Culloden Battlefield & Cawdor Castle tour from Inverness

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Free cancellationExcellent quality

1/12

Duration6h

GroupUp to 8

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

The Jacobite rebellion ended at Culloden on a single April day in 1746, and you stand where it happened.

A half-day guided tour from Inverness visits three sites tied to Scottish Highland history: the Bronze Age cairns at Clava (which inspired Outlander's fictional stone circle), the Culloden Battlefield where the Jacobite army made their last stand against George II's forces, and Cawdor Castle, the only major Jacobite house to survive the destruction that followed. A local guide in English leads the route; transport and bottled water are included.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Clava Cairns and Culloden Battlefield

Visit Clava Cairns Bronze Age cemetery
Pass by Culloden Viaduct
Tour Culloden Battlefield and hear Jacobite tales
Explore Cawdor Castle and its gardens

The Experience

Culloden Viaduct appears first—the massive red sandstone structure that opened to rail traffic in 1898 and still carries trains today. It frames the landscape before you reach the battlefield itself, where on 16 April 1746 the Jacobite army fought to restore a Stuart king and were crushed by the Duke of Cumberland's government forces. The guide walks you through what that day meant: a ferocious war that divided families and set clan against clan, and a moment that altered the course of British and European history. You stand on the moor where it happened, not in a museum reading about it.

Clava Cairns comes next—three Bronze Age burial cairns and standing stones dating back roughly 4,000 years, set in open Highland ground near Inverness. The site remained largely overlooked until 2014, when the Outlander TV series suggested it inspired the fictional Craigh na Dun stone circle. The cairns themselves are exceptionally well preserved, a tangible link to prehistoric Scotland that most visitors to the region never find. The guide explains what you are looking at and why it mattered to the people who built it.

Cawdor Castle closes the loop. A medieval tower house built for the 3rd Thane of Cawdor around 1370, it has sheltered the same family for over 23 generations and survived the brutal aftermath of Culloden when so many other Jacobite properties were destroyed. You walk through 12 principal rooms holding tapestries, fine art, furniture and sculpture spanning 3,500 years, and see the dramatic medieval details—the iron gate, moat, drawbridge, turrets and vaulted 16th-century kitchen—that make it feel less like a museum and more like a house that happens to be very old. The castle and its gardens are included depending on which option you choose at checkout.

What’s included

Air-conditioned transport throughout the half-day route.
a local guide speaking English who leads the commentary at each site.
bottled water.
entry to Culloden Battlefield (the exhibition is included in some options).
entry to Clava Cairns.
entry to Cawdor Castle and its gardens (depending on which option you select at checkout).

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by highland bucket list tours

Is this one for you?Pick this if you have a half-day and want to hear the Jacobite history and Culloden battle explained live in English without driving yourself—the guide covers the story and stops while you sit in the air-conditioned vehicle.