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Where can I find SACs in Scotland?

There are 239 designated SACs in Scotland, including two that straddle the border with England. Together they cover an area of approximately 963 000 hectares, or about 3,717 square miles. Some of the smallest sites are just wee burns, but still vitally important for the rare and threatened freshwater pearl mussel. At the other end of the scale, over 150,000 hectares lies within the Moray Firth marine SAC, home to the bottlenose dolphin and extensive subtidal sandbanks. Almost as vast are the distinctive blanket bogs of Caithness and Sutherland, and the wild peatlands of the Isle of Lewis. The special species and habitats of our mountains, woodlands, coasts and freshwaters are also well represented in sites as diverse as the Cairngorms, the River Tweed and Sleibhtean agus Cladach Thiriodh (Tiree Machair).

  • Search for an SAC in Scotland using Sitelink's interactive map external site or use the simple map below.  The figures in red circles show the number of sites concentrated in one area - zoom in for more detail 
  • Search for an SAC in Scotland by site name or local authority external site
  • Search for all SACs in the UK by habitat external site or species external site  
  • Search for all SACs in the UK (including a list of offshore sites) using a map external site