The natural beauty and intriguing history of the Scottish Highlands invites your exploration on available Inverness shore excursions when your British Isles cruise ship docks at Invergordon, the port that’s located just a stone’s throw away from Inverness.
Inverness cruise excursions will whisk you from your ship for drives along the narrows of the legendary Loch Ness and into Inverness, the capital city of the Scottish Highland. Visit Culloden Moor, where Scottish clans waged wars and won independence. Hear tales of the infamous Loch Ness monster, more familiarly known as “Nessie” in these parts, at the village of Drumnadrochit on the shores of Loch Ness.
If you prefer to go your own way while on a cruise to Inverness, book an excursion that offers a scenic drive along the Cromarty Firth Waterway to a drop-off and rendezvous point from which you can explore the city center. Stroll the Victorian Market, a shopping arcade with cafes that houses a Victorian clock that has kept continuous time since 1890. Check out the Velocity Café, Bicycle Workshop, and Leakey’s Bookshop, the largest second-hand bookshop in Scotland located in a former church. Tour the newly restored Abertarff House, the oldest house in Inverness that was built for the Fraser family in 1593.
If castles are on your bucket list, sign up for Inverness shore excursions to tour the Highland’s most significant castles. See ruins of Urquhart Castle, a stunning example of a medieval castle set against Loch Ness and the hills of the Great Glen. Visit Cawdor Castle, which served as the backdrop to King Duncan’s murder in Shakespeare’s masterpiece, “Macbeth”. Here, you’ll cross over the impressive drawbridge and enjoy a guided tour of a castle that has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Walk through the original kitchens and sitting rooms, venture up winding staircases, and descend into a dark dungeon. Once you emerge into refreshing daylight, stroll through the lovely gardens.
Single-malt whisky fans will enjoy Inverness shore excursions to Glenmorangie Distillery, a name well known to Scotch drinkers worldwide. The name “Glenmorangie” means valley of tranquility, which you’ll understand as you take in its setting on the shores of Dornoch Firth. On a guided tour of the grounds, facility, and warehouse, you’ll see every stage of the whisky-making process. And, of course, you’ll be treated to a dram of scotch at the end of the tour.