Contours, spot levels and slope for a plot anywhere in Highland that the national LiDAR covers. Draw your boundary and see the ground in minutes.
Published Scottish LiDAR covers about 36.8% of Highland's 26,157 km². The best survey available here is Scotland National LiDAR Programme, flown 2025–2026 on a 0.5 m grid. It covers 0.6% of the area.
The rest is covered by Coastal LiDAR 2025–2026 (2025–2026, 1.1%); LiDAR for Scotland Phase 2 (DTM only) (2012–2014, 20%); LiDAR for Scotland Phase 1 (2011–2012, 15.1%). A report always uses the best survey for your boundary and says which one.
About 63% of the council area has no published LiDAR yet, mostly open hill and moor away from towns. The free preview tells you straight away whether your plot is covered.
Of the 15 towns we have pages for here, Tain sits lowest (median ground about 7.7 m above Ordnance Datum) and Kingussie highest (about 241.5 m).
An Gearasdan has the most ground steeper than 1 in 10 (51% of its area), Wick the least (4.7%). Plots a street apart can still differ a lot.
| Council area | 26,157 km² |
|---|---|
| Inside published LiDAR tiles | 36.8% |
| Best survey | Scotland National LiDAR Programme, flown 2025–2026, 0.5 m grid (0.6% of the area); typical ±0.14 m on open ground |
| Also used | Coastal LiDAR 2025–2026, flown 2025–2026, 0.5 m grid (1.1% of the area); typical ±0.15 m on open ground |
| Also used | LiDAR for Scotland Phase 2 (DTM only), flown 2012–2014, 1.0 m grid (20.0% of the area); typical ±0.15 m on open ground |
| Also used | LiDAR for Scotland Phase 1, flown 2011–2012, 1.0 m grid (15.1% of the area); typical ±0.15 m on open ground |
Shares are of the council's land area inside published DTM tiles on the Scottish Remote Sensing Portal, taking the best survey where they overlap (the same order reports use). Accuracy figures are from our own tests; see results by survey phase.
Each page shows the LiDAR coverage, ground levels, slope and mapped constraints for the town.
See a real example: Hillside plot by a burn, Strathtay (PDF).
| Full Site Report | £49 |
|---|---|
| Contours & CAD pack | £29 |
| Both | £59 |
Per plot up to 5 ha. The preview is free and needs no card. No VAT charged.
Yes. Published Scottish Government LiDAR covers about 36.8% of Highland. Surveys used: Coastal LiDAR 2025–2026, flown 2025–2026; LiDAR for Scotland Phase 2 (DTM only), flown 2012–2014; LiDAR for Scotland Phase 1, flown 2011–2012.
On open ground in our tests, typical height error is ±0.15 m for Coastal LiDAR 2025–2026; ±0.15 m for LiDAR for Scotland Phase 2 (DTM only); ±0.15 m for LiDAR for Scotland Phase 1. Each report gives the figure for your site.
£49 for the Full Site Report, £29 for the Contours & CAD pack, or £59 for both, per plot up to 5 ha. The preview is free.
0.5 m contours and spot levels across your boundary, slope and the fall from side to side, cut and fill for a level platform, mapped constraints with sources, and DXF files for CAD.
It depends on what your designer or the planning authority asks for. The report gives ground levels and contours for the whole plot. If walls, drains, trees or boundary features need measuring on site, that's a job for a land surveyor.
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Council boundaries: Office for National Statistics, Local Authority Districts (May 2024), Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2024. LiDAR: contains Scottish Government LiDAR data, Open Government Licence v3. See data licences.