Legendary Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle Tour
Description
What a lovely way to see the Scottish Countryside as you meander through beautiful Highland villages and take in the amazing scenery en-route to your stops in Inverness, Dochgarroch, Urquhart Castle, Drumnadrochit and Beauly before returning to your starting point.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Here you will seee the final set of Boat Locks as you enter Loch ness via the Caledonian Canal. There is also a good chance you will get to feed some carrots to the friendly highland Cows in the adjoining field.
This is a 5 star visitor attraction and retail complex. Loch Ness is already the most famous lake in the world but our aim is to make it better understood. This is achieved through a fully audio visually guided 35 minute tour. The presentation is theatrical in style and integrates the real tools and archive footage from four decades of research. The facts are objectively explained and whilst keeping the mystery centre stage, we place it in the context of the loch's very unusual properties. Thus we are endorsed by Scottish Natural Heritage as "A portal to the unique natural phenomenon that is Loch Ness". We offer a huge range of retail onsite and boat cruises on Loch Ness in the summer months. There is also a large cafe and restaurant attached to the site.
Discover 1,000 years of drama, experience a glimpse of medieval life and enjoy stunning views over Loch Ness from the ruins of the greatest castle in the Highlands. Climb the Grant Tower that watches over the iconic loch, peer into a miserable prison cell, said to have held the legendary Gaelic bard Domhnall Donn, and imagine the splendid banquets staged in the great hall. A more comfortable view of the iconic ruins, against a backdrop of Loch Ness and the hills of the Great Glen, can be enjoyed from the café. Urquhart’s stories are also told through a remarkable collection of artefacts left by its residents, historic replicas, including a full-sized, working trebuchet siege engine, and a short film. The castle has a distinctly Highland heritage and the site has witnessed some of the most dramatic chapters in our nation’s history. This is where St Columba is said to have worked miracles in the 6th century, where acts of chivalry and defiance provided inspiration during the Wars of Independence and where the MacDonald Lords of the Isles struggled with the Crown for power.
Beauly Priory was a Valliscaulian monastic community located at "Insula de Achenbady", now Beauly, Inverness-shire. It was probably founded in 1230. It is not known for certain who the founder was, different sources giving Alexander II of Scotland, John Byset, and both. The French monks, along with Bisset (a nearby, recently settled landowner), had a strong enough French-speaking presence to give the location and the river the name "beau lieu" ("beautiful place") and have it pass into English. An alternative story about the naming of Beauly village told by locals is that 'Mary, Queen of Scots' was said to have been travelling through the area, probably on her way to Dingwall in her late teens and popped her head out of the Carriage window and uttered the words 'Beau Lieu' (Beautiful place).
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(13)
Great experience and awesome, and knowledgeable guide. Alistair was great and had such a wealth of experience that he enthousiastically shared. It was a memorable day.
A great day out. Our guide and driver Roger was very knowledgeable. He even changed the itinerary slightly to avoid the crowds and we saw Cawdor Castle which was fascinating
We had a fantastic time touring with Johnny! He was not only an excellent and accommodating guide but also incredibly thoughtful — he even offered to take us to places that weren’t originally part of the tour, just to make our experience more special. To our surprise, Johnny is also a Scottish country singer! So if you enjoy a bit of country music while exploring, he’s your guy. The tour felt relaxed, fun, and personal from start to finish. Highly recommended!
Johnny was such a kind and helpful guide. He advised us on about how much time we would need at each attraction, and what to pay attention to at each location. He was very patient with my crazy family and made our day so fun and carefree.
It was a great trip and Mr. Johnny was so friendly and kind to our group. We only had very limited time due to travelling with a cruise ship and only being in port a few hours but Mr. Johnny was very accommodating to our itinerary. Very comfortable, safe and clean minibus that seated eight people. Thank you very much for a beautiful trip to Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle and the Distillery. We really and truly enjoyed it!
We visited the Lochness exhibition on Monday 12th June2023. At the second room of the experience there was a power cut and all visitors were asked to return to the reception. We were informed that we receive a full refund. The payment of £31.90. this has not been refunded despite a message left on 5 August
Hi, Yes I remember that day as we had great time and I'm so sorry that the Loch Ness Exhibition Centre let you down and have not refunded you. I will chase them on this for you. However, I do think it is unfair of you to give me 1 Star for something I have zero control over. Hopefully the Loch Ness Exhibition will keep their word and follow through with your refund. Wishing you all the best and kindest regards Johnny
Emil was a delightful driver - safe, friendly, and knowledgable. He was flexible with our itinerary and accommodating of an early departure. Would book again!
Tour guide was very accommodating and kind. VW bus for transportation which was clean and comfortable. Great way to see the sites. If you are a history buff and wanting the history of the area, this is not for you. Basic transportation with nice conversation.
Our tour guide Johnny was so nice and shared his vast knowledge of the Highland area and history. He was flexible with us to spend more time in some places and skip over others we weren't as interested in. We were even able to get some local ice cream after visiting Beauly Priory.
Johnny was the utmost congenial person my wife and I have met in a long time. He is an asset to your team and he was fun doing this tour with us. He even told me a shop to get a Kilt from.
