The county of Ross and Cromarty covers some 3080 square miles and, unlike most of Scotland’s counties, spans the country from the Atlantic on the west to the North Sea on the east. It is a physically spectacular county with a rugged, indented coastline and mountainous interior. With only around 20% of its landmass comprising the lowlands of Easter Ross and the Black Isle, it is one of the most mountainous counties in the UK.

This diversity of landscape provides very different environmental conditions across the area.