Guide
Urquhart Castle: Go Early, Or Don't Bother
Turn up at midday and it's a car park full of coaches and a ruin that's over too fast. Turn up at 9.30 and it's the best half hour on Loch Ness.
6 min read
North & Ness
North & Ness — the Highlands, from the ground upOpen menu
Pillar
Loch Ness
Which cruise to book, the best viewpoints, and the Nessie story — minus the nonsense.
Alan Coppin · Updated last month
Loch Ness is the reason most people come, and it's the part of a Highland trip that's easiest to get wrong — there are five ways to get on the water, a dozen car parks charging for the same view, and an entire industry built on a monster.
This is the honest version: which boat trip is actually worth the money, where to stand for the view that doesn't cost anything, and how much of the Nessie story is worth your afternoon. I've done all of these more than once, in and out of season.
