Loch Ness, Inverness & the Highlands 2 Day Tour from Edinburgh

Leaving Edinburgh on our tour of Loch Ness, Inverness & the Highlands we’ll travel across the Forth Road Bridge. Here, you’ll be able to see one of Scotland’s most iconic landmarks, the Forth Bridge. Built in 1890, this impressive bridge is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is still one of the world’s longest cantilever bridges.

Our first stop of the day is in the historic town of Dunkeld, it’s history dating from around 730AD. We can enjoy a leisurely walk through the beautiful Hermitage forest which is suitable for all fitness levels. Tall Douglas firs fill the forest, along with the roaring waterfall known as the Black Linn.

Continuing north our next stop is at the Highland Folk Museum. Step back in time and discover how people lived and worked in the Scottish highlands from the 1700’s up until the 1950’s. The folk museum also appeared in the ‘Rent’ episode in the Outlander tv series.

* The highland folk museum is open Apr-Oct only. Out with these months we’ll visit Ruthven Barracks instead.

The Cairngorms National Park is the UK’s largest National Park and is home to many rare and endangered species of wildlife. The beauty of this wilderness with its magnificent forests, rivers and wild mountains is where we’ll have lunch.

Weather permitting, we can have a picnic on the sandy beach of Loch Morlich. You will also have the opportunity to meet some of the park’s Reindeer herd, brought to Scotland in the 1960s.

A few miles south of Inverness lie the 4000 year old Prehistoric Burial Cairns of Clava. These beautifully preserved burial cairns reportedly inspired Diana Gabaldon’s Craigh Na Dun from Outlander. We arrive early evening at Inverness where you have free time to enjoy the capital of the Highlands.

Heading south we’ll travel the length of the Caledonian Canal along the Great Glen from Inverness to Fort William. Sixty miles of outstanding beauty best describes the Caledonian Canal.

You can take a cruise on the Caledonian Canal to Loch Ness followed by a visit to the ruins of Urquhart Castle. This castle stands on the edge of the deepest part of Loch Ness and is where most sightings of the Loch Ness monster have taken place.

We’ll stop for lunch in the picturesque village of Banavie. Here you can take an easy walk along the banks of the Caledonian Canal. Enjoy the stunning views of the Nevis mountain range, and where you’ll also find the famous Neptune’s staircase. This impressive flight of locks raises the canal by 19m (62ft) over a quarter of a mile.

Next it’s spectacular Glencoe, scene of one of the most shameful episodes in Scottish history – the Glencoe Massacre. Movies such as James Bond’s Skyfall, Rob Roy, and the first episode of Outlander have featured Glencoe. Filming for the third Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, took place here in May and June 2003.

We’ll have the opportunity to stop here, stretch your legs and take in the breath-taking majesty of the Glen.

Our journey continues over the wild and desolate wilderness of Rannoch Moor to Callander. We’ll take a short break in this pretty little Highland town before returning to Edinburgh.