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Special qualities

In 2007 & 2008 Scottish Natural Heritage surveyed all the NSAs and, for each one, produced an up-to-date list of the landscape qualities that make each one special. See links on the right for guidance on the method used.

This work, carried out in partnership with Historic Scotland and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), was published in August 2010.

  • The report's full title is: Scottish Natural Heritage (2010). The special qualities of the National Scenic Areas. SNH Commissioned Report No.374.

It can be downloaded here, but it is a large document and has been broken down into sections grouped by local authority area.  For each NSA a map, description and list of special qualities is provided.

1. Introduction   PDF document (300kb)
2. Map of all NSAs and index  PDF document   (345kb)
3. Dumfries & Galloway  PDF document (3.4mb)
4. The Scottish Borders  PDF document   (4.4mb)
5. North Ayrshire  PDF document   (1.1mb)
6. Argyll & Bute  PDF document (7.2mb)
7. Perth & Kinross  PDF document (8.5mb)
8. Highland A to D  PDF document   (9mb)
9. Highland G to K  PDF document   (8mb)
10. Highland L to W  PDF document   (8.7mb)
11. Eilean Siar  PDF document   (4.9mb)
12. Orkney Islands  PDF document   (900kb)
13. Shetland Islands  PDF document   (2.2mb)

The information about a particular NSA can also be downloaded via SiteLink external site , via the interactive map, or download a single document with the special qualities only  PDF document   (1.47mb) for all NSAs, without maps or descriptions.

NSAs in National Parks

Working in association with the national park authorities, the special qualities of both Scotland's National Parks have been determined using the same method. Both parks each contain two NSAs, the qualities of which have not been separately determined. See:

The future

'Special qualities' are defined here as 'the characteristics that, individually or combined, give rise to an area's outstanding scenery'. The identification of these will help to safeguard the National Scenic Areas for future generation to enjoy.

Scottish Natural Heritage will be publishing guidance within the next few months on how the special qualities can best be used to achieve this.