Urquhart Castle

Is a historic and atmospheric ruin located on the shores of Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. The castle offers breathtaking views of the loch and surrounding landscape, making it a popular destination for visitors and photographers. Rich in history, the site provides insight into medieval Scottish life through its remains, exhibits, and visitor center. Urquhart Castle is an iconic landmark that combines natural beauty with fascinating history, making it a must-visit attraction in Scotland.

Over the weekend, 52cm of snow blanketed this breathtakingly beautiful land and temperatures plummeted to -8.5C Loch Ness is the largest by volume and contains nearly double the amount of water in all the lakes of England and Wales combined. Urquhart castle was founded in the 13th century. It played a role in the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century and today simply stunning in its majesty ...

Urquhart Castle is probably top 3 castles to visit if you're on the Highlands area at all. It's right on the water of Loch Ness so it's got great views and it's very easy to get to. Lots of parking is available here and it gets busy quite often. Buy tickets, plus parking, ahead of time because it'll make checking in very easy. Inside, you should watch the quick movie about the history with a surprise at the end. Outside, it's self guided so walk around, and kids make sure to search for the little wolves on signs so you can get a sticker at the end. The ruins are mostly in good shape considering the history and you can probably spend over an hour walking around. Inside is a coffee shop that sells food too. Overall this is a great find and a good way to kill a few hours with amazing views and fun finds.

Beautiful castle with stunning views over Loch Ness! The ruins are well preserved, and the short film at the visitor centre really brings the history to life. We went with kids and learned many things we wouldn’t have known if we hadn’t visited. Exploring the towers and walls was a highlight for everyone. We went on a weekday, and it was surprisingly less crowded. Highly recommend booking ahead and taking your time to enjoy the scenery and history!

What a beautiful, breath taking place this was. It killed 2 birds in one stone, you can visit the castle and same time have a view/walk around of Loch Ness! We were so lucky that they day happened to be a nice sunny day - the setting, the colours of sky and the shadows on the Ness lake was simply amazing and picturesque. It is hard to put a review on this as some things you have to experience it yourself and this place is one of them!

Our morning started with light snowfalls which progressed to heavy bouts. Despite the weather we visited Urquhart Castle or rather it’s ruins. The visitor centre provides a short video to provide historical context. The grounds are kept exceptionally well and the various ruin groupings are clearly signposted and highly informative.

On the shores of Loch Ness and the castle you see in all the photos and videos. Amazing location. You get to explore on your own. Takes about an hour to an hour and a half with the visitor shop 8 min vid. Worth seeing once for sure.

Beautiful views of Loch Ness with history under every step. Informative and friendly staff and if you’re brave enough to drive yourself awesome country roads. Gifts galore from local shops in the area, found whiskey tasters for gifts from the local brewery in Inverness and hand made trinkets for a fair price.

Urquhart Castle overlooks the famous Loch Ness in Scotland. Actually, you are visiting the ruins of the castle when you come here. The castle is a very popular place. Fortunately, we arrived before most of the bus loads of our fellow tourists did. Book your tickets in advance to make sure that you get in. Before exploring the castle ruins, I recommend watching the 15 minute introductory video that shows some of the history of Urquhart Castle in Scottish history. That day we were there was a very wet one. Loch Ness was covered in fog for most of the 2 hours we were outside exploring the ruins. It made for a mysterious and serene view of the Loch. I tried catching a glimpse of the famous mythical Loch Ness Monster named Nessie. Was unable to spot Nessie though because it was just too foggy. Aw well...... The ruins of Urquhart Castle are a sight to behold in person. There is so much history to learn. A history buff would love spending time here. Make sure to check out their gift shop and grab a souvenir before you leave.

Urquhart Castle is such a site to see! If you're traveling to the Highlands, it's absolutely worth the visit, but you must book a ticket ahead of time. Urquhart Castle is located on Lock Ness between Inverness and Fort William. You can also access it if you take certain Jacobite boat tours. We had pre-purchased our tickets the morning of and clicked to include parking, which was free. This was important, because there was someone at the top of the hill when we arrived only letting those with pre-booked tickets in. We enjoyed walking the ruins and getting to view all the sites. No Nessie spotting, but quite an enjoyable visit! The midges were out in full force though and we definitely got our share of bites.

