Tours from Inverness · Run by Timberbush Tours
Urquhart Castle · Glenfinnan Viaduct · Mallaig · Dores Beach
Loch Ness, the Glenfinnan Viaduct and the Road to the Isles to Mallaig, all from Inverness.
This day packs in a lot of the west. Leaving Inverness, you stop for photographs of Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness, pass the Commando Memorial at Spean Bridge and spend time at Glenfinnan, with its viaduct and monument. Then it's west on the Road to the Isles, past white beaches and views of the Small Isles, to the fishing port of Mallaig for lunch. On the way home you stop at Fort Augustus, walk to the Falls of Foyers and finish at Dores Beach. It's a long day, back at about 6.45pm, but the scenery is outstanding.
The places it stops at, in order. Routes can change with the weather and the traffic.
The day
Where it starts
Railway Terrace, Inverness IV1 1NW
Leaves at 7.30am
A photo stop · short stop
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.
More about Urquhart Castle
Seen from the coach
Three bronze commandos above Spean Bridge, looking south to Ben Nevis over the country where they trained, with a car park off the B8004.
More about Commando Memorial
A stop · about 1 hour
A curve of 21 concrete arches, 380 metres long, carrying the West Highland Line over the River Finnan since 1901.
Jacobite steam train in summer, not guaranteed
More about Glenfinnan Viaduct and Glenfinnan MonumentSeen from the coach
Lunch
The fishing port at the end of the road to the isles, and of the railway, with ferries to Skye, the Small Isles and Knoydart.
More about Mallaig
A break
The village at the southern end of Loch Ness, cut in two by the Caledonian Canal and its flight of locks, named after a fort built after 1715.
More about Fort Augustus
A photo stop
A waterfall of about 140 feet in a wooded gorge at Foyers on Loch Ness, reached by a stepped path from the road, where Burns composed a poem in 1787.
More about Falls of Foyers
A stop
A shingle beach at the north end of Loch Ness, eight miles from Inverness, with long views down the loch and a famous resident Nessie hunter.
More about Dores BeachWhere it ends
Back at about 6.45pm
Photographs: Timberbush Tours
Railway Terrace
Railway Terrace, Inverness IV1 1NW
Leaves at 7.30am. Opens 15 minutes before departure and closes 5 minutes before.
Children aged 4 to 16 pay less; their price shows when you book.
Run by
Timberbush Tours has been taking visitors round Scotland since 1998. June and Gary Voy, a husband and wife team, started it with a single coach, and it now runs its own fleet, with driver-guides who have been with the company for years. Their tours leave every day from Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness, and from Portree on Skye, and you book with them directly.
Timberbush Tours answer them, and you book with them directly.
7.30am to 6.45pm from Inverness, from £60 an adult.
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before a day tour, and up to 7 days before a tour of several days, by Timberbush’s own terms.
Booked with Timberbush Tours, or call them on +44 (0)131 226 6066
From Inverness9 hoursBack 5.30pm
Urquhart Castle · Fort Augustus · Falls of Foyers · Dores Beach
Loch Ness without the long drive: a relaxed day out from Inverness, back by teatime.
About 2½ hours of it on the roadUp to 37 on a coach
From £51 an adult
Run by Timberbush Tours
From Inverness12 hoursBack 8pm
Eilean Donan Castle · Portree · Kilt Rock · Strome viewpoint
Skye in a day from Inverness: Eilean Donan, Portree and the Trotternish coast.
About 7½ hours of it on the roadUp to 37 on a coach
From £63 an adult
Run by Timberbush Tours
From Inverness8 hoursBack 5pm
Cawdor Castle · Dores Beach · Inverness · Glen Ord Distillery
Off the ship at Invergordon for Cawdor Castle, Loch Ness, Inverness and a distillery.
About 3 hours of it on the roadUp to 53 on a coach
From £75 an adult
Run by Timberbush Tours
