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Visitors walking down through the ruins of Urquhart Castle towards the Grant Tower, Loch Ness beyond.
Inverness

Urquhart Castle

The ruins of a castle that was once among Scotland's largest, on a headland over Loch Ness, with the Grant Tower to climb and a café on site.

Welcome

On a rocky headland jutting into Loch Ness, with the water stretching away in both directions, stand the ruins of Urquhart Castle, once one of the largest in Scotland.

Its story runs back more than a thousand years, and for five hundred of them it was a medieval fortress at the centre of great conflict. Control passed back and forth between the Scots and the English in the Wars of Independence, the Lords of the Isles raided the castle and glen until the 1500s, and the last government troops garrisoned here during the Jacobite Risings blew it up when they left.

What remains is wonderful to explore. Picture the banquets once held in the Great Hall, peer into the prison cell, see the full-size trebuchet and climb the Grant Tower for a view up and down the loch and the Great Glen. The audio guide works on your own device and comes with the ticket, and the Lochview Café looks out over the water. Tickets are for a set date and time, so book ahead.

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Before you go

Open every day except 25 and 26 December, with timed tickets booked ahead.

Where
Off the A82 on the western shore of Loch Ness, about two miles from Drumnadrochit, IV63 6XJ.
Open
Daily. 1 April to 31 August 9.30am to 8.15pm; September 9.30am to 6pm; October 9.30am to 5pm; 1 November to 31 March 9.30am to 4.30pm. Last entry is an hour before closing. Closed 25 and 26 December; open 9.30am to 4pm on 24 December and from 11am on 1 January.
Price
Booked online: adult £14, aged 65 and over £11, child 7 to 15 £7. In person: £16, £13 and £8. Historic Scotland members are free, and Scots aged 7 to 25 with a Young Scot or National Entitlement Card pay £1.
Booking
Tickets are for a set date and time and are booked on Historic Environment Scotland's site; they often sell out far ahead in summer. The castle's number is 01456 450 551.
Parking
Free, with limited places: a space is only guaranteed when booked online, and it can be added to your ticket before checkout. Motorhomes of 4.5 to 6 metres have their own spaces, also booked online.
Dogs
Assistance dogs only.
Getting there
Traveline Scotland plans journeys by public transport, and boats can moor at the castle jetty if a space is booked online in advance.
Access
A steep tarmac ramp leads from the car park down to the visitor centre, shop and café, then a steep tarmac path to the castle. Paths inside are tarmac or bound gravel; the Grant Tower is up wooden stairs and the Watergate down steep steps. There is an adapted toilet in the visitor centre, and two wheelchairs and two mobility scooters to borrow, first come first served. Suitcases and rucksacks of 30 litres or more are not allowed in.
Food
The Lochview Café serves hot and cold food, drinks and snacks: 9.30am to 5.30pm from 1 April to 31 August, to 5pm in September, 4pm in October, and 3.30pm from 1 November to 31 March.

Opening hours

Monday
9.30am–4.30pm
Tuesday
9.30am–4.30pm
Wednesday
9.30am–4.30pm
Thursday
9.30am–4.30pm
Friday
9.30am–4.30pm
Saturday
9.30am–4.30pm
Sunday
9.30am–4.30pm

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Where it is

Off the A82 on the western shore of Loch Ness, about two miles from Drumnadrochit, IV63 6XJ.

Close byDrumnadrochit.
  1. Loch Ness Centre building with a green Nessie sculpture in the car parkThe Nessie HunterHourly cruises on Loch Ness from Nessieland in Drumnadrochit, a small boat with local skippers, a sonar screen and a close look at Urquhart Castle.2 miles 6 min by road
  2. The Loch Ness Centre building, dated 1882, with twin gabled towers and window displaysThe Loch Ness ExperienceThe Loch Ness Experience in the old Drumnadrochit Hotel, where the monster story began in 1933, with a one-hour tour of the legend and the science.2 miles 7 min by road
  3. Nessie model overlooking Loch Ness beside the roadside viewpointLoch Ness Statue6 miles 12 min by road
  4. Oil burner and dried petals beside "Grounded" book on a windowsill tableMade in the Glen8 miles 15 min by road
  5. The RSPB's weathered wooden sign for Loch Comhnard at Corrimony, the loch beyond among young birches and moorland under a blue sky, with wind turbines on a far hill.RSPB CorrimonyAn RSPB nature reserve of open moorland and old Caledonian pinewood at Corrimony.9 miles as the crow flies
  6. Passengers on the upper deck of a Loch Ness by Jacobite tour boatJacobite Loch Ness CruisesLoch Ness cruises from Inverness, on the loch and the Caledonian Canal, from a fifty-minute sail to a half day with a stop at Urquhart Castle.16 miles 24 min by road
Directions
A stone grotto arch thick with moss and hung with ferns beside a muddy woodland path in Reelig Glen.WalksReelig Glen9.2 miles
Standing stones and cairn at Balnuaran of Clava, framed by tree leavesAttractionsCorrimony Chambered Cairn11 miles
A wild bridal bouquet of pale dahlias, grasses, daisies and berries by Wild Gorse Studio.ShoppingWild Gorse Studio12 miles
Tringa's long turf-roofed log walls on the hill, foxgloves in flower in the grass below.StruyTringa at Eagle BraeSleeps 2 · 22 miles
Log cabin porch with lantern-lit door, snow falling on the wooden walkwayStruyEagle BraePlace to stay · 22 miles

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Stay nearby

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

Smoke rises from the chimney of a pink-harled house with a slate roof, seen over a drystone wall amid trees and misty hills.Tigh na Coille Cottage
  • Sleeps 8
  • In Dores
  • 7 miles from Urquhart Castle
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 Dores
  • 7 miles from Urquhart Castle
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 Urquhart Castle
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 Dores
  • 7 miles from Urquhart Castle
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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From the magazineThe Allure of CastlesFrom the magazinePeople of the Past who Shaped Scotland TodayFrom the magazineLochs with WalksCollectionCastles in Scotland Worth the Entry Fee
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