What a moment to stand on the ruins of a castle that has seen so many moments in Scottish history. To feel the breeze off of Loch Ness take in everything around you. Let the history and mystery (No I didn't spot Nessie) sink in. I always say this but read a little before you get there. It's a little bit of a drive but do yourself a favor and take it. It was cold but there was no way I was getting there and NOT wading into the loch. Kick your shoes off and do the same.

Very neat castle ruin on Loch Ness. I did a cruise with Jacobite tours on Loch Ness. You have the option of getting off the boat and going into the ruins of the castle, but I did not do that during my tour. The Jacobite Tour boat gets close to the ruin while on the water. This is a gorgeous spot on the water with picturesque mountains in the background. You can get all the pictures you need of the Urquhart Castle from a tour boat. I don't think you would to go into the ruins. You have to pay to get into the ruins, and honestly you can get great pictures from a tour boat.

After a fabulously done introduction video you walk outside and quickly realize this isn't a castle - it's ruins. While hopefully you realize that before you arrive due to research, it's still a slight letdown as there isn't a ton to see, few artifacts, etc. That all being said, it's a very interesting piece of history, the views are amazing and it's worth a 90 minute stop or so. There is ample parking, clean toilets and a well appointed gift shop and cafe. Be prepared to take a lot of photos, but just know what you are getting into.

Fabulously maintained castle grounds, overlooking the (in)famous Loch Ness. Keep an eye out for Nessie as you explore the ruined towers and battlements! She must be real, otherwise why would they have a working trebuchet, right?! Despite it's condition, there's plenty of room to crawl, climb and duck through narrow passageways, ascend claustrophobic stairwells, and gaze out upon the placid waters of Loch Ness. Great for adults and kids, and surprisingly, most of the grounds are wheelchair accessible. Entrance fee is around $14 USD (based on current exchange rate), and a guided audio tour is available via your smartphone. Lots of signage available to compliment and enhance your tour experience, explaining the storied history of this crumbling, yet picturesque fortress.

The best vista point on Loch Ness! Urquhart Castle is basically ruins, but due to its strategic location, overlooking the beautiful serene lake on a hill, it's such a great vantage point. Best way to see Loch Ness is not from a tour boat but from here! Clean restroom, attractive souvenir shop, efficient online ticketing system (we bought our parking ticket and admission ticket all on a mobile phone on our way here as we drove).

Urquhart Castle is a fun visit if you're in the area around Loch Ness. You can learn about the history of the ancient fortress and how often it changed hands. You can explore the ruins (note: it's half destroyed nowadays!). You can also get lovely views of Loch Ness (and maybe catch a glimpse of Nessie!). You should start your visit with the introductory video. After that, go check out the ruined castle. Expect to spend around 1.5 hours here.

I have always seen this in the distance when we last visited Inverness, and Loch Ness. This time, we decided to actually visit the castle. There is a pull off to one side, where the ticketing booth is and the gift shop as well as the walking paths down to the castle and loch. for those who need assistance there is an elevator. The store is quite nice, they have a squashed penny machine, that made me happy. There is a short 10 minute video (I did not watch it) and a series of caches of items found on the historic site. Once you've had a wander through the displays and look at the teapot, you'll make your way towards the cafe and the outdoor eating area, there you can take the stairs down, or the ramp. The ramp is a nice way to go when your knee is upset. The walk is beautiful, especially under brooding Scottish skies. The model trebuchet sits in silent guardianship of the Castle. The Castle walls are tall and forbidding. But once inside it opens up and becomes welcoming to me. There is even a way to walk down to the shore of Loch Ness, where you can take your shoes off and put your toes into the chilly waters. While there, mayhaps you'll see a passing search boat looking for Nessie. On the day I was there, the RAF was doing manouvers and they did a very close fly-by in 2 Chinooks. That was pretty amazing from my vantage point. The castle is a beautiful Relic of the past, There is palpable history and the grounds are lovely to reflect on. I am so glad we stopped and took in this Highland's Guardian.

