Inverness Private Historical and Castle Tour

This is a private and personal tour for you and your party. We will take you to the places that you wish to see. Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle , Culloden Battlefield , Clava Cairns , Cawdor Castle and Beauly Priory. We will also take you to Inverness City centre where you will see Inverness Castle and Inverness Cathedral as well as the oldest house in Inverness - Abertarff House. We will also stop at The old High church where the Jacobite prisoners were held and executed after the Battle of Culloden.

What's included:

• wifi
• Free pick-up & drop-off

Not included:

• Admission Fees to Urquhart Castle of $14
• Admission to Cawdor Castle $14
• Culloden visitor centre $16

What to expect:

Duration: 8 hours, 40 minutes

Loch Ness

, , Scottish Highlands

Loch Ness is 23 miles long and at its widest point it is just 1.5 miles wide. Nessie was first seen by St. Columba in 564 AD. Every year people are reporting sightings - in 2017 there were 11 sightings, and in 2018 there were 13 sightings. Keep your eyes peeled as we journey around the loch.
Our first stop is at the Wellington lay-by where on the 31st December 1939 a Wellington Bomber from RAF Lossiemouth was forced to ditch after suffering engine failure. The remains of the bomber were recovered in 1985 and it has been fully restored and is now in Brooklands Museum in Weybridge in Surrey.

20 minutes

Urquhart Castle

A82, Drumnadrochit, IV63 6XJ

Carrying on through Drumnadrochit we come to Urquhart Castle sitting on a rocky promontory with fantastic views over Loch Ness. This 800 year old castle has had a turbulent and bloody history. Explore the ruins and visitor centre.

1 hour, 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Beauly Priory

Beauly IV4 7DY Beauly IV4, Beauly

Beauly Priory is currently closed due to recent high winds causing masonry to fall , we do not know when it will reopen. We will still visit Beauly where you can see The Priory from the gate.
Leaving Urquhart Castle, we head back to Drumnadrochit and take the Culnakirk Hill Road towards Beauly and our next stop, the Beauly Priory. The priory was founded in the 13th century for monks of the Valliscaulian order. In the grounds of the priory you will find the Beauly Elm Tree, this tree is 800 years old and is the oldest elm tree in Europe.

50 minutes

Cawdor Castle

Nairn, IV12 5RD

Cawdor Castle re-opens on the 27th April 2024
Cawdor Castle, has been home to the Thanes of Cawdor since 1370. The castle is set in stunning grounds and gardens and is surrounded by the magnificent Cawdor Big Wood, one of the finest woodland areas in Europe.

1 hour, 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Clava Cairns

Balnuaran of Clava, Scottish Highlands, IV2 5EU

We head back towards Inverness to the Clava Cairns. The Clava Cairns are 4000 years old and the area is an ancient cemetery. The sites contain a range of prehistoric burial monuments and the remains of a medieval chapel.
The Clava Cairns provided inspiration for Creag Na Dun in the Outlander series and the Cleft Stone can be found here.

50 minutes

Culloden Battlefield

Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre, Culloden Moor, IV2 5EU

Less than a mile from Clava Cairns is Culloden Battlefield where on the 16th April 1746 the last battle on British soil was fought and the final Jacobite Rising came to a brutal end. In less than one hour, 1600 men were slain, 1500 of them Jacobites. This was to change the way of life in the Highlands forever.
Walk round the battlefield and see the memorial cairn and the clan burial stones, and visit the visitor centre.

1 hour, 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Inverness Castle

Castle Street, Inverness, IV2 3EG

We pass by Inverness Castle where you will see in the grounds of the castle a statue of Flora Macdonald who was famous for helping Bonnie Prince Charlie escape after the Battle of Culloden.

Inverness Cathedral

Ardross Street, , Inverness, IV3 5EE

Inverness Cathedral is the most northerly Anglican Cathedral in the UK. The Cathedral was commissioned by Bishop Eden and was completed in 1866.

30 minutes