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Day Trip To The West

Route 7:
Take the A96 to Inverness , A82 along Loch Ness to Drumnadrochit, A831 to Cannich, continue north to Struy, turn on to the A862 to Beauly, stay on south side of the Beauly Firth and return to Inverness via Easter Moniack and Bunchrew.

Visit:
Loch Ness and Drumnadrochit - Since the first contemporary sighting of Scotland’s now infamous monster in 1933, visitors from every country turn up each year to ‘Nessie spot’. The Monster Exhibition will refresh your memory and bring you up-to-date on all the Nessie facts. An exhilarating experience is a cruise down the loch in the awesome grandeur of The Great Glen and through the Caledonian Canal, which links the Moray Firth and North Sea across the breadth of to the west coast. Historic recently completed a new visitor centre with interpretative story boards and artefacts on the history of the area and those who occupied, attacked or visited Urquhart Castle – a natural fortress on the shores of the loch which has been occupied since Pictish times.

Cannich and Strathglass - Home of the hydro-electric industry, a major employer in the 1950s , and to the first shinty club. These stories and others can be re-lived at The Strathglass Heritage Centre.

Beauly – A rural village aptly named ‘beautiful place’ by French monks who, in the 13th century, established a priory visited by Mary Queen of Scots some 300 years later.

Moniack Castle Highland Winery – The winery produces a variety of wines, liqueurs, mead, sauces and preserves based on plants and fruits of the woodlands and meadows.

Routes even further west will take the ambitious traveller to Glenmoriston, where you can pick up the road to the Isle of Skye , or continue on towards Fort Augustus and Fort William .

Inverness - Follow the A96 to Inverness and stop in the city centre for some daytime shopping. Sample the local cuisine in the evening and visit one of the city’s many bars to experience the Invernessian ‘craic’. This new Millennium City is a rapidly-growing shopping centre for the region, offering a rich variety of department stores and smaller, high quality shops. Click here for further information.