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Home » Travel » Scotland – Inverness

Scotland – Inverness

By: Rebecca  |  Published: May 25, 2015  |  Updated: January 30, 2020  |   View Our Affiliate Disclosure Policy

 

When I started this blog two and a half years ago, my intentions were that a large section of it would be dedicated to travel. It’s been a long time coming, but I’m happy to say that I’m finally checking destinations off and beginning to fill that Travel page up! And to me, nothing seems more fitting than starting things off with Scotland.

Planning a trip to Scotland? Check out some of the great things to do in the Inverness area and where to stay!

We were in Scotland May 7th – 14th, and pretty much bounced around the entire country taking in the sites. I can’t believe we’ve already been home for a week. I’m definitely having post-vacation depression, good thing I’m jetting off somewhere new on Thursday! There were definitely places we missed, but I’ll be making the trip back to see some of the Outer Hebrides and Orkney someday. But this trip began in Inverness after a flight from Boston to Dublin and a small connection to Scotland.

Planning a trip to Scotland? Check out some of the great things to do in the Inverness area and where to stay!

Flying over Scotland’s northern terrain was incredible, unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Barren and bold. Matt asked me “What is that”? My response, “Beautiful”. I was instantly captivated by this amazing place. My hope is that this series of travel posts will inspire you to plan your own trip to this gorgeous country.

Planning a trip to Scotland? Check out some of the great things to do in the Inverness area and where to stay!

Let’s get the worst part over with, though, shall we? We rented our car from EuropCar; the rates were pretty reasonable. Unfortunately, it didn’t come with an instant download for feeling comfortable driving on the other side of the road and the other side of the car. Let’s just say that it wasn’t a fun experience; I was pretty sure we were going to die.

Scotland’s roads are narrow, and they drive pretty fast on them too. So don’t get too distracted while taking in the beauty of Loch Ness or you might end up in it. Lots of s-turns, hills, ledges, and backpackers… it’s a good time.

While driving is scary at first, you will adjust. We joke about what it’s like to drive on the other side of the road a lot:

Day 1: We’re going to Die

Day 2: I can do this

Day 3: This isn’t so bad

Day 4: Vroom vroom!

But in all seriousness, just be alert and cautious and you’ll be okay. Pull over in the photo stops to let traffic by so you don’t hold others up. After a few days behind the wheel, you’ll be ready to take on this Ultimate UK Road Trip!

After a rough experience in Inverness Centre’s rush hour traffic, we decided not to go back into the city. There are places I would like to have gone, but at the time, it wasn’t worth the stress. We have a tendency to fight when we travel; The Amazing Race would love us. But I’ve learned to pick my battles, and a trip to Leaky’s Bookshop & Cafe was one I decided not to wage. Even though we didn’t spend much time in the actual city, everything in this post is considered the Inverness area. We were in Inverness the evening of the 7th and all of the 8th, leaving the area on the morning of the 9th.

Planning a trip to Scotland? Check out some of the great things to do in the Inverness area and where to stay!

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visit-scotland (62 of 91)

visit-scotland (63 of 91)

Okay, now on to the fun stuff! We stayed at Loch Ness Glamping/Great Glen B & B in these ADORABLE Armadilla huts. This was our favorite place that we stayed; it was like being on The Shire in a Tolkien book. Sonia and Graham were lovely hosts and made us feel right at home on their little farm about a 20-minute drive outside Inverness. These little huts were pretty impressive; they have radiant floor heating, full bed, shower, bathroom, fridge, closet. Plus, there’s no need to set an alarm, the sheep got you covered. The cost: £58.00

Planning a trip to Scotland? Check out some of the great things to do in the Inverness area and where to stay!

On our first full day in Scotland, we made Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness our first stop. We had driven by the day before (while lost), and it was a crazy town, so we decided to hit it up nice and early. We got there just as it opened and pretty much had the place to ourselves, by the time we left, though, it was starting to fill up. I highly recommend catching the video in the visitors center before venturing out into the ruins.

Planning a trip to Scotland? Check out some of the great things to do in the Inverness area and where to stay!

Since we had a few castles on the list, we ended up purchasing Scotland Explorer Passes which were £30.00 per person and gave us access to tons of historical sites, including the ones already on our list. We saved about £30.00 with the pass, so I highly recommend it, just make sure your itinerary lines up with your given days (5 or 14-day passes are available).

Planning a trip to Scotland? Check out some of the great things to do in the Inverness area and where to stay!

We didn’t see Nessie, but her home sure is a beaut!

Planning a trip to Scotland? Check out some of the great things to do in the Inverness area and where to stay!

Next, we were off to Culloden Battlefield, also our first Outlander stop (you know I couldn’t resist a few, right). Though the books may be fiction, the Battle of Culloden was a very real and significant one. It was the last battle fought on UK soil, and the Jacobite’s last stand in their rising for independence from Great Britain. It was a short and bloody battle, and one that has fascinated me since I first read about it. To imagine how different Scotland, England, and even America would be had the Jacobites been successful on Culloden Moor.

Planning a trip to Scotland? Check out some of the great things to do in the Inverness area and where to stay!

