You might have heard of Inverness because of the show Outlander, which is primarily set there. You also might know about it from the Battle of Culloden, where the Jacobite Rebellion fell to the British Government. This battle is also one of the central events of Outlander.
You also might know the town because of the world-famous lake monster that lurks nearby.
For me, it was a little bit of both. I’ve seen a bit of Outlander, but the Loch Ness monster, like many cryptids, had a major role in my life growing up. I spent years obsessed with creatures like Mothman, Bigfoot, Nessie, and so many more.
After visiting Stirling Castle in Stirling, Scotland, we arrived in Inverness and settled into our hotel. Inverness Castle towered over us from the other side of the river. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to visit, and it was closed for repairs.
We only got one full day in Inverness, but we made the most of our time. Here’s how we started our journey the following day!
Inverness’s (In)famous Loch Ness
No journey to Inverness would be complete without visiting the local loch of legend! There’s always a chance you might catch a glimpse of Nessie!
When we tried to reach the Loch Ness visitor’s center, we made a bit of a wrong turn. This sent us along the wrong side of the loch and forced us to turn around. But, I don’t see it as an issue at all. We got some beautiful scenic views of the loch and the lush surroundings!
If you’re looking for something easy during your time in Inverness, you could always take a drive around the Loch!
The Loch Ness Visitor’s Center (Near Inverness)
Outside the visitor’s center stands the first submersible ever used to investigate Nessie. Built to hold only one person (and probably not very comfortably), the Viperfish took its creator Dan Taylor deep into the Loch. But he did not come back empty-handed. On one of his expeditions, he experienced a sudden, unexpected turn and saw a cloud of dust rising from the bottom of the loch. Unfortunately, the submarine wasn’t fast enough to catch up with whatever caused the disturbance.
The visitor’s center provides quite the experience, with a lot of cinematography and special effects as you work your way through and learn the history of Nessie and the lake. It’s definitely intended for kids/ families, but I still had fun with it!
It was pretty empty on the day and time I went there, but with the budget the place seems to have, I’m not sure that’s extremely common.
The visitor’s center is accompanied by several shops where you can buy gifts and merchandise!
The Loch Itself
Loch Ness, beyond the tales of the monster in its depths, is a beautiful, scenic lake. (And very long, too! I didn’t realize that it’s about 23 miles long, and only a couple miles wide.) It was carved out by ancient glaciers, leading to its very rectangular shape.
Along the lake, between Inverness and the visitor’s center, you’ll probably pass by Drumnadrochit Castle. It’s placed in a very scenic spot that overlooks the entire Loch, but is sadly in ruins. Still, you can tour the grounds and learn its history. The price was a little bit steep for us, and it didn’t seem all that impressive after our tour of Stirling Castle the day before.
But castles are castles! Don’t let our experience stop you from exploring as many of them as you want! If I ever come back, I’ll probably end up touring it, too!
Culloden Battlefield, Inverness
From Loch Ness, we headed back into (and through) Inverness with the goal of reaching Culloden Battlefield. That’s where, as I mentioned above, the British Government brought an end to the Jacobite Rebellion.
There is a visitor’s center located just outside of the battlefield where you can take a break from the weather, get some food, or buy merchandise. There’s also some exhibits that talk about the history of the battle (and even more information in the battlefield itself). The visitor’s center was especially welcome because we were there on a particularly cold, blustery day. (But that might be the norm when you get that far north in Scotland, especially in October!)
They do provide guided tours of the battlefield, but we decided to go it alone.
Each side of the battlefield has a row of large flags indicating the starting lines of each army. One line is blue, the other red. So while you’re walking, you can see how much ground they crossed to meet, and imagine being on those lines yourself.
You’ll also notice the terrain difference between the two sides, where the British had more steady, stable ground and the Jacobites started in bogs and marshy terrain.
Several graves and memorials for the clans involved in the Jacobite Rebellion lie alongside the battlefield. I can tell that a lot of Outlander fans come here because there was tape around the ‘Clan Fraser’ grave to keep people off of it and flowers tossed in front of it.
There’s also a reconstruction of what a typical house would’ve looked like at the time, built along the path as you travel around the battlefield.
From the Jacobite side of the field, you can see how marshy and boggy the terrain is, which significantly slowed their advance and hindered their effectiveness in battle.
From here, we decided to tour the nearby Clava Cairns. I love seeing archaeology and ancient sites, so this was absolutely up my alley!
Clava Cairns: One of Inverness’s Many Ancient Burials
There are cairns (i.e. burial mounds made from piling rocks) all around Inverness, but at the Clava Cairns site you get to see some very clearly.
Several large, circular burial mounds with a hollow center dot the area, each mound encircled by standing stones of varying heights.
Since the bodies no longer remain inside the mounds, you get to walk inside and check them out. Most of them are about as tall as me!
These cairns likely date back to the Bronze Age, so it gives us a glimpse into how people lived thousands of years ago!
After spending a bit of time here, we decided to head back to our hotel and find some dinner, where we ended up at Shapla Indian Restaurant, across the River Ness from our hotel. The host was very fun and made the whole dinner more entertaining! Every time one of us made an order, he recommended something else we should get instead that was better, more worth the money, or both. I had a great time there! I’d definitely recommend it. It’s the first time I tried lamb, too!
Conclusion
I guess I’ll end this by describing the last thing we did before we left for Edinburgh the following day. We made a quick visit to the Inverness Cathedral just down the street from our hotel. It was Sunday, so we heard the clanging of church bells the whole way there and back.
Inverness is one among many places I would have liked to spend more time in. There’s a lot I missed out on, and a lot I probably don’t even realize I missed.
But I definitely want to return for Inverness Castle, at the very least.
And I’d love to visit Skara Brae someday, too, but that’s way further to the north (it’s a neolithic settlement!).
Have you been to Inverness? What was your experience like? Let me know below, I’d love to hear it!
Any other questions, comments, or concerns? Comment below or contact me directly!
As always, thanks for reading!
