A remote rural environment is one which is distanced from urban environments, so much so that the rural environment is not affected by suburbanisation or counter urbanisation. These areas are described as peripheral in terms of their location and their economy. A prime example for a remote rural environment are the highlands and islands of Scotland, Cumbria, Yorkshire, Cornwall and Wales. There are a wide variety of issues faced by remote rural environments, five specifically for The Highlands of Scotland. The five issues they are faced with in these rural areas are the climate, raw materials, farming, industries and also regeneration. The Highlands and Islands of Scotland is a remote peripheral region in the UK, the Highlands are mostly a mountainous region for example Ben Nevis which is the highest mountain in the UK. The islands are also mountainous, remote and rely on ferries for transportation back to the mainland of Scotland. The climate of this area is affected by the latitude and altitude which means the temperatures in summer and winter are lower than average. Rainfall in the highest areas it could exceed up to 2,500mm compared to in Northern Ireland where the highest reaches up to 500mm. In these areas of Scotland you can also have up to sixty days of snow which means only five months of growing season. Soils in this area are usually peat bog or podzol which limits the farming potential. Raw materials around this area and the surrounding areas are lacking however there is oil in the North Sea and there is also potential for tourism due to the snow covered Cairngorms along with the scenic highlands and islands. An industry which badly suffers from the terrain of Scotland and its island is the farming industry, due to the high mountainous areas and infertile soils 40% of the area is unsuitable. 50% is only suitable for rough grazing of cattle and only 1.5% is suitable for arable farming. The Highlands and Islands suffer so b