Travelling in Scotland: What to do on a day out at Loch Ness and Fort Augustus

I had so much fun on this day out back in August driving round Loch Ness and seeing the sights close by. Even if the weather was a little overcast, the chance of seeing a monster more than made up for it.

I started the day off by travelling to Fort Augustus via Castle Eilean Donan which, if you have the chance to go and look at, is well worth seeing as it stands so proud and dramatic. Then it was on to Loch Ness.

I highly recommend going on the Loch Ness cruise to learn about what is going on in those deep dark waters (the answer is no one really knows because it is, well, so dark and so deep).  My recommendation is to sit at the back on the right-hand side of the boat so that when it turns to go back to Fort Augustus, you get a fantastic shot of the Loch going on into the distance.

Loch Ness is around 23 miles long and goes up to 240 metres deep in some parts and the water is that colour because of all the peat in there. The boat crew show you some of the sonar pictures they have taken on past cruises including some images of some very large fish (they say it’s a sturgeon, we all know what it really is) that live in its depths. Also, look out for wild goats up in the hills as you pass by.

Another fun fact is that if you were to fall in you would have approximately ten minutes before you would die due to how cold the water is.

After the cruise, I recommend lunch at the Caledonian Canal Heritage Centre mainly because when I went I sat in the conservatory behind the shop and the seats had warmed up in the sun, and after the very cold boat, it was like having a heated seat for my bum. Lovely!

After lunch take a quick walk around cute little Fort Augustus: there isn’t much to see but if you are lucky you will get to see the lock gates open for a boat. Fort Augustus is sat on the Caledonian Canal (which runs from Inverness to Fort William) and has a row of six canal locks that open and shut as when a boat needs to pass through. I was only there for an hour and saw a whole range of boats all slowly making their way down through the locks to Loch Ness.

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Once you have had your fill at Fort Augustus, head off to spend the afternoon at Urquhart Castle which is very striking in its position next to Loch Ness. The ruins are evocatively sparse but you can see the Grant Tower, prison cells and remains of the Great Hall. There is over 1000 years of history to learn about here at the castle including its role in the Jacobite rising and some of the famous prisoners it has held in its depths.

Enjoy!