Probably my favorite castle visit thus far. Urquhart's history is rooted in Scottish independence and Clan MacDonald raids. The ruins are what's left for visitors to explore and some sections can be explored more intimately. It occupies prime real estate overlooking Loch Ness. It's proximity to Nessie makes this castle very popular. However, it is still worth the visit. After waking through the castle and pausing for the views it is easy to see why the MacDonalds kept raiding this castle. Inside the visitor center a brief video touches on key moments in its storied life.

It'd be nice if they kept their website updated so that you know going in that half of the castle grounds are under construction and are therefore inaccessible. We took the bus from Inverness down to the Castle early on our first morning in Inverness. The bus is a nice and cheap option for those tourists who don't have a rental, and who aren't interested in renting a bicycle (which we briefly considered). We were told when we arrived that most of the castle grounds were shut down to tourists due to the construction. At first, I was a bit bummed, but looking at the map, we realized there was still quite a bit to see. Plus, they discounted the price of entry because of construction. The first bit you explore is inside the main building, where you walk past placards filled with information of the area, the people and the history. They display bits and baubles found while excavating the area, and there's a model of what the castle looked like in its prime. The model is supposed to have buttons connected to small LEDs that light up when you push them, to give a visual representation of a location, but either most of the lights were broken, or I was too short to see them. There's also a shop and cafe on the bottom floor. The jewel of the floor is their theater, though. They run a movie every several minutes - it's set up to give visitors a quick overview of all the detail that's provided outside, and to prep you for what you'll see when you walk down to the ruins. Stepping out of the building and onto the patio overlooking the ruins and the loch, you're faced with a breathtaking view. Even in their current state, the walls of Urquhart are beautiful. Set against the loch, it's almost magical. There's a long path leading away from the building to the ruins, which branches off to a replica trebuchet on one side and a pier on the other. Approaching the castle entrance from the path, you can get an idea of scale, and how impressive it must've been. Even though we didn't get to see everything the castle grounds had to offer, we still spent almost 3 hours there, climbing stairs, stepping down into cutouts, reading plaques and contemplating the size of the loch. It was quite a day.

Very attractive castle and you get your ticket worth. Very spread open and taken care of. Beautiful views of Loch Ness. Gift shop at the ticket center is pretty good as well. We did a 30 min walk from Loch Ness Inn and enjoyed the sites.

The castle closes at 5pm and the shopping center closes around 5:30pm to 6pm. Make sure plan the right time to get there so you can get as much views and pictures during the visit. We did not check the time so we were there around 4pm, we didn't have lots of time to discover the castle but we got some good pictures. This castle is definitely the best place to view famous Loch Ness lake.

Situated on the scenic shores of Loch Ness at Shrone Point, Urquhart Castle is a medieval castle magnificently set in the Scottish Highlands. Great view can be had from the veranda of the visitors center, as well as the Grant Tower House. The visitors center has an 8 minute audio-visual presentation, displays of medieval artifacts from the castle and castle history, gift shop and a tearoom which services great barley soup, etc..It's the 3rd most visited site in Scotland so expect crowds. Adult admission is 7.40 pounds. If you are staying in Scotland for awhile go online and purchase tickets from (Historic Scotland). Explorer tickets will allow you to see many historic sites in Scotland for a much reduced price. Places like Edinburgh Castle, Urquhart Castle, etc.. I wish less of the castle was ruined and so does Scotland.

Urquhart Castle is so far my favorite castle (the other two castles I've been to were Huntly and Tolquhon). One of the coolest parts of this castle is the view of Loch Ness. When you walk to the top of the hill or tower, you are rewarded with this breathtaking panoramic view of the entire Loch. It's a spectacular view that photos can't quite capture. It's nice just standing on the hill when it's quiet to absorb the surroundings. I arrived here right at the time it opened. Even then, there was about 10 or 15 people already lined up at the door... in the rain. I highly suggest going early to beat the crowds. It can get packed. Another good reason to beat the crowd is to climb up and down the tower. The staircase is so narrow that you have to wait for a group to go down before you can go up. Once you are up, you have to wait for people to stop going up so you can go down. It's frustrating and gets stressful with the crowd. If you arrive during opening, you won't have to deal with this issue until about an hour or two after. TIP: Bring an umbrella! If you been in Scotland for a while, you know how unpredictable the weather can be. The umbrellas and poncho they sell at the souvenir shop is expensive!

