themselves hotels but are basically just pubs with a few letting rooms.

Inverness is a "growing" town and increasingly desirable. It's strong for pubs, as are Dingwall and Ullapool. Other hot spots for hospitality entrepreneurs include Plockton, the Isle of Skye, Dornoch, and the area around Loch Ness. The general rule of thumb, Ferguson says, is "the further north you go the quieter it gets".

There are fewer opportunities for restaurants and outside Inverness most are connected to hotels. Although the area is changing, when it comes to restaurants "it's still quite traditional", Ferguson says.

For new entrants, a good bet is a pub or hotel with rooms which also does food.