From Inverness to Loch Ness , Cawdor Castle , Culloden and more
Overview
We provide private, personalised tours. We have lived here all our lives and know the Highlands as only a local would. We have spent many years guiding visitors to the most stunning, photogenic places in the Highlands. We know and take pride in this land we call home, and we are eager to share it with you.
Inclusions
- Bottled water
- Snacks
- Private transportation
- Free pick-up & drop-off
What to expect
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Loch Ness, Scotland
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.
Duration: 40 minutes
Stop At: Urquhart Castle, A82, Drumnadrochit IV63 6XJ Scotland
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.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: Beauly Priory, Beauly IV4 7DY Beauly IV4, Beauly Scotland
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.
Duration: 40 minutes
Stop At: Cawdor Castle, Nairn IV12 5RD Scotland
Cawdor Castle re-opens on the 29th April 2023
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.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: Clava Cairns, Balnuaran of Clava, IV2 5EU Scotland
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.
Duration: 40 minutes
Stop At: Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre, Culloden Moor IV2 5EU Scotland
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.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Pass By: Inverness Castle, Castle Street, Inverness IV2 3EG Scotland
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.
Stop At: Inverness Cathedral, Ardross Street, Inverness IV3 5EE Scotland
Inverness Cathedral is the most northerly Anglican Cathedral in the UK. The Cathedral was commissioned by Bishop Eden and was completed in 1866.
Duration: 15 minutes
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Loch Ness, Scotland
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.
Duration: 40 minutes
Stop At: Urquhart Castle, A82, Drumnadrochit IV63 6XJ Scotland
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.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: Beauly Priory, Beauly IV4 7DY Beauly IV4, Beauly Scotland
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.
Duration: 40 minutes
Stop At: Cawdor Castle, Nairn IV12 5RD Scotland
Cawdor Castle re-opens on the 29th April 2023
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.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: Clava Cairns, Balnuaran of Clava, IV2 5EU Scotland
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.
Duration: 40 minutes
Stop At: Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre, Culloden Moor IV2 5EU Scotland
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.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Pass By: Inverness Castle, Castle Street, Inverness IV2 3EG Scotland
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.
Stop At: Inverness Cathedral, Ardross Street, Inverness IV3 5EE Scotland
Inverness Cathedral is the most northerly Anglican Cathedral in the UK. The Cathedral was commissioned by Bishop Eden and was completed in 1866.
Duration: 15 minutes
Additional information
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- Alcohol is not served to underaged
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Ticket delivery
You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.
Cancellation
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start time of the experience.
Kathy M
August 2023
This was one of my all time favorite tours! Lawrence spent the day catering to our tourist needs and let me tell you, he did not disappoint!!! Highly recommend!
This was one of my all time favorite tours! Lawrence spent the day catering to our tourist needs and let me tell you, he did not disappoint!!! Highly recommend!Jenna_C
May 2023
This tour was one of the best parts of our trip to Scotland! The tour operator, Lawrence, was an absolute joy to work with. He reached out immediately via Viator, to find out if we needed any dietary restrictions or special equipment. I then asked him if I could amend certain parts of the tour be...