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful... We took a tour from Edinburgh and this is the highlight of the trip. We spent about 10 min watching the film to provided background/history information on the castle and then walked around the premise. The castle, the surroundings, the gorgeous views, we really wanted to stay longer to just taking in all in. The winter short day light hours prevented us to stay longer, but also because we were there in late November, that there were very few tourists besides us. We would love to go back again and stay much longer than the 2 hours we did for the tour.

I have always wanted to see Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle hugs the loch. You enter the visitors center and walk down a long trail down a long hill. You pass by a Trebuchet which launched cannon balls and other things at attacking clans. You then pass through a gate to explore the castle. It is mainly ruins of the castle but the location is beautiful. There is one section that you can climb up to. The stairs are very narrow and not easy to navigate when others are walking down as you are going up. It is a great view. There also seems to be a ferry boat that delivers visitors from the Loch. There are several areas to explore as you walk toward Loch Ness. We wer told by our guide to pour some whisky into the Loch to bring Nessie out. We didn't have any on hand so unfortunately we didn't see Nessie. A huge rain storm came over while exploring and we were able to duck into the main gate area until it passed. Then we headed back up the long walk back to the visitors center. There are restrooms as well as a cafe to get a snack. While getting ready to leave there was a bad car crash which made our bus go along the other side of Loch Ness that most tourists don't get to see. It is truly worth a visit.

We arrived by boat right when it opened but it seemed that within minutes, the place was packed. We didn't do a guided tour, or know if it was even offered, but just wandered around the ruins. It's smaller than I expected but still quite impressive as a ruin. The views of Loch Ness are scenic. There's a cafe and gift shop up a hill. It's best to try and get there as early as possible to see everything. It was packed with crowds when we left.

On Beautiful Loch Ness & chocked full of history, this castle is basically ruins - not a habitable castle Like us, tons of Loch Ness cruisers venture to the castle as part of our cruise package so be prepared for crowds. Not a lot of history or backstory provided, aside from a short 10-15 min film talking about the family's heritage who used to live there....but there's a HUGE giftshop Overall, we just found it to be a nice set of ruins along the cold & windy Loch

Beautiful 13th century castle! Over 700 years old, Urquhart has much history, and played a part in the war for Scottish Independence during the 14th century. Examples of military equipment such as catapults and cannons are on display as you enter the castles main gate. After you enter, you are free to rome the castle on your own, the views of Lochness Lake from the Urquhart castle walls are just breath taking, the stone walls give you a good vantage point to look for Nessy (Though I did not see him). Urquhart's guest facility has a great coffee and food cafe. The guest facility also has a very nice gift shop with many historical things to buy such as books, fine crystal, knives, videos and many other trinkets. The staff is all very polite and courteous. A great place to visit when going to Lochness Lake Scotland!

Urquhart Castle sits beside Loch Ness in the Highlands of Scotland, which can make for a picturesque setting.

Having grown up 40 miles from the castle you think I'd have visited before, but no.. I've driven past plenty of times but never visited.. I visited with my mum and nephew, both have disabilities so visiting places can sometimes be problematic.. My mum uses a walking aid and on long walks a chair, it can be hard work pushing a chair and trying to enjoy the views. We arrived, I explained to the staff taking the ticket money and I was given free entry as a carer. The staff could not be more friendly it helpful. The visitor centre is modern, bright, clean and is easily accessible for all ages and abilities. We headed down to the shop and entrance to the castle. The shop staff again could not be more helpful. My mum was given a motorised scooter, free of charge. She was shown how it worked and off we went. My mum doesn't drive but it was easy to use and she loved it. It was a bit of a trek down to the castle. My mum couldn't access all areas of the castle due to lots of stairs. But me and my nephew had a good investigate. Everything is well sign posted and explains a bit about each area or room. There was a film to watch before heading to the castle, but we gave it a miss. The ruins of the castle were interesting and the views of Loch Ness are stunning. Well worth the visit. And I can't tell you how pleased I was I didn't have to push my mum back up the big hills on the way back to the visitor centre.

