Overview
A cruise on mystical waterways aboard Scottish Highlander as you marvel at some of Scotland’s finest scenery will be one that stays in the memory for a long time.
Scottish Highlander has the atmosphere of a comfortable Country House with subtle use of tartan furnishings and landscape paintings, a reminder of the spectacular surroundings to be seen on your voyage through the Great Glen.
At 117 feet long, she is spacious and has every comfort needed for enjoying the magnificence of the Scottish Highlands during spring, summer and autumn.
The warm and welcoming saloon features rich-coloured wooden panelling, large picture windows and comfortable leather Chesterfield sofas to relax in, perhaps with a mellow single malt whisky from the very well-stocked bar.
Itinerary
Deck Hotel Barge Scottish Highlander
First Class | 8 Passengers | 5 Crew
- 117 Feet Long
- 1 Twin/Double Junior Suite (148sq ft incl. en suite)
- 3 Twin/Double Staterooms (115sq ft incl. en suite)
- Centrally Heated
- Wheelhouse Observation Area
Day 1 Inverness Muirtown
Guests are met at Kingsmills Hotel in Inverness and transferred by private chauffeured minibus to Scottish Highlander. Champagne Welcome and if you wish, an early evening stroll to the sea lock with wonderful views over the Moray and Beauly Firths. Then perhaps savour one of the hotel barge’s many single malts before your first dinner on board.
Overnight stay onboard Hotel Barge Scottish Highlander in a Stateroom.
Selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages included.
Day 2 Muirtown Dochgarroch
Your first cruise will take us up the Muirtown lock flight and through the Tomnahurich swing bridge, with an option to walk alongside River Ness to the hamlet of Dochgarroch. After lunch on board, enjoy a visit to Cawdor Castle, forever immortalised in Shakespeare’s “Scottish Play”, Macbeth. The picturesque gardens have been listed amongst the top 100 in the UK. The castle contains a superb collection of tapestries, pictures and furnishings and the Dowager Countess of Cawdor still lives there for part of the year. Dinner on board.
Overnight stay onboard Hotel Barge Scottish Highlander in a Stateroom.
Selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages included.
Day 3 Dochgarroch Fort Augustus
This morning enjoy a visit to Culloden Moor, scene of the last major battle on British soil in 1746 where English Government troops faced the Highlanders of “Bonnie Prince Charlie”. If time allows, then take a tour of Clava Cairns, a pre-historic clan chieftain burial site dating back to 2,000 B.C and setting for the Outlander TV series. After lunch onboard, cruise through Loch Dochfour and across Loch Ness, where en-route you will pass Urquhart Castle, navigating closely beneath its spectacular 13th century ruins, before continuing your cruise to Fort Augustus. Dinner on board.
Overnight stay onboard Hotel Barge Scottish Highlander in a Stateroom.
Selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages included.
Day 4 Augustus Kytra
After breakfast, visit the private Highland Club, a spectacular exclusive set of residences and a former 19th century Benedictine Monastery. Here you are treated to a falconry and birds of prey demonstration** on the banks of Loch Ness, and the majesty of the swooping birds against the backdrop of the sweeping Scottish Highlands is not easily forgotten. There is time to explore the pretty village of Fort Augustus before lunch on board, after which your cruise takes you up the “flight”, as the locals call it, at Fort Augustus and then on to your pretty mooring at Cullochy. This evening you are given a tutored private whisky tasting at charming The Glenmoriston Arms Hotel, followed by dinner in the hotel restaurant.
Overnight stay onboard Hotel Barge Scottish Highlander in a Stateroom.
Selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages included.
Day 5 Kytra Laggan
This morning’s cruise can be partially walked as we cross the very scenic Loch Oich, perhaps stopping en route for a spot of fishing, and onto the pretty Laggan Avenue. As we approach Laggan, our Highland Piper may greet us with a stirring rendition of traditional Scottish music. After lunch on board we take in some of the finest scenery Scotland has to offer as we drive to one of its best known and most photographed castles, Eilean Donan, which has featured in movies such as “Highlander” and James Bond’s “The World Is Not Enough” and overlooks three sea lochs. Dinner on board.
Overnight stay onboard Hotel Barge Scottish Highlander in a Stateroom.
Selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages included.
Day 6 Laggan Banavie
Today, your final cruise will see you pass through Moy Bridge, the last fully hand-operated bridge on the canal, before mooring at Banavie beneath Ben Nevis and a stroll from Neptune’s Staircase leading down to Loch Eil. After lunch on board, your tour today takes you to the Ben Nevis Distillery for a tour and private tasting of several single malts. Captain’s Farewell Dinner and of course, the opportunity to enjoy another wee dram or two.
Overnight stay onboard Hotel Barge Scottish Highlander in a Stateroom.
Selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages included.
Day 7 Banavie Inverness
After breakfast, guests are transferred by private chauffeured minibus to their choice of location in Inverness.