Highlander Private Tours
LOCH NESS TOUR
from Inverness and Invergordon
Leaving at 8.30am we head west towards Loch Ness. As we head out of Inverness, we pass Tomnahurich Hill, called the Hill of the Fairies. Folklore has it that 2 fiddlers were invited into the fairy hill to play at a party. At the end of the night, they emerged to find themselves 200 years in the future. Diana Gabaldon got inspiration from this story for her Outlander series.
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.
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.
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. Until early 2023, in the grounds of the priory you could find the Beauly Elm Tree, this tree was 800 years old and the oldest elm tree in Europe.
Heading back towards Inverness, we make our way to Cawdor Castle, 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.
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.
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.
Subject to availability, and when touring from Invergordon, subject to cruise ship sailing schedule.
RATES
Loch Ness Tour (7-8 hours)
Departing Inverness or Invergordon
1-4 people : £400
5-8 people : £500