As my first post on ERE forums let me start by thanking jb for initiating a UK ERE perspective (maybe we can get a side bar heading!). The majority of subject matter and forum posts out there are geared towards US citizens and I find it a challenge to apply any of the excellent advice I read to my own situation living outside of the US
I very much like the idea of ER in Scotland but why not consider the East side closer to major cities (Glasgow, Edinburgh etc) which would include the possibility of semi-retirement income opportunities. From my brief research house/land prices are not significantly higher than in the Highlands and plus you can visit the West side in the summer months when the weather is less harsh.
Having experienced living in various countries I have almost given up on the idea of ER without returning to the UK in a few years. Investment opportunities are limited in Europe in terms of ISA style funds and savings rates are consistently below inflation leaving me with money that isn't working very hard at all! To top that off I am building a passive income stream from DRPs but since they are mostly US traded companies I am open to exchange rate fluctuations which could go either way.
As a closing point, I fully agree with Dragline, Skye is amazingly beautiful....just imagine how much more popular it would be with a nice climtae