Loch Ness and Inverness

Inverness is the main town of the Highlands and the natural hub for the north. Loch Ness runs south-west from it along the Great Glen, a geological fault that cuts Scotland in two.

Last checked 11 November 2026. Timetables, prices and opening dates change: check the operator before you travel.

Inverness

Inverness is a small city on the River Ness, about 3 hours 15 minutes to 3 hours 30 minutes from Edinburgh by car and a similar time by train. It has an airport with flights to London and other UK and European cities. The centre is pleasant rather than spectacular: walk the riverside to the Ness Islands, browse the Victorian Market and use it as a base.

Inverness Castle, a 19th-century building on the hill above the river, has been under redevelopment as a visitor attraction. Check its current status before planning around it.

Around Inverness

• Culloden Battlefield (NTS). Site of the 1746 battle that ended the Jacobite rising. The visitor centre explains both sides, and the moor itself is marked with flags. Allow two hours. About 15 minutes from the city.
• Clava Cairns. Bronze Age burial cairns and standing stones in a quiet wood, free and a few minutes from Culloden.
• Cawdor Castle. A private castle with fine gardens, open in the main season only.
• Fort George. A huge 18th-century artillery fort, still partly used by the army, on the Moray Firth (HES).
• Chanonry Point on the Black Isle. One of the best places in Britain to see bottlenose dolphins from the shore. They are most often seen on a rising tide, roughly an hour or two after low water. Parking is very limited in summer.

Loch Ness

Loch Ness is about 23 miles long and over 200 metres deep, and holds more fresh water than all the lakes of England and Wales combined. The A82 runs along the north-west shore between Inverness and Fort Augustus; the quieter B852 and B862 follow the south-east side.

• Urquhart Castle (HES). A ruined castle on a headland near Drumnadrochit, and the most visited spot on the loch. In summer, tickets for timed entry sell out; book online. Allow 1 hour 30 minutes.
• Loch Ness cruises run from Dochgarroch near Inverness, from the Clansman Harbour and from Fort Augustus, some stopping at Urquhart Castle.
• Fort Augustus at the south end, where a flight of five locks lifts the Caledonian Canal out of the loch. Watching boats go through is a good way to spend half an hour.
• The south side: Dores beach, the Falls of Foyers and the high moorland road towards Fort Augustus are quieter than the A82.

As for the monster: there has never been reliable evidence. The exhibitions at Drumnadrochit are an honest, entertaining look at why people keep looking.

The Great Glen

The A82 continues from Fort Augustus past Loch Oich and Loch Lochy to Fort William. The Commando Memorial at Spean Bridge has a wide view of Ben Nevis on a clear day. The Great Glen Way, a 79-mile walking route, and the Caledonian Canal towpath follow the same line.

Drive times

How long to allow

Two nights in Inverness gives one day for Culloden, Clava and the Black Isle and another for Loch Ness. It also makes a good stop between Skye and the Cairngorms, or before the North Coast 500.