Inverness: 3 days in the Scottish Highlands

Most people think of Scotland and immediately Edinburgh comes to mind. While Edinburgh is an amazingly beautiful city, Inverness, the capital of the Scottish Highlands, is a Scottish jewel that you wouldn’t want to miss visiting! Don’t just come here to spot Nessie the Loch Ness Monster, but come here to loose yourself in the untouched beauty of the Scottish Highlands that will capture all your senses! With so many things to do in Inverness, you could easily spend 3 days in Inverness and still be left wanting more.

Inverness in Scottish Gaelic literally means mouth of the River Ness. The city is situated on the north-eastern coast of Scotland where the River Ness meets the Moray Firth. Getting to Inverness is super easy as the city is well connected by air, rail and road. A rather special way to travel from London, which is what we did, is to take the Caledonian Sleeper train. Yes, a sleeper train that leaves from London at night and gets you to the magical Scottish Highlands by morning. Dinner in London and breakfast in Inverness. Or you just fly into Inverness airport. The airport is about a 20 minute drive from the city centre, again super convenient. You could also come here and then drive on the famous and rather picturesque North Coast 500 route.

We spent 3 days in Inverness and took it easy by not cramming too much. We think our guide is the perfect combination of taking in Inverness’ natural beauty combined with the many things to do in Inverness.

Day 1

Breakfast at Rendezvous Cafe

The Caledonian Sleeper train gets you to Inverness by 8:30am. This means one thing, you can get to your Full Scottish Breakfast first thing. Walking out of Inverness’ rail station, we headed straight into the city centre to Rendezvous Cafe on Church Street. This independent cafe has a fun cinema theme and is a place that is pretty historic. We enjoyed a full Scottish breakfast and some salmon & scrambled eggs. The service was fast and friendly. We sat there watching Laurel & Hardy enjoying music from yesteryear.

Ness Islands Walk & Jumpy bridges

Walk past the city centre and head towards River Ness, once you have seen the view of river with the city spread around its banks, I bet you will want to spend all your time here. Inverness Castle sits on one side of the bank on a hill with the Old High Church standing tall on the river bank. There are quite a few suspension bridges across the river.

Start your walk towards Ness Islands from just under the Inverness Castle and head along the river bank along Ladies Walk. The walk is really refreshing with the river meandering away and rolling hills with tiny houses specked all along on the bank. You will reach a wooded area with a small island – this is when you have reached Ness Islands. There are a couple of suspension bridges across the river and islands, which are rather jumpy but super fun too.

The walk lasted about 1.5 to 2 hours but we walked at snail speed and stopped so many times for pictures. My favourite part of the walk was when we were on the island and we could see the river being split. With the Ness Islands being so close to the city centre, it is the perfect start to your trip to Inverness.

Old High Church

Standing on the banks of the River Ness, the Old High Church is the oldest church in Inverness and has been around since the Celtic times. Apparently, some scenes from Outlander were filmed here.  Take a moment to visit the church that is so rich with Scottish history.

Inverness City Centre

Inverness City Centre is really pretty with its pretty old stone buildings, cobbled streets (in parts), churches with their steeples, narrow streets and its many pubs.

Victorian Market

Victorian Market is an old school arcade which is full of cafes, restaurants and shops. It is just a nice place to check out the shops and grab a coffee or a quick bite. Check out the coat of arms of the various councils that were responsible for this market in the years of its existence.

Lunch at Mustard Seed Restaurant

For lunch with a view of the River Ness, head to the Mustard See Restaurant. We enjoyed their lunch set menu. They can be very busy so making a reservation will save you the wait time. We were lucky to get a table downstairs, but the staff moved us upstairs where we could get a (partial) view of the river.

To Moray Firth and Kessock Bridge with Dolphin Spirit

Inverness is the perfect place to explore the Highland wildlife – both on land and in water. With the River Ness meeting Moray Firth, it is the place for wild Atlantic salmon to return to spawn. And where there is such rich fish, there are those who look to feed on these salmon. Moray Firth is a great place to spot bottlenose dolphins who feed on salmon. The best way to see this is either by hopping onto one of the dolphin-spotting cruises, such as Dolphin Spirit, or you could go to Chanonry Point or Fort George from where you might get lucky and spot the dolphins flipping very close to the sea shore in search of salmon.

Dolphin Spirit was a very comfortable way to go dolphin spotting, as they picked us up from the city centre and drove us to the Marina. From the marina, we boarded the cruise and sailed towards Moray Firth. The on-board guide was great, he gave us a lot of insight on the breeding habits of some of the resident dolphins and other wildlife that belong to the region.

To book tickets, you can call them directly or book online here.

Sunset at Inverness Castle

Inverness Castle stands tall overlooking the city beneath its watchful gaze. The castle is fairly new, having been re-built in the 1800s, after it was destroyed by the Jacobites, The castle today is the court for Inverness. But the views from here are breathtakingly beautiful.

We walked up the hill to the castle, the castle gardens offer the best views of the city. We spent about 2 hours here people watching and enjoying views of the city and Highland hills around the city. While you could go anytime, I would recommend going during sunset or the ‘Golden Hour’ especially in summer.

