Day 1 (-/-/-)
Our guide will pick you up in a private vehicle from your hotel in Inverness to begin your own in depth visit to the world famous loch.
The first stop is Inverness Museum and Art gallery where you can view Pessie, Nessie’s prehistoric cousin – the Loch Ness monster story is much older than most people imagine.. After visiting the museum we will head directly to Loch Ness to start our “Nessie” sightseeing tour.
The next stop will be the Clansman Hotel, which not only has fantastic uninterrupted views of the loch but offers the chance to look out for Nessie while enjoying locally sourced refreshments. From the Clansman’s own private harbour, we will then join Jacobite Cruises for a cruise out on the loch. On the cruise, you will hear all the facts about Loch Ness and its famous monster – remember to take your camera with you as you never know what you will see.
The cruise will take us down Loch Ness to the ancient ruin of Urquhart Castle, rumoured to be the best place to see the Loch’s famous resident from. We’ll step ashore and as well as checking for Nessie, you will have a chance to explore the ruins of the historic castle and hear all about its turbulent and sometimes violent history. After your visit to Urquhart castle we will travel the short distance to the Highland village of Drumnadrochit. In the village, you can visit either Nessieland or the Loch Ness Centre & Exhibition and learn more about Loch Ness and the monster that (perhaps) lurks somewhere in its depths. The village’s replica Nessie might be the closest you get to the real thing, but you can catch up with all the Nessie history at the various attractions on offer.
After leaving the village, we will continue south along the banks of Loch Ness to Fort Augustus, the final destination of the day. On the way we will pass the Cobb memorial cairn, erected to remember John Cobb who lost his life attempting to break the world speed record on Loch Ness in the 1950s. We will also pass Achnahannet, the HQ of the UK government’s Loch Ness Phenomena Investigation Bureau in the 1960s and 70s.
On our way to Fort Augustus, there are various stopping off points from which we will have a chance to have a further look at the loch, including seeing the famous horse shoe scree and visiting some of the locations of past Nessie sightings. We’ll also stop off at Invermoriston where you can stretch your legs on a walk to see the Moriston Falls from the historic 200 year old Telford Bridge. From here, it’s a short drive to Fort Augustus where we will arrive at your hotel in time to check in and relax, leaving you free time to spend exploring this loch side village.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 2 (B/-/-)
Following breakfast, we continue our Loch Ness Monster search on the Monster 66, so called because the round trip to and from the Inverness museum is exactly 66.6 miles.
The first stop will be in the village to see the point where the loch becomes the Caledonian Canal – another favourite place for Nessie spotting. If we’re lucky, we’ll also have the chance to see boats climb the five locks that take the canal up and into the Great Glen away from Loch Ness. The next part of our journey takes us away from the loch side for a while, past the old Benedictine Abbey as we climb up to the head of the Stratherrick valley – the view at the highest point has been said to be a bit like sitting on top of the world.
As we follow the B862 on the south side of the loch, it’ll take us into Foyers village for some refreshments. Foyers is as famous for devil worshiping as monster hunting, and is also home to the loch’s industrial heritage – one of the first aluminium smelters in the world was built here on the loch side in the late 19th century.
From here, the Monster 66 takes us through the village of Inverfarigaig and finally to Dores. All along this stretch are great stopping off points with beach access to the loch, some of which we will visit. When we come back to the top end of the loch we will stop at the Dores Inn for lunch and a chance to sit on Dores beach for that last view of this beautiful loch, before we arrive back in Inverness. Travelling back into Inverness city centre, don’t forget to take a quick snap of the big Nessie at Holm roundabout – this Nessie made famous by Charlie Sheen when he tweeted a picture of him taking a ride on her.
To end the tour, we will drop you off back at your hotel.
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