Inverness Historical and Cultural Day Tour

Our East Tour shows both the area of Inverness-shire and Moray-Shire. Visit the traditional family Castle of Brodie. The med-evil abbey of Pluscarden, the 250+ years of Fort George and More with your private vehicle and local tour guide. Full of fun and history of Scotland with some sites of the Famous Outlander series. Travelling time between stops has been fixed into total tour length as well as a Lunch break should guests want to stop for a bite to eat.
Local Guide
Private Tour
Comfortable Air Conditioned Vehicle
Customisable to your Taste (within reasonable distance)

Meeting Point

opposite Town House

Inverness IV1 1HY, UK

Meeting Point outside Inverness Town Hall, Located in City Centre.

What's included:

• Umbrella's
• Private Comfortable Vehicle
• Child Seats
• Snacks & Water
• Local Guide

Not included:

• Castle Admissions £12-£15
• Whisky Tours & Tasting’s
• Lunch

What to expect:

Duration: 8 hours

Fort George

Inverness, IV2 7TD

In 1726, the first fortification known as Fort George was completed in Inverness. During the 1745 rising the fort was besieged by three thousand Jacobite’s. Cutoff and unable to be relieved by Crown forces, Fort George was surrendered in February 1746 after mines had reached the outer walls. The victorious Jacobite’s blew up Old Fort George to prevent it being reused as a military base by the British Army.
In 1747, following the Crown victory at the battle of Culloden, Colonel William Skinner, the King’s Military Engineer for north Britain, was given a contract to rebuild Fort George. The decision was taken to build the new Fort George at a location 10 mi (16 km) away from Inverness at the mouth of the Moray Firth. The site of Old Fort George lay abandoned for almost 70 years, until in the mid-19th century a red sandstone castellated building called Inverness Castle was built on the fort’s former site. Fort George is still operated to this day by the British Army.

1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included

Brodie Castle

Brodie, Forres, IV36 2TE

The original Z-plan castle was built in 1567 by Clan Brodie but was destroyed by fire in 1645 by Lewis Gordon of Clan Gordon, the 3rd Marquis of Huntly. In 1824, architect William Burn was commissioned to convert it into a mansion house in the Scots Baronial style, but these additions were never completed and were later re-modelled by James Wylson.
The Brodie family called the castle home until the early 21st century. It is widely accepted that the family has been associated with the land on which the castle stands since around 1160, when it is believed that King Malcolm IV gave the land to the family. Architecturally, the castle has a well-preserved 16th-century central keep with two 5-storey towers on opposing corners. The interior of the castle is also well preserved, containing fine antique furniture, oriental artefacts and painted ceilings, largely dating from the 17th–19th centuries.

1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included

Pluscarden Abbey

6 Miles West of Elgin, Elgin, IV30 8UA

The phrase written around the site “From Priory to Abbey” talks about the history of changing hands. The Valliscaulian priory of Pluscarden was founded by King Alexander ll. The now-defunct Valliscaulian Order was small compared to the great medieval religious houses and emerged at a time when austere Monasticism had spread across Europe c.1075–1200
The state of the Priory, both physically and politically, had by the 15th century, become serious with regular arguments breaking out over who should be Prior. Falling income and disjointed contact with France due to the Hundred Year War (1337–1453) exacerbated the situation. During the 17th century, the priory became ruinous and was used as a quarry for the rebuilding of St Giles Kirk, in Elgin. The payments made to haulers imply that the pulling down of the building must have been on a large scale.

30 minutes

Rait Castle

Nairn, IV12 5QX

Rait Castle is a ruined hall-house castle dating from the thirteenth century, The castle was originally a property of the Comyn family who took the name of de Rait. Sir Alexander Rait killed the third Thane of Cawdor (chief of Clan Calder), and then fled south where he married the heiress of Hallgreen. The castle later passed from the de Raits to the Mackintosh family and then to the Campbell family.
In 1442, when the castle passed to the Mackintoshes from the de Rait family, a feast was held at the castle between the two families which ended in the slaughter of most of the Comyns and de Raits. The laird blamed his daughter, whom he chased around the castle. She climbed out of a window and as she hanged out the window he chopped off her hands and she fell to her death. The castle is said to be haunted by her ghost, with no hands.

30 minutes

Benromach

Benromach House Invererne Road, Forres, IV36 3EB

Benromach distillery is a Speyside distillery founded by Duncan McCallum and F.W. Brickman in 1898 and currently owned and run by Gordon and MacPhail of Elgin. It is situated near Forres in Morayshire and is fed with spring water from the Chapelton Springs in the Romach Hills beside Forres. Enjoy a tasting of Gin as well as their Whisky in their comfortable tasting lounge.

45 minutes

Culloden Viaduct

Inverness, IV2 5EJ

Designed by Chief Engineer Murdoch Paterson and built by the Highland railway in 1889, the impressive 29 arches of the Culloden viaduct stretch over the valley and River Nairn. The imposing structure built in sandstone is similar to the Glenfinnan Viaduct (Harry Potter) but on a much larger scale.

30 minutes

Clava Cairns

Balnuaran of Clava, Scottish Highlands, IV2 5EU

Clava Cairns or the Prehistoric Burial Cairns of Bulnuaran of Clava are a group of three Bronze Age cairns located near Inverness. A hugely significant and exceptionally well-preserved prehistoric site, Clava Cairns is a fantastic example of the distant history of Highland Scotland, dating back about 4,000 years.
The Clava Cairns provided inspiration for the Craigh na Dun standing stones in the book and TV series Outlander. Most observed is the famous “Cleft Stone” that transports the main character Claire back in time is located here.

45 minutes

Culloden Battlefield

Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre, Culloden Moor, IV2 5EU

On 16 April 1746, the final Jacobite Rising came to a brutal head. Jacobite supporters, seeking to restore the Stuart monarchy to the British thrones, gathered to fight the Duke of Cumberland’s government troops. It was the last pitched battle on British soil and, in less than an hour, around 1,600 men were slain, 1500 of them Jacobite’s. The Visitor Museum contains artefacts from both sides of the bloody battle that day.

1 hour