Submit a photo
Submit a photo
Ninety seconds on Inverness Castle
Yes, as the Inverness Castle Experience, a ticketed exhibition across its towers. The gardens, the shop and the restaurant need no ticket. The gardens stay open all year round.
Most visits inside take one and a half to two hours. Lunch or a walk round the gardens adds to that, and one family visiting with children allowed around four hours.
Yes. Even carers and children under five need a ticket, though they are admitted free. Tickets can be bought on the day, online or at the entrance, while space lasts, and booking in advance online gives the widest choice of timeslots.
The Experience opens every day except Christmas Day. From April to September it runs from 10am until 7pm, and from October to March from 10am until 6pm.
Yes, apart from one part of the South Tower viewing area, the Flag Tower. Lifts in both the North and South Towers serve all floors, and the main entrance on View Place is the one recommended for wheelchair users, as Castle Wynd is not suitable.
No, there is no public parking on site. The nearest large car park is on Rose Street, and the Castle Street Townhouse and Raining Stairs car parks are also close. The castle is a walk of half a mile from Inverness Railway Station.
Hear the Highlands' stories told through storytellers' voices, song, objects and stitched panels across three towers. If you are hoping for grand period rooms, look elsewhere: the visit is an exhibition, not a castle tour.
Despite the name, the building was never a defensive fortress. A courthouse went up here in the 1830s and a prison in the 1840s, both built in the style of a castle, with towers and battlements over the River Ness.
In the South Tower, storytellers' voices lead you through the people, heritage and landscapes of the Highlands. Along the way you might meet a Jacobite ring, an object linked to Flora MacDonald, or the Camanachd Cup. One small turret is set aside for listening to traditional Gaelic psalm singing, led by a precentor.
The Rose Window and a fireside story stop are among the multimedia displays. The South Tower closes with the Spirit Room, an audiovisual finale on Scotland's people, panoramas and produce.
The North Tower gallery sits in the former jail cells, and 32 panels made by more than 600 community stitchers are on display there. In the West Tower, Spirits of the Highlands gathers bottles from producers across the region, from household names to small-batch makers.
The well of the medieval fortress that once stood on this site survives inside the Saltire Bistro. Outside, a statue of Flora MacDonald stands in front of the castle.
Begin on the terrace at the top of the castle, looking over the river; while its lift is repaired, the terrace is seven steps up. The view sets the scene for the stories inside. Then go into the South Tower with an audio guide, and hold it over the beacons along the route to hear each story.
Entry slots start every 10 minutes. Two rooms in the South Tower run at set times, and you move through the rest at your own pace.
From there the route passes the Castle Shop. Keep your ticket to hand, because it is checked again before the North Tower, which you reach by lift or stairs.
For the Jacobite story on the ground, drive about 15 minutes out of town to Culloden Battlefield.
Picnics are welcome in the gardens, but your own food is not allowed in the bistro. Afternoon tea is served at noon, 2pm and 4pm by reservation only, and it has to be booked at least three days ahead.
With children, look for codes at low level beside Cuillin, a Border Collie who leads an audio trail of their own. If you came on the Park & Ride bus, show that day's bus ticket when you order for a discount.
Explore the rest of Inverness
Capital of the Highlands, Inverness is a compact river city of castle, cathedral and riverside walks, and the natural first or last night…
Red and blue flags mark the government and Jacobite lines on the open moor where the Jacobite rising ended in 1746. A visitor centre with a…
Three burial cairns stand in a row among trees, each ringed by standing stones. Two have passages aligned on the midwinter sunset. The site…
Last updated