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The stone front of the old Drumnadrochit Hotel, lettered Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition, with a Nessie emblem over the door.
Inverness

The Loch Ness Experience

The Loch Ness Experience in the old Drumnadrochit Hotel, where the monster story began in 1933, with an hour's guided tour of the legend and the science.

Welcome

In the spring of 1933 the manageress of the Drumnadrochit Hotel, Aldie Mackay, saw something in Loch Ness.

The Inverness Courier printed the story that May, and the Loch Ness Monster was born. The old hotel, a tall building of grey stone with steep gables, now holds the Loch Ness Experience.

The tour takes about an hour, and a guide leads you from room to room through the old hotel. Each room is set up with its own things to look at and a short film, telling the story of the loch from the ice that carved it to the sightings, the famous photographs and the hoaxes, and the scientific searches under the water that followed from the 1960s.

It opens every day. For a look at the water itself, the centre also runs the Deepscan, an hour-long cruise out on the loch. Urquhart Castle is just down the road.

A short drive awayUrquhart CastleThe castle ruin on the loch just south.6 min by roadSee itRuined stone tower of Urquhart Castle seen through autumn foliage on Loch Ness
Before you go

Open every day, 10am to 5pm.

Tours last about an hour; book on the centre's own site.

Where
Drumnadrochit, IV63 6AN.
Open
Daily, 10am to 5pm.
Tour
About an hour.
Where it is

In Drumnadrochit on the A82, on the north-west shore of Loch Ness, IV63 6AN.

Close byDrumnadrochit.
  1. Loch Ness Centre building with a green Nessie sculpture in the car parkThe Nessie HunterUnder a mile1 min by road
  2. Nessie model overlooking Loch Ness beside the roadside viewpointLoch Ness Statue4 miles5 min by road
  3. Oil burner and dried petals beside "Grounded" book on a windowsill tableMade in the Glen6 miles10 min by road
  4. Invermoriston FallsInvermoriston FallsFalls further down the glen.13 miles19 min by road
  5. Loch Ness with autumn-coloured hills rising along its far shoreLoch NessThe loch itself.26 miles35 min by road
Directions
Ruined stone tower of Urquhart Castle seen through autumn foliage on Loch NessAttractionsUrquhart Castle2.2 miles
Standing stones and cairn at Balnuaran of Clava, framed by tree leavesAttractionsCorrimony Chambered Cairn8.6 miles
A wild bridal bouquet of pale dahlias, grasses, daisies and berries by Wild Gorse Studio.ShoppingWild Gorse Studio9.5 miles
Café counter with espresso machine, blue tiled wall and world map muralCafeGlen Rowan Cafe13 miles
Walkers cross rocky coastal grassland towards a distant headland under grey skiesAttractionsSt Columba's Well, Invermoriston13 miles
The Wardlaw Mausoleum at Kirkhill, a pale building with a belfry, among old headstones in the graveyard.AttractionsWardlaw Mausoleum13 miles
Tringa's long turf-roofed log walls on the hill, foxgloves in flower in the grass below.StruyTringa at Eagle BraeSleeps 2 · 20 miles
Log cabin porch with lantern-lit door, snow falling on the wooden walkwayStruyEagle BraePlace to stay · 20 miles
Stay nearby

Places to stay near the centre, and when each is next free.

A white harled cottage with a slated roof and gabled porch sits behind a garden of wildflowers, a table and chairs on the patio.Garden Cottage
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Inverness
  • 7 miles from the Loch Ness Experience
Check datesA stone cottage with a slated roof and dormer windows sits behind a gravel drive, ivy covering one gable end.Ivy Cottage
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Inverness
  • 7 miles from the Loch Ness Experience
Check datesA stone steading with green shutters and a slated roof sits beside a gravel drive, mature trees framing the entrance.South Bothy
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Inverness
  • 7 miles from the Loch Ness Experience
Check datesA pink harled house with turreted gables and stepped chimneys stands among pine trees behind a dry stone wall.Gatehouse Cottage
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Inverness
  • 7 miles from the Loch Ness Experience
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in InvernessAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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