Castles · Tour

Loch Ness, Glen Ord and the Dolphins at Chanonry Point

The stop that separates this from every other Loch Ness day is Chanonry Point, on the Black Isle, where the group goes looking for dolphins. Fortrose Cathedral is on the same detour, and neither appears on the standard itinerary. The route runs along the banks of Loch Ness through the Great Glen to Urquhart Castle and its turbulent history, then to Beauly, a village built around a Valliscaulian priory founded by French monks in 1230. Glen Ord Distillery follows, with the option of tasting three single malts. Lunch is at a local restaurant with a choice of dishes, and the guide has opinions about which ones. Culloden Battlefield and Clava Cairns close the day. Culloden is a difficult place to stand in, which is rather the point of going, and the cairns are 4,000 years old.