Dinner at Black Isle Bar

Black Isle Bar serves locally produced organic craft beer and pizzas.Beer and pizzas are definitely a marriage made in heaven, and with the social layout of tables and laid back atmosphere of the bar, fun is definitely on the cards. The pizzas were really good and the service was really friendly. The bar staff helped me choose the beer by even giving me a taster of a few different types of beer. And the cider I settled with was brilliant.

Day 2:

Caledonian Canal & Locks

After a heavy breakfast at our B&B, we continued exploring Inverness but this time we walked away from the city centre across the Graig Street bridge onto the other side of the bank. This street curves to become Fairfield Street. This part of the city has loads of really nice old-stoned building, pretty much all of them were B&B’s. We made a mental note of this area and said we would stay here the next time we are in Inverness. Continue walking onto Fairfield Street and you will reach a green area with steps to a higher level. Up these steps and we were on the locks on the Caledonian Canal. This 60-mile long canal cuts through the Great Glen from Inverness to Fort William and was built in the nineteenth century by the Scottish engineer Thomas Telford.

We stood at the locks for nearly an hour seeing the boats come up the locks and sail through. Once on the towpath along the canal, you can walk right up to Dochgarroch Lochs. The walk is very picturesque and lets you take in the all the greenery and beauty that surrounds you.

Lunch at The Castle Tavern

With views of the river and Inverness Castle, this pub makes for the perfect place to stop and have lunch after a long walk. The staff are friendly and the menu is really good. We had the fish and chips and the portion was massive with a side of salad as well. The Castle Tavern is a great place to visit for lunch or dinner and is extremely popular among the locals too.

Spotting Nessie on a Jacobite Cruise

Cruises with Loch Ness by Jacobite are a great way to take in Loch Ness and learn more about the history of the Jacobites. Maybe you might even spot Nessie the Loch Ness Monster? But even if you don’t, you will definitely feel refreshed taking in the beauty of the deep blue from the Loch Ness waters and the green Scottish scenery punctuated by the yellow Gorse, a yellow fragrant bush that smells a little like coconut.

The guide on board our cruise was fun and very informative. He recommended trying the Hot Chocolate with Whisky – it is Scotland, of course. The cruise we took lasted for 3 hours and also took us to Urquhart Castle, which is well worth a visit.

Urquhart Castle

Urquhart Castle is definitely worth visiting for its stunning location overlooking Loch Ness. We explored the many towers and ruins of what were once rooms. The visitor centre also has a really good 8 min video about the history of the castle. It is definitely worth visiting and spending some time enjoying the unspoiled natural beauty at Urquhart Castle.

Dinner by the River and the local pubs

After a quick meal at Zizzi overlooking the River Ness, we walked around the city centre again and poked our heads into Hootananny. This Scottish pub really comes alive in the evenings with live music and performances. It is definitely worth a visit, but make sure you book if you are planning to have dinner here. If you are coming for drinks, expect some waiting.

Day 3:

Culloden Battlefield

For any history buffs reading, a visit to Culloden Battlefield is a must. Getting here by the local bus is easy, hop onto Bus No 5 from Queensgate Stop A and you will reach Culloden Battlefield in about 20 mins. This battlefield saw one of the bloodiest hand-to-hand battles between the Jacobites and the government that lasted for about 90 minutes. It was here that the Jacobites lost to the government leading to the end of the Highland culture in Scotland.

Make sure you spend some time here by walking the battlefield where you can also see the clan stones that mark the place where Highland clan members were buried. The visitor centre does a great job of explaining the importance of Culloden Battlefield.

Culloden Viaduct

From Culloden Battlefield, we walked along the main road towards Culloden Moor Inn. Here the road goes downhill. Follow this road walking along the main road. Beware as there is no pavement to walk on so be careful of approaching traffic. The walk is very scenic with rolling Scottish Highland fields till the eye can see. This is a great place to get up close to the Highland cattle, horses and sheep. Walk past Leanach Farm and Clava Lodge Holiday Homes, until you spot a field where the main road and another road from the left meet – there is a big open field here, this is the perfect spot to see the magnificent Culloden Viaduct. We waited here for a bit and were lucky enough to see a couple of trains chug over the viaduct.

Clava Cairns

About a 20 mins walk from Culloden Viaduct is the must-see Clava Cairns. This Bronze Age burial site is around 4,000 years old, but is still very well preserved. For all Outlander fans, Clava Cairns should be on their list of things to do in Inverness.

From here, we walked towards Milton of Clava (see road signs at Clava Cairns) where there are traces of another cemetery. But this short walk led us to walk through a path on the fields which is really relaxing. After our visit to Clava Cairns, we walked back to Culloden Battlefield from where we boarded the bus 5 back to Inveness City Centre.

Leakeys Bookshop

For all book lovers, Leakeys Bookshop on Church Street in Inverness should be an absolute must-visit. What an amazing bookshop Leakeys is! The shop is built in a former church complete with spiral stairs and even a massive log burner. If you are looking for books on Scotland, both old and new, head to this store and you will be wowed by the sheer character of this bookshop.

With so many things to do in Inverness, you could easily spend 3 days here. Follow our guide above that will help you plan your 3 days in Inverness.