Loch Ness Highland Resort

Explores of Loch Ness are an absolute must on any stay here. Make immediate tracks from base to the spectacularly placed Urquhart Castle (25 minutes’ drive), then continue onwards to the Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition (30 minutes) to learn about 500 million years of the lake’s history and to find out where all those Nessie stories started. Travel the length of Loch Ness to reach Inverness (55 minutes), where there are botanic gardens to wander, dolphin-spotting tours to take, a cathedral and castle to visit, museums and arts centres to traipse through, and plenty of shopping to be had. Just outside the city, a stop at Culloden (an hour and five minutes) comes highly recommended to learn more about the battle that ended the Jacobite uprising of the 18th century. Heading south instead, a 50-minute drive will land guests in Fort William, the starting point of hikes up Ben Nevis, the UK’s highest mountain, as well as the home of the Ben Nevis Distillery and the West Highland Museum. Further afield, it’s a little over an hour to the edge of Cairngorms National Park, explores of which should include stops at Dalwhinnie Distillery, the Highland Folk Museum, RZSS Highland Wildlife Park and Landmark Forest Adventure Park, among lots else.