Activities in Highlands & Northern Islands
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Davy the Ghost Tours
Davy the Ghost Tours offers 1¼-hour tours led by an ‘18th-century ghost’ in period costume. Expect tales of the city’s horrific past, including ghosts, witches, murders and hangings. Tours depart at 7pm from the blackboard outside the tourist office.
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Skye Guides
A five-day basic rock-climbing course costs around £800 and a private mountain guide can be hired for around £190 a day (both rates apply for up to two clients).
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Riverside Walk
Thurso's idyllic country riverside walk starts near Waterside House; you can walk upstream, retracing your footsteps to come back (there was a bridge you could once cross to come back on the other side, but it's been washed out). It's a beautiful walk, taking about 45 minutes at a stroll, and is a very popular local pursuit in decent weather.
You can also walk all the way to Scrabster along cliffs for brilliant views (40 min) but take care when windy.
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Moray Firth Cruises
Offers 1½-hour wildlife cruises (adult/child £14/10) to look for dolphins, seals and bird life. Sightings aren’t guaranteed, but the commentaries are excellent, and on a fine day it’s good just being out on the water. Follow the signs to Shore St Quay from the far end of Chapel St or catch the free shuttle bus that leaves from the tourist office 15 minutes before sailings (which depart every 1½ hours). In July and August there are also departures at 6pm.
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Jacobite Cruises
Cruise boats depart at 10.35am and 1.35pm from Tomnahurich Bridge for a 3½-hour trip along Loch Ness, including visits to Urquhart Castle and Loch Ness 2000 Monster Exhibition (adult/child £26/20 including admission fees). You can buy tickets at the tourist office and catch a free minibus to the boat. Other cruises, from one to 6½ hours, are available.
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MV Stardust
MV Stardust offers one- to two-hour boat trips to the Sound of Raasay (£12 to £15 per person), with the chance to see seals, porpoises and – if you’re lucky – white-tailed sea eagles. On Saturday there are longer cruises to the Isle of Rona (£25).
You can also arrange to be dropped off for a hike on the Isle of Raasay and picked up again later.
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Orkney Islands Day Trip from Inverness
14 hours (Departs Inverness, United Kingdom)
by Viator
This day trip from Inverness visits some of the main attractions of the Orkney Islands including Skara Brae, The Churchill Barriers, Scapa Flow, The Ring of Bro…Not LP reviewed
from USD$86.18 -
Loch Insh Watersports Centre
At Kincraig the Spey widens into Loch Insh, home of the Loch Insh Watersports Centre, which offers canoeing, windsurfing, sailing, bike hire and fishing, as well as B&B accommodation from £27 per person. The food here is good, especially after 6.30pm when the lochside cafe metamorphoses into a cosy restaurant.
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Laggan Wolftrax
Ten miles southwest of Newtonmore, on the A86 road towards Spean Bridge, is one of Scotland’s top mountain-biking centres, with purpose-built trails ranging from open-country riding to black-diamond downhills. Cycle hire is available on site, from £25 a day for a hardtail mountain bike to £40 for a full-suspension downhill rig.
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Surfing
Thurso is an unlikely surfing centre, but the nearby coast has arguably the best and most regular surf on mainland Britain. There's an excellent right-hand reef break on the eastern side of town, directly in front of Lord Thurso's castle (closed to the public), and another shallow reef break 5 miles west at Brimms Ness.
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Glencoe Mountain Resort
A few miles east of Glencoe proper, on the south side of the A82, is the car park and base station for the Glencoe Mountain Resort, where commercial skiing in Scotland first began back in 1956. The Lodge Café-Bar has comfy sofas where you can soak up the view through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
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Sea Trek
Runs two-hour boat trips to spot seals and nesting seabirds, and more adventurous, all-day trips (£90 per person; two per month, June and July only) in a high-speed RIB to the Flannan Isles. There’s also a 12-hour round trip to remote St Kilda (£180, once or twice weekly, May to September, weather permitting).
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North Coast Marine Adventures
North Coast Marine Adventures runs scenic wildlife trips every couple of hours. Seals, whales, dolphins and seabirds can all be spotted. There’s also a half-hour ‘white water’ thrill-seeking option (£20), which will get you soaked as you take on the turbulent waters of the Pentland Firth.
reviewed
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Great Glen Way
The 73-mile Great Glen Way long-distance footpath stretches from Inverness to Fort William, where walkers can connect with the West Highland Way. It is described in detail in The Great Glen Way, a guide by Jacquetta Megarry and Sandra Bardwell.
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Lady B Boat Trips
The Lady B Boat Trips offers two-hour boat excursions from Portree harbour to the Isle of Raasay (adult/child £12/6, Monday to Saturday), offering the chance to see seals, porpoises and – if you’re lucky – white-tailed sea eagles.
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Cairngorm Reindeer Centre
The warden here will take you on a tour to see and feed Britain’s only herd of reindeer, who are very tame and will even eat out of your hand. Walks take place at 11am, plus another at 2.30pm from May to September, and 3.30pm Monday to Friday in July and August.
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Calum’s Seal Trips
Calum’s Seal Trips runs seal-watching cruises – there are swarms of the slippery fellas just outside the harbour and the trip comes with an excellent commentary. Trips leave daily at 10am, noon, 2pm and 4pm. You may even spot otters or even dolphins.
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Glencoe Mountain Resort Chairlift
The chairlift continues to operate in summer – there's a grand view over the Moor of Rannoch from the top station – and provides access to a downhill mountain-biking track. In winter a lift pass costs £30 a day and equipment hire is £25 a day/
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Gairloch Marine Cruises
Cruises run from the Marine Wildlife Centre up to three times daily (weather permitting) from Easter to October; during the two-hour trips you may see basking sharks, porpoises and minke whales.
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Old Surgery
It’s worth paying the extra few pounds to bag rooms 1 or 2 (£70), which have big bay windows with super water vistas, tables to sit at and contemplate them from, extra berths for kids and a shared balcony.
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Lochaber Watersports
You can hire kayaks (£12 an hour), rowing boats (£15 an hour), sailing dinghies (£12 an hour), and even a 10m sailing yacht complete with skipper (£150 for three hours, up to five people) here.
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Sea Kayak Shetland
A reliable, professional operator that caters for beginner and expert alike, offering guided kayaking trips from various points around Shetland.
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John O’Groats Ferries
If you’re in a hurry, this operator runs a one-day tour of the main sites for £46, including the ferry from John O’Groats. You can do the whole thing as a long day-trip from Inverness.
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Orkney Island Holidays
Based on Shapinsay, with guided tours of archaeological sites, birdwatching and wildlife trips and excursions to other islands. One-week, all-inclusive packages cost £1095.
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Summer Queen
The stately Summer Queen takes you out (weather permitting) around Isle Martin (£20/10 per adult/child, two hours) or to the Summer Isles (£30/15, four hours), with a stop on Tanera Mor.
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