Culloden was such a solemn, yet a beautiful place. And while the loss of any life is tragic, and there were many lost that day, I think all of us would be okay if our final resting place had a view like this.

Planning a trip to Scotland? Check out some of the great things to do in the Inverness area and where to stay!

Very few names of those who died at Culloden made it on record. Because of that, the British buried the dead in mass graves by clan. Years later, these stone markers were placed on the graves. There is also a mixed clan grave stone and a stone for the British.

Planning a trip to Scotland? Check out some of the great things to do in the Inverness area and where to stay!

Outlander Spoiler: In the Outlander series, after the battle, many injured Jacobites sought refuge in a farmhouse on the edge of the moor. Jamie Fraser was one of these men, both in the books and in real life. That’s actually where Diana Gabaldon got James Fraser from. He was the only man out of the 60+ in the farmhouse which the British allowed to walk away with his life. This house was believed to have been used as an infirmary for the British, the farmhouse in the books is no longer standing.

Planning a trip to Scotland? Check out some of the great things to do in the Inverness area and where to stay!

When we were visiting Urquhart in the morning and getting our Explorer passes, the woman recommended Fort George. She said it was beautiful and worth the trip out, especially since it was included in our passes. In all honestly, we felt a bit like intruders. It’s still an active military base, yet tourists are allowed in.

The fort itself is pretty impressive, and I loved imagining what it would have been like during WWII. The fort sits on the shores of the Moray Firth, known for its 130 dolphins that live there. You see the dip in the mountains? That’s where Inverness is, and the Moray Firth flows into the Beauly Firth and River Ness. Plus, the skies that day… GORGEOUS!

Planning a trip to Scotland? Check out some of the great things to do in the Inverness area and where to stay!

The route to Fort George was where we discovered one lane roads. Not one way, nope, both ways, just one lane. With passing zones every couple hundred yards. Matt was thrilled (enter sarcasm). Unfortunately, that wasn’t the worst of it, but that’s for the next post when we get to Skye!

Planning a trip to Scotland? Check out some of the great things to do in the Inverness area and where to stay!

Anyways, our last stop of the day was the Clava Cairns. It’s only a couple minutes away from Culloden, but we drove by it initially and asking Matt to do anything extra in the car was not in my best interest (seriously, driving was intense). So we hit it up on the way back from Fort George.

Planning a trip to Scotland? Check out some of the great things to do in the Inverness area and where to stay!

These burial cairns are around 4,000 years old, a cemetery of The Bronze Age, which includes passage graves, ring cairns, kerb cairn, standing stones in a beautiful setting and the remains of a chapel of unknown date. The Clava Cairns, though not a direct inspiration for Craigh na Dun in the Outlander series, does have the right geographical location in comparison to Culloden. Craigh na Dun is the hill of standing stones in which Claire passes through into the 18th century.

The 18th century didn’t want me; I guess that means another week of scary car rides 😉

Planning a trip to Scotland? Check out some of the great things to do in the Inverness area and where to stay!

Can we talk about stone walls for a second, please? They’re everywhere in Scotland, and they’re beautiful, and I want them all! Okay, okay, they’re not like a plate of cookies, I get it, but still. LOVE THEM! I’m so glad I could capture this one and share it with you; it was one of my favorites.

Planning a trip to Scotland? Check out some of the great things to do in the Inverness area and where to stay!

So we pretty much bought our groceries for the first couple of days but did eat out at the Loch Ness Brewery in the Benleva Hotel, about a 5-minute drive from where we were staying in Drumnadrochit. I got the Steak and Ale Pie, and Matt got the Fish and Chips, both were good and just the kind of cozy food we needed after a long couple of days. I didn’t take any photos of the food that night, but there will be lots of food photos coming in future posts. See you next week with all the details on our time in the Isle of Skye.

Read more about our trip to Scotland:

visit-edinburgh-scotland (1 of 14)

Edinburgh

oban-harbor-scotland (1 of 1)

Oban, Stirling & Glasgow

point-sleat-isle-skye-may-scotland (5 of 7)

The Isle of Skye

Planning a trip to Scotland? Check out some of the great things to do in the Inverness area and where to stay!
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About Rebecca Hubbell

I love sharing mouthwatering and fun recipes with all of you! My recipes are inspired by classic comfort food, the places I travel, and pop culture! I have a serious sweet tooth and love a good cocktail and pancakes and bacon are definitely my weakness! So stick around a discover something delicious!

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Comments

  1. Christina says

    November 2, 2016 at 5:17 pm

    My boyfriend and I are planning our trip in June. We found really great round trip flights to and from Glasgow. Your itinerary is similar to the things we would like to do. We will have 6 full days, so we will need to cut some things out. Do you feel like you spent most of your time driving? Ive posted o. A couple of forums and have been told it’s too much in the time we have. Did you travel the day you arrived? We will only have a 4 hour differnece from here and I don’t know how much the flight will tire us. It is an over night flight. The good news is that we have plenty of time to plan. We have our flights and that is all so far.

    Anyway, I loved reading about your trip and really want to stay in the Loch Ness glamping site.

