Discover Our History
Discover 1000 years of history when visiting Inverness and Loch Ness.
You could spend a lifetime discovering the history of Inverness and Loch Ness but we know that you won't have that long to spare! We have put as many of the historic attractions and locations you can visit in the area in one place so you can make an itinerary full to the brim of exciting historical adventures.
Castles and Ruins
Urquhart Castle's ruins, one of the largest in Scotland, sits nestled on a headland with panoramic views overlooking Loch Ness - it's iconic and there is simply nothing quite like it. It is one of the most well known and visited attractions in the UK. The castle is located close to the village of Drumnadrochit where you can visit the Loch Ness Centre, renovated in 2023 this is a fabulous immersive journey through the history of Loch Ness.
Cawdor Castle is a place where you can slip right into Scottish History. As well the castle tour you can explore the 3 outstanding gardens and maze, have some lunch in the Courtyard cafe, shop for souvenirs and even have a round of golf! During the summer they have some wonderful outdoor theatre productions.
Dunrobin castle is one of Britain's oldest continuously inhabited houses dating back to the early 1300s. Make sure to leave plenty of time for your visit as there is so much to take in, the castle tour, the stunning mature and blooming gardens, the fabulous falconry displays and museum.
Inverness Castle is currently undergoing a multi-million pound project to turn it into an incredible visitor centre that will be open in 2025. We cannot wait to be able to tell and show you more about this closer to the time.
Beauly Priory - Take yourself back in time exploring this incredibly interesting historic ruin that is set alongside the River Beauly in a pretty woodland setting surrounded by burial stones and tombs of the townspeople, some of them reaching over 200 years old.
Culloden Battlefield
In 1746 Bonnie Prince Charlie's Jacobite army stood at Culloden Battlefield in what would be their final attempt to restore his family to the British throne.
Walk in his footsteps and learn their story in an immersive theatre at the site of the last pitched battle on British soil.
The Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre, which stands beside the battlefield, is an emotive visit and features artefacts from both sides of the battle. The interactive displays reveal the background to the conflict.
Fort George and The Highlander's Museum
After the battle of Culloden, King George built the biggest artillery fortification in Britain, if not Europe, Fort George - to protect against further unrest. See the mighty cannons and explore the garrison buildings. Enjoy views over the Fort's ramparts scouring the Moray Firth for its resident population of bottlenose dolphins.
And whilst you are there you must visit the five star Highlanders Museum with over 50,000 artefacts - the largest military collection in Scotland outside of Edinburgh. You will take a journey following in the footsteps of the Highland soldier from just after the Battle of Culloden until the present day.
Ancient Burial Cairns
Clava Cairns are three incredibly well preserved prehistoric cairns that were built to house the dead and are said to give many clues to the beliefs of Bronze age society. The remains of an ancient cemetery where you can explore passage graves; ring cairns, kerb cairns, standing stones and burial monuments.
Clava cairns has experienced the “Outlander effect”, since the launch of the series, thousands of visitors have travelled from all over the world to have their photo taken by the stones where the character Claire Randall is transported back in time where she falls in love with Jamie Fraser.
The cairns are free to visit and open all year round.
Corrimony Chambered Cairn - Walk amongst a circle of standing stones and discover this ancient passage grave, dating back 4,000 years.
Situated in Glen Urquhart just past Drumnadrochit, the chambered cairn is in a remarkable state of preservation. It demonstrates the skill and planning of its builders: considerable resources went into the construction of its grave, and unlike at Clava, much of the passage’s roof survives.