Castle with a View Although this is a very busy tourist bus stop with all of the large crowds that come with it, take a moment to consider the history of this place. The grounds and the views of Loch Ness are just amazing.Even during the rain storm while we were there, there is so much to see. If you are able to walk the castle grounds you can explore the castle ruins and climb to the top for spectacular views. The views are worth the view even in the rain. Note: Extensive walking to get to the castle ruins and the climb in the ruins will challenge any mobility challenged explorer.

Absolutely stunningly located ruins along the shores of Loch Ness. We, like many, visited Urquhart Castle as part of a boat tour on Loch Ness. The rain kept starting and stopping and it made climbing up the steps around the ruined castle quite interesting, to say the least! Seeing Loch Ness partly shrouded in fog from the ruins of the ancient castle was just breathtaking. The site itself isn't very large or full of amenities, but there is a historical video provided and a decent cafe to enjoy a coffee in while waiting out a storm. Generally just a great place to get some fabulous shots of Loch Ness.

Urquhart Castle has some of the better castle ruins in Scotland, and stands picturesquely on the Loch Ness, about a 20-25 minute drive south of Inverness. It was a hotly contested location, and changed hands quite a few times between the 13th and 17th centuries. The site itself is well done. The visitor center is nice and open, with a cafe, shop, and small well done exhibit about the castle's history and important members of the castle (like the constable and steward). It also has an 8-minute video that goes through the castle's history, which did have French and German subtitles during our showing. (My impression was that more were available too.) The castle itself is also well marked with signage, and gives more information about each of the rooms' significance. Tip: if not eating at the cafe, there is a nice pub called Fiddler's Arms about 1.5 miles northwest on the highway in Drummadrochit.

Located on beautiful Loch Ness this castle ruin has a very modern tourist facility with a fantastic movie about the castle's colorful history from the Picts to the Jacobites. I won't ruin the surprise, but there is an eye popping ending. The castle is superbly maintained and the staff are extremely friendly. We also ate at the cafe' which has panoramic views of the Loch Ness and very good food. Nothing like a nice hot bowl of barley soup to warm you up on a cold winter's day.

Wow, this place was crowded when I came to visit. However, it is definitely worth the time to check out. There are plenty of places to wander (although the little "tower" like thingy that you can climb up requires a lot of patience and notifications to the folks below and above you, as there's very limited space on the spiral staircase) and plenty of places to grab some amazing shots of the ruins itself as well as Loch Ness. Apparently, a lot of people were complaining about the stairs? Not sure what the deal was, as I didn't notice anything odd about them... I completely ignored the gift shop. Oops.

Stunningly beautiful (ruined) castle, definitely worth a visit. This is a wonderful, atmospheric sight to visit when you're vacationing in or near (e.g. Inverness) Loch Ness. Really does convey a idea of what life must have been like in this area in the 13th century. There's a visitors' centre, including a rather nice café with an outdoor seating area. I definitely recommend approaching the castle by boat. Several tours are bookable from Inverness bus station at a fairly low price, guide included. They gave us 2 hours for the castle, which is plenty. A beautiful piece of antiquity.

Since it was built right on Loch Ness, Urquhart has a stunning view of the water. However the wankers occupying it totally ruined it to prevent the Jacobites from using it against the English. It is one of the sadder castle ruins of the dozen or so castles we saw in Scotland. It lies more in rubble and disrepair than many others. Also, due to the view, it is very touristy. Expect long queues/lines and an inability to get pictures sans people. Otherwise, great castle