    Reply
    • Rebecca says

      November 7, 2016 at 1:33 pm

      Hi Christina,

      We did a fair amount of driving, but we had a lot of stops along the way so it didn’t seem so bad. Glasgow is a great little city, but you can’t go to Scotland without exploring Edinburgh too. Personally, the Isle of Skye is my favorite place in the world, but it’s a 6 hours drive from Glasgow, we broke our drive up with a stay in Oban. 6 days isn’t enough to see all of Scotland, I don’t think 6 weeks would be enough either, so you’ll just have to decide what your priorities are. I’m not sure what kind of travelers you are, I’m for sure a go-go-go person. If I only had 6 full days (I’m assuming 7 nights?) and was flying into Glasgow, I would drive to Edinburgh (about 1 hour) and stay the first and second night there, then drive to Inverness (3 hour drive) and stay there the 3rd and 4th night, then drive to the Isle of Skye (3 hour drive) early and stay the 5th and 6th night, then head south towards Glasgow early giving you time to make some stops to break up the long drive along the way. Spend your last night in Glasgow.

      Reply
  2. Michelle says

    April 30, 2016 at 7:36 pm

    You are adorable! Just found your blog and love your travel posts–this one actually taught me something about Jamie Fraser too! Keep up your great content, kisses and hugs!

    Reply
    • Rebecca says

      May 1, 2016 at 10:05 am

      Oh, thank you, Michelle, you are too sweet! I’m so glad I could teach you something, that’s what I aim to do with each post!

      Reply
  3. Autumn Bledsoe says

    March 29, 2016 at 10:25 am

    Hi! A friend and I came across your blog and instantly loved your Scotland trip so we are basically recreating it for ourselves next month! We are planning on renting from Europcar but I was curious to see if you purchased any type of insurance for it. Europcar apparently doesn’t have any accident coverage and with the inexperience we have with driving in another country we weren’t sure if it would be worth buying. Any tips you have would be helpful! Thanks so much 🙂

    Reply
    • Rebecca says

      March 29, 2016 at 10:34 am

      Hey Autumn, I’m so jealous, I LOVE Scotland and you’re going to have an AMAZING time! You definitely want insurance, especially when driving on the other side of the road and in very narrow streets. Our rental car was the only thing we used a travel agent for and we ended up getting a better deal than what they were offering online at the time. I think it was around $230 for 7 days and the car we got had a GPS right in it which was a lifesaver. Our agent told us to call our credit card company about insurance. My husband has a Bank of America credit card and we had full coverage insurance in Scotland (but not in Ireland). So we used that card to book the car and had insurance that way. You can also call your current insurance provider to see if you’re covered by them in other countries. If not, then you’ll definitely want to get it through the company, though I’m sure it’s expensive. When I was in Puerto Rico last month I forgot to check with my credit card company if I was covered or not and ended up buying the extra insurance which was a little hard to swallow, but it made our group feel a little more at ease. I hope you have an amazing time and don’t hesitate to ask any other questions. You can always email me too at fickrj5@gmail.com!

      Reply
  4. Hannah says

    January 17, 2016 at 3:59 pm

    Do you mind me asking whether you went for the armadilla or the max and what the toilet facilities are like?

    Reply
    • Rebecca says

      January 17, 2016 at 4:37 pm

      Hi Hannah,

      Honestly, I’m not sure or, at least, can’t remember which one we were in and it’s possible they have since expanded. We were in an Armadilla that folded out into a full sized bed, had a small kitchen space with a closet and a bathroom. I trying to remember and I think we were in Armadilla 4, which would be the basic. The bathroom is set up so the toilet and sink and shower are all in the same little stall. I know that sounds weird, but it works. We really loved our stay there, the hospitality was great and the area is beautiful!

      Reply
  5. justine says

    August 20, 2015 at 2:31 pm

    I’m so happy I read this! I’m going to Inverness in May next year from May 6-17th. Thank you for sharing your experiences! I’m going to look in to the passes. 🙂

    Cheers!

    Reply
    • Rebecca says

      August 21, 2015 at 1:04 pm

      So jealous! I can’t wait to go back and those are the same dates we were there this year! I hope you have a wonderful trip!

      Reply
  6. Nathalie says

    August 9, 2015 at 10:39 am

    Thank you very much for making this mini reportage from your journey! I’m planing to visit Scotland and it is realy very helpful. Also I would like to ask if in
    Loch Ness Glamping you had to bring your own sleepinbags as on a camping or it is rather like small B&B? I can’t find any information on their website so mayby you could help me. BTW Beautifull pictures!!

    Reply
    • Rebecca says

      August 9, 2015 at 1:38 pm

      Hi Nathalie,

      If you stay at Loch Ness Glamping, you’re going to love it! It was my favorite stay on our trip. The rooms are fully equiped with bedding, fridge, coffee maker, tv, etc. You’ll need to bring your own food and toiletries.

      Reply
  7. Design Chic says

    May 27, 2015 at 9:34 pm

    What beautiful images – Scotland is definitely on my bucketlist. So much charm, character and history. Thanks for the tour! Thrilled to find and follow your blog!

    Reply

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