This Area of Loch Ness

Glen Urquhart itself stretches from the banks of Loch Ness westward towards the mountains of Glen Affric. It’s a beautiful wooded glen with loch & river.

Drumnadrochit is the nearest village with the famous Loch Ness monster exhibition. There are several bars & restaurants, shops, doctors ,church & take-a-ways.

A mile or two down the road are the ruins of Urquhart castle on the banks of Loch Ness. There are also several boat trips offering different length trips on the Loch, always a popular trip out for everyone!

Inverness itself, the capital of the Highlands is only 25 miles away with everything a modern city has to offer. The international airport is just a around an hour away & the main rail station is in Inverness town centre itself.

Further afield

There is so much to see & do in the area, I'll mention a few here, but also please take a look at the links page for further ideas & information.

I guess the first thing to mention is the stunning scenery all around, the space, the lack of traffic & the quietness you will find once you leave the towns!

The drive over to the Isle of Skye, (only just over an hour away) is stunning! The open space, the red deer, & the mountains on either side of you are just beautiful! The Isle of Skye itself can be stunning, but it's bigger than you think & needs a full day out to see it all!!

The road to Ullapool, again a lovely drive & you can sit & watch the ferry from the Isle of Lewis with some of the best fish & chips you'll ever get!! Carry on north from Ullapool for more dramatic scenery, stunning mountains & if you're into your hill walking, you're in for a treat!

Further north still are the gardens of  Inverewe, palm trees in Scotland? yes! with the warm waters of the gulf stream running close to the coast you'll be amazed what's growing!

To the north east you come to John O' Groats it's a good drive passing some stunning cliffs on the way & on a clear day you can see oil rigs far out to sea.

A little closer is Culloden battlefield, just the other side of Inverness & also Cawdor Castle. Further east perhaps a trip to Dufftown & a visit to a distillery or two, it's free & you normally get a free 'dram' at the end of the tour!

South of us to Fort August sit & watch the boats going up the locks on the Caledonian Canal, a lovely way to spend an hour or so while sitting on the banks with a glass of something from the pubs at the side of the canal!
Further south still Ben Nevis & Fort William where you can also take the steam train over to Mallaig (seasonal). This is very popular due to the Harry Potter connection & you'll probably need to book in advance.

Then there's Aviemore & the Caingorms, the beech at Nairn, the dolphins at Channory point, Fort George, more Castles........& much more!