Scottish Tour Guide's Blog

River Moriston at Invermoriston, Scottish Highlands

This evening, I am focusing on Invermoriston which is located near the southern end of Loch Ness in the Highlands of Scotland. This is a small village which dates back to about 1600.

Location is key because Invermoriston is situated in the Great Glen and just at the turn off to Skye for traffic travelling down the A82  from Inverness. The village also attracts the foot traffic of hikers who travel the Great Glen Way.

The RiverMoriston and associated Falls are, perhaps, the main attraction as per images shown here. The old,’Telford Bridge’ (1813) provides a romantic setting whilst the Falls are best viewed from an old summer house just down river from the present bridge. There are good parking facilities close to which is a community centre offering food, gifts and toilet facilities.

Falls at Invermoriston, Scottish Highlands

Falls at Invermoriston, Scottish Highlands

Overall, Invermoriston provides a useful and interesting stop for the traveller passing through the Great Glen between Inverness and Fort Augustus.

Monster, Loch Ness, Scotland

This morning we departed our Inverness lodgings and drove south for about 20 mins to the ‘Clansman’ centre to connect with our Loch Ness cruise boat.

River Ness, Inverness, Scotland

Cruise Boat, Loch Ness, Scotland

The boat trip duly departed at 10.00 am for a one hour cruise  taking us south down the loch to Castle Urquhart and back to our departure point at the Clansman. Weather remained dry, albeit overcast.

Castle Urquhart, Loch Ness, Scotland

Next the group visited the Loch Ness Exhibition at Drumnadrochit after which we continued south, down the Great Glen alongside Loch Ness until we turned off right to head for Isle of Skye. This route took us through some stark and stunning Highland scenery.  We stopped for an enjoyable lunch at the remote Cluanie Inn and then on to the famous  Eilean Donan Castle, home to the Chief of Clan Macrae.

Highland Scenery, Cluanie Inn, Scotland

Cluanie Inn, Highlands, Scotland

Eilean Donan Castle, Scotland

Eilean Donan Castle, Scotland

After a tour of the castle we continued towards Isle of Skye, passing through Kyle of Lochalsh and then across the Skye Bridge to Broadford. Here we first visited some artist and craft shops and then checked into our Guest House lodgings. In the evening guests dined at Creelers fish restaurant which proved an excellent experience.

Unfortunately, the weather has closed in this evening (raining) but we are hopeful of an improvement for our tour of the island of Skye tomorrow.

This morning we departed Invernesss and then drove briefly north to view the dolphins feeding at Chanonry Point. We were lucky because the tide was coming in thus providing the dolphins with optimum feeding conditions for their diet of salmon.

Chanonry Point, Dolphin Watching, Scotland

Next to Clava Cairns, a prehistoric burial ground with stone circles dating back to around 2000BC.

Clava Cairns, Inverness, Scotland

Next to Culloden Battlefield, site of the last ever battle on British soil in April 1746 when the Jacobite forces of Bonnie Prince Charlie were finally defeated by a British army under General Cumberland. The site benefits from an excellent visitor centre with audio visual explaining the lead up to the battle and the actual battle which lasted just one hour. Favourable weather meant we could tour the battlefield.

Culloden Battlefield, Inverness, Scotland

Next to the Findhorn Foundation. This is a unique community with emphasis on personal spiritual enlightenment combined with an eco friendly life style. We were entreated to a private tour of Findhorn where we learned about the distinctive lifestyle and the impressive eco houses on the site.

Findhorn Tour, Scotland

Findhorn Community, Findhorn, Scotland

Finally, we returned to our Inverness hotel arriving about 5.00pm.

Tomorrow we drive south to Loch Ness and, ultimately, Inverarary.