This was an interesting experience, in that out of all the castles we viewed across both England and Scotland, this one was crawling with the most tourists. And I ultimately couldn't figure out why this was... We arrived around noon, and waited in a queue for 30 or so minutes. When you purchase your tickets, you are basically waiting out in a line outside, snaking through the parking lot. When walking onto the grounds, the first thing we saw was just... a big, wide open space, filled with ruins, bright green grass, and a winding pathway leading to a Trebuchet, and then, further across a bridge and into the castle's ruins. "To breach the walls of a castle as mighty as Urquhart, an attacked needed siege engines. Most fearsome was the Trebuchet, a type of giant catapult that could hurt massive stone balls hundreds of metres." Though there is some debate as to whether any trebuchets were used during the castle's occupancy, they did find some huge stone balls imbedded in the ground. The day was a bit gray, but the surrounding views from the castle overlooking the loch were lovely. A couple of things you'll see in the castle: LATRINE marked over literal grates in the flood, The Constable's Lodging (". . .the most important man in the castle in the absence of its lord."), BED RECESS marked over a stony square dimple set into the walls, The New Kitchen, and of course the banks of the Loch Ness. Various informational plaques are situated through the castle, too. My favorite had to be the one titled 'The Great Raid of 1545,' when the MacDonalds (my relations from my father's side!), stormed the castle and included such items as 12 feather beds with bolsters, blankets, and sheets, five pots, six pans, two brewing vats, one basin, six roasting spits, 3, 377 sheep, 2,355 cattle, 750 sacks of barley, and 2, 2204 goats, among many other livestock and other items. I like the idea of my ancestors being raiding, pillaging, Scottish folk. PROS: -Beautiful, well-maintained grounds. This is important to mention, because the plaque were obviously taken care of. That didn't seem to be common for other places we visited. -Spacious parking lot overlooking the loch. -It touches the Loch Ness, and you can get some really lovely pictures of it with the castle. -Has a really interesting history, and I was pleasantly surprised that my ancestor's history is entwined with it. CONS: -Cramped spaces meant that when going to certain places (say, up the stairs...) we had to wait a while for the traffic to slowly move up. I don't mean a few minutes, I mean as much as 10 or 15, just to go up some steps. THE VERDICT: £9 isn't TERRIBLY pricey, but we did see "better" ruins for free at other places. Without the crowd, I imagine you could see everything the castle has to offer in under an hour. It is really cool to read about its history, but the defining property of this place is that it touches the bank of the Loch Ness. There's even a place to go down and dip your hands into the water that borders the ruins. That wasn't our first experience with the river, since it goes through Inverness where we were staying, but it definitely had a different feel to dipping your hands into the edges of an ancient castle's riverbank. When we were driving past Urquhart castle at 7pm that evening, we saw a spectacular rainbow. So we veered off into the parking lot to check it out. Over the Loch Ness it stretched, and we were able to see both where it ended and began, in a rare feet of a perfect rainbow. As cheesy as it sounds, it was a really beautiful, sort of magical moment for me. I snapped some fantastic pictures, made all the more magical by the connotations of this beautiful country, and the banks of the river where the Loch Ness monster supposedly prowls. Overall, I enjoyed the experience, and I think it's a worthwhile one that still retains a bit of Old World magic. MY TIME: We waited in a queue for about 30-45 minutes, and viewed the grounds for about two and a half hours. So 3 hours total, give or take a bit of time. This includes the time we waited for purchasing our tickets, as well as having to wait several times to go up flights of stairs.

I was one of the lucky ones getting to Uruqhart castle on a sunny summer's day. The green parkland surrounding the ruins are well maintained and clean. I think animals are not allowed. The property is maintained by Historic Scotland. Its free for members. I would think that the entry price for tourists is at least £10 and no wonder, considering the effort that goes into this place to keep it so well maintained. Before entering the property you are led to a room where you can watch an introduction movie telling you all about its bloody history. It changed hands from one clan to the other, always being part of political intrigue. Personally, the ruin is just a ruin (not much left) and you can wonder around admiring the amazing views over Loch Ness. In the background I could hear backpipes and the music is mesmerizing. Everything is well marked. I saw people queuing for Nessi boat rides. Yes, seems the ruins have their own access point to the Loch. Last but not least I enjoyed a coffee and cake in the coffee shop overlooking the ruin. I was able to conquer a seat outside on the terrace. The gift shop is massive, one of the largest I have ever seen. Plenty of parking available. However, its less accessible for visitors using public transport. I definitely recommend a visit when in the area.

