Your Private Culloden, Clava Cairns & Cawdor Castle Itinerary
Whilst all our itineraries are completely customizable to your tastes and requirements, below is our recommended structure for your day trip from Inverness.
Culloden Battlefield
Only a short drive from Inverness lies Culloden Moor, where the Jacobite rising met its tragic end in 1746.
Here, the heather-clad ground is marked by clan stones, each a solemn memorial to the Highlanders who fell. With your guide, walk the windswept field where cannon fire once thundered, and where the fate of Scotland shifted forever.
In the award-winning visitor center, immerse yourself in artifacts, weapons, and a 360° battle theatre that places you in the heart of the conflict.
Clava Cairns – Stones of Time
A few minutes from Culloden lies a place even older and more mysterious: the Clava Cairns.
These Bronze Age passage tombs and standing stones have endured for over four millennia, aligned with the midwinter sun.
Walk the ground amongst and between the stones as your guide explains the archaeology, but it is the atmosphere that lingers most: the mossy stones, the still air, the sense of sacredness. It is easy to see why this site inspired legends and drew pilgrims across ages — and for fans of Outlander, it will feel like stepping through the stones of Craigh na Dun itself.
Lunch in the Highlands
Pause the day with a relaxed Highland lunch, perhaps in a traditional inn or countryside café near Cawdor.
Expect local produce, fresh baking, and the kind of hospitality that makes you feel at home in the Highlands.
Cawdor Castle
In the afternoon, step into the romance of Cawdor Castle, a 14th-century tower house wrapped in myths of Macbeth and the witches.
Legend says it was built around a living holly tree, which is still preserved within the castle walls. Unlike ruins, Cawdor is alive: its rooms furnished with tapestries, portraits, and treasures collected by generations of the Cawdor family.
On a tour of the castle, you will be led through its chambers and stories, before you wander the beautiful walled gardens or the shaded woodland walks.
Optional Enhancements For Your Day Trip
- Fort George, a vast 18th-century garrison overlooking the Moray Firth.
- Nairn, a seaside town where gentle waves lap golden sands.
- A local whisky distillery, where the spirit of the Highlands is poured into a glass.
Return to Inverness
As evening sets in, your driver guide will deliver you back to your Inverness accommodation.