This tour was one of the best parts of our trip to Scotland! The tour operator, Lawrence, was an absolute joy to work with. He reached out immediately via Viator, to find out if we needed any dietary restrictions or special equipment. I then asked him if I could amend certain parts of the tour because I had my young son traveling with us. He then informed me that we could customize to whatever we wanted! I let him know the major things that we wanted to see in Inverness, and he emailed me back the next day with a timed itinerary. I also decided that we would need lunch due to it being a full day tour. He was able to recommend a restaurant overlooking Loch Ness (that had a kids menu) and even made a reservation for us. We arranged for pickup from our hotel and were able to do a cruise on the Jacobite Freedom of Loch Ness. It has sonar (in case of any Nessie sightings), a snack and drink bar, an informative history of the Loch. We then toured Urquhart Castle, which was amazing! The views of the Loch were unbelievable from here. They also have a period trebuchet that you can check out! All parts of the castle have plaques which explain each part and it’s function, which is helpful. We then went for lunch at the “Clansmen Hotel” which was right next to where we got off the boat. The food was good and decently priced. Their scones were wonderful! After, we began our private tour of Inverness with our guide Ken. He was very knowledgeable and a great driver, as the roads were small, windy, and slick from rain. He was able to show us the Fraser family tomb, where most of the family is buried. We also visited Beauly Priory, which is gorgeous ruins of a church. We then got to stop at Robertson’s farm to see some adorable highland cows! After, we headed to Culloden. We made an unscheduled stop at Culloden House where Bonnie Prince Charlie was kept for two nights before the actual battle of Culloden. It was gorgeous and made a great photo op! The weather was rainy, so we did the Culloden museum exhibit first. It was done so well! The artifacts and stories behind them were amazing to see. They even had a “Battle Immersion Theater” where you step into the room and the screen is in a circle around you. They play movie footage of what the battle would have looked like if you were standing in middle of the battlefield. There are Redcoats and Jacobite’s swords clashing and cannons firing. It was an amazing thing to witness and is probably the best recreation of a battle that I’ve ever seen. My son, who is elementary school age, was mesmerized. It’s a gift to have him see, in person, the stuff he studies in school and have it be able to not just be a page in a book. It allowed him to see the stories of actual live people and how they’re way of life was basically taken from them. Very powerful and eye opening to say the least. We did a quick tour of the battlefield because it was pouring rain, but we were able to pay our respects to the people who lost their lives there and appreciate their cause. The gift shop was surprisingly filled with great things! I usually can’t stand gift shops, but here they had meaningful gifts. They had most tartan plaids, small batch craft scotch whiskey, clan pins, traditional hats, beautiful ornaments and toys, most of which seemed to be from small business around the area. I found quite a few nice gifts here. We then headed to the Clava Cairns or “Outlander” stones. It was an astonishing sight to see how these centuries old rocks and huge stones were methodically placed to create actual structures. They were used for burials and are still being excavated today. The Outlander Stone was fun to see and we have a great pic of everyone placing their hands to time travel! Our wonderful guide Ken was also a great photographer and immediately began taking pictures without us even having to ask. He was also full of fun information about the Jacobite rebellion, how the clan families still have roots in Inverness, which Outlander characters were real people in history, and how the show has helped Inverness soar in popularity. He even brought us to a local shop to pick our snacks and drinks for the tour, which was so thoughtful, because he knew we had some people with allergies in our party. Overall, this was one of the best ways to see all the sites Inverness has to offer! The fact that the itinerary can be customized to your specifications, offers hotel pick up and drop off, makes this tour worth every penny!Cruiser54588306638
August 2023
We had a wonderfull day, spent with Lawrence. Visited Inverness, Urquhart castle, Culloden Battlefield. Had a lot of knowledge about the history of Scotland, Highland and place. Perfect day!!
We had a wonderfull day, spent with Lawrence. Visited Inverness, Urquhart castle, Culloden Battlefield. Had a lot of knowledge about the history of Scotland, Highland and place. Perfect day!!Henry_S
August 2023
Lawrence, from Highlander Private Tours, is one of if not the best guides we have ever had. For Inverness tours and to learn about the Highlanders way of life he can tell you firsthand because he has lived his entire life in this area. You will learn more about the history of this section of Sc...
Lawrence, from Highlander Private Tours, is one of if not the best guides we have ever had. For Inverness tours and to learn about the Highlanders way of life he can tell you firsthand because he has lived his entire life in this area. You will learn more about the history of this section of Scotland than you could ever imagine. Among many other sites you will see the real Outlander stones and get a chance to touch them in person. Careful, not to have any gems in your pockets. He will take you to the site of the Battle of Culloden and explain the slaughter the jackovytes endured, and what happened afterwards to survivors. You will learn of the proud highlanders and the different clans thru out this part of Scotland If you book a tour with Highlander Private Tours, with either Lawrence or his brother Bill, guaranteed it will be a highlight of your trip!!856sylvial
August 2023
Lawrence treated us to a wonderful, fact-filled day accommodating our time constraints. A wonderful day visiting Beauly Priory, Urquhart Castle, Loch Ness, and Inverness. With highland cows thrown in for good measure. We can’t wait to come back and let Lawrence show us more! It was a perfect day!
Lawrence treated us to a wonderful, fact-filled day accommodating our time constraints. A wonderful day visiting Beauly Priory, Urquhart Castle, Loch Ness, and Inverness. With highland cows thrown in for good measure. We can’t wait to come back and let Lawrence show us more! It was a perfect day!Passport61598677598
September 2022
Lawrence is an excellent guide. He has great recommendations but also listened to our requests. We had the most fabulous day!!
Lawrence is an excellent guide. He has great recommendations but also listened to our requests. We had the most fabulous day!!