Grounds and lake are great, not much left of the castle itself but still a fun stop and a must if your in Scotland

This is a great place. Not only are the waters nearby the castle ruins reportedly the best spot to see the Loch beastie, but the ruins are fun to romp about in. BTW the map position is incorrect, as the castle is right on the shore. I visited a number of years ago and we arrived after it was apparently closed (still early though) on the way back from Skye. We walked around the gate and took a 'self-guided tour' anyways and quickly saw we were not the only ones with the same criminal-mindedness. Anyway it's beautiful and it should really be open later.

It takes a lot to get me to voluntarily go outside when it's cold and rainy. This castle was so worth it. The grounds and ruins are great by themselves, and make for good photo ops, views of Loch Ness, and letting the imagination wander. Aside from that, there are lots of little extras that really make this a place worth visiting. Just be careful going up and down those stairs! As someone else mentioned, there's an 8-minute video, giving a condensed version of the castle's long and often sad history. It really sets the mood for walking through it. If you go, don't skip the video. My boyfriend and I spent a good 2 hours from the time we sat down to the video to the time we came back in from the ruins. It was cold and rainy, but thanks to that, we got to see a perfect rainbow, landing right in the loch. The café is a cut above your usual castle/museum/tourist attraction food. Actually, it's more like several cuts above. The soups of the day smelled heavenly, but we were more interested in the cakes. I'd expected dry, grocery-store-grade slices, but instead, we shared a really nice piece of apple cinnamon cake and some kind of coconut cake with a pastry crust. Also, the hot chocolate didn't come from a mix. Not only were the employees just generally friendly, but when their credit card machine went down and it turned out there was no place to get cash nearby, they just comped our food. We spent some money in the gift shop to kind of make up for it, and found more than just the standard array of plastic bagpipes and shortbread. There was jewelry from a local artist, books, and gorgeous photos that are great if you're not a photographer yourself.

The only things that would make this place any cooler would be if Nessie actually did float by or if I could magically catch a glimpse of it in all its historical glory. Oh well...ruins and drawings will have to suffice. This place is wonderful. Not only do they have lots of things to see such as catapults and drawings and historical information all around, the ruins themselves are cool. The shop and little cafe are good (better than most) and the views of the lakes and the surrounding hills are outstanding. This is really a good time. MIND THE STAIRS!

Urquhart Castle is one of the most beautiful and intriguing castles on the famous Loch Ness. Only about a mile or so south of Drumnadochit. Both names always make me think of Tolkien's "The lord of the rings" and with a little bit of fantasy it could very well have taken place there. Interesting Castle but the entry fee is almost prohibitive ... 8 pounds! Almost impossible to get a good shot at it from the parking place and without entering, but if you walk a couple of 100 yards further north and have a decent telephoto lens ... you can still take a nice picture.

The entrance fee is excessive for a ruin. We looked out from the car park and took some good photos from there. You can get good shots of the castle and the loch.

What a setting, what a view! The Historic Scotland organization offers 3-day and 1-week Explorer Passes for £25, covering 78 attractions throughout the country. Our first use was at the Urquhart Castle ruins. Overlooking Loch Ness and the mountains beyond, the castle's setting is gorgeous. The fortress has a fascinating yet turbulent history, which the information center captures in its displays of artifacts found onsite. There is a short movie on castle history as well. At the end, the screen is raised, and the curtains part, revealing a panoramic view of the castle and loch outside.

Took a cruise on the Lochness River and out of nowhere, you come upon the Urquhart Castle! Beautiful scenery of the highlands in the background. The history of this place was very interesting, though very tragic. The area surroundings made me feel as if I were living back in the medieval times! ! Overall, great great place! I can definitely sit on a bench all day here and stare at the River!

This is sort of Bravehearty. It's a fairly decent castle in decent condition. Good enough to allow one to tromp up its tower and all over its grounds. It is also right on Lochness. So, if you want you can do your Nessie-searching from this gothic-looking viewpoint. It's a bit touristy, but heck---it's a cool Scottish castle.

Classic ruined castle on the shores of Loch Ness , steeped in history the scene of a few Clan battles featuring heavily in Scottish history. Good place to scan for Nessie from the viewing platform on the tower keep .