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Evergreen Car Tours - Loch
Ness and beyond
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There
are a huge variety of things to see and do in the Loch Ness area and
beyond.
Whatever
your particular interest, whether it be wildlife, flora, genealogy,
sites of historical interest or simply seeing this area of outstanding
scenic beauty, you will not be disappointed. Evergreen is an ideal
touring base for the Highlands. The Island
of Skye, the far North West, the spectacular mountains of Glen Coe, Aviemore and the
Cairngorms National Park and of course a Loch Ness circular tour can all
be enjoyed on day trips from Evergreen.
We are happy to provide you with information so that you can make the
best use of your time touring in the area and beyond. Alternatively, let us “take the strain”, and choose from
our range of Car Tours.
Listed
below is a short description of some of the car tours we provide. Should
guests wish, we will adapt these, or any other of our tours, to meet their
requirements. For further information on other tours available or any that
you may have in mind, please contact us direct.
All prices
quoted are per tour. The maximum number of people that can betaken on each
tour is four. The price does not include entry in to any attractions but on
each tour Graeme does provide commentary and will answer any questions you
may have.
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1.
Historic Sites Tour.
This is essentially your ‘classic’ historic tour. From
Evergreen we drive first to Culloden Battlefield, where in 1746
Bonnie Prince Charlie lead his troops to a catastrophic defeat.
The National Trust for Scotland owns the site, and it has a very
informative visitor centre. But you need only walk out onto the
battlefield with rain sweeping across the moor to ‘feel’ the
history!
After
Culloden we move on to nearby Clava Cairns for a short stop.
Used as long ago as 3500BC these massive stone structures were
used for collective burials by cremation. Tucked away in woods off
the main road, they stand as an eerie testament to ancient times.
After
Clava we move on to Fort George. Built after Culloden, it
was the largest military fortification in Europe at the time
and it is still in use today. Jutting out in to the Moray Firth,
you can sometimes see dolphins from it's ramparts!
From Fort
George we then travel to Castle Urquhart on the shores of Loch Ness.
One of the most visited attractions in the whole of Scotland this
scenic ruin on Strone Point towers above some of the deepest water
in Loch Ness. We return to Evergreen
via the village of Fort Augustus.
Full day- £85
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2.
Loch Ness Circular.
This is another full day tour, which takes in all the main
attractions around Loch Ness and a few more. Our first stop is
less than two miles along the road at Boleskine Graveyard set
directly below Boleskine House home to Aleister Crowley, self
proclaimed 'most wicked man in the world', at the turn of the 20th
century. From there we move on
to Foyers where we visit the
majestic Falls of Foyers, before a quick stop at Whitebridge to view
the General Wade bridge which dates back to 1732.
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From
Whitebridge we continue up to the route’s highest point at Suidhe Chuimen
at 1200ft. From here there are excellent views back north
towards Loch Mhor. Then it’s on down past lonely Loch Tarff and
to Fort Augustus. Fort
Augustus has many attractions, not least the Abbey and Caledonian
Canal. It’s a great place also just to wander and browse the
shops. After Fort Augustus our next stop is at Invermoriston with
its old Telford bridge built in 1813 and picturesque riverside
walk. If there is time we can take a detour up Glen Moriston
and see the very strange and unexplained 'preachers footprints'
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The
next stop is Castle Urquhart with its classic dramatic setting
overlooking Loch Ness, and the nearby Loch Ness Monster Exhibition
in Drumnadrochit. If there is time guests may wish to take a
cruise out onto the Loch, the choice is entirely up to you. From
Drumnadrochit we head home via Inverness. Full
Day - £75
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3.
Towards Skye and Wester Ross
This tour takes us far into the wild and dramatic mountain and
coastal scenery of north west Scotland. It is a long day but rest
assured guests will return with memories not only of scenic
splendour, but of distant lands 'far from the madding crowd'.
From Evergreen we head to Fort Augustus then down as far as Invergarry. From Invergarry we take "the road to the
Isles", heading north west towards Skye. This road passes
Loch Garry with stunning views westward, and lonely Loch Cluanie before descending into Glen
Shiel which is dominated by a range of mountains called the Five
Sisters of Kintail.
From there it is up the side of Loch
Duich to the village of Dornie and Eilean Donan Castle, ancient
seat of the MacKenzies of Kintail and one of the most picturesque
castles in Scotland. After a stop here, we head on to Kyle of
Lochalsh where you will get a good view "over the bridge over to
Skye" and then on to Plockton, (possibly the most beautiful
village in Scotland!) with it's palm trees, brightly painted
houses and an excellent seafood restaurant!
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After lunch we follow the coast road along the shores of Loch
Carron before heading up and over Bealach nam Bo (pass of the
cattle), which at 2000ft is the highest mountain pass in Scotland, to the remote and beautiful Applecross Peninsula. From the
summit of Bealach nam Bo you can enjoy spectacular
views across to the Isle of Skye and Raasay as well as further
west to the Outer Hebrides.
From Applecross we then head north east on to Shieldaig a small
and beautiful white painted village on the shores of Loch Torridon. After the
village of Torridon we pass below the towering massif of Liatach
and Ben Eighe which are amongst the most spectacular Scottish mountains, and along Glen Torridon to
the small village of Kinlochewe.
From Kinlochewe we continue east to Achnasheen which translates as
"the field of storms" in Gaelic and get good views of
Ben Wyvis which can be clearly seen from Inverness. From the
village of Garve we turn south to cross the Kessock Bridge across
the Beauly Firth and into Inverness. From there it is back to
Evergreen. Full day £120
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4. High Mountains and Glens.
This tour takes guests south west to Spean Bridge, Fort William,
Ben Nevis and Glencoe. It is a tour on which to appreciate the
wild beauty of Scotland's highest mountains.
From Evergreen we head down past Fort Augustus to our first stop
just outside Spean Bridge at the Commando Memorial.
The memorial is to the commandos who trained in the area during
WW2 and the spot affords excellent views of the massive Nevis
range of mountains.
Also near here is where the first shots of the Jacobite rebellion of 1745
were fired. It is an eerie place in a deep gorge near the remains
of General Wade's spectacular High Bridge.
Moving on, we briefly stop in Spean
Bridge itself at the very good gift shop, before heading down to the
Aonach Mor Mountain Centre. We then take a trip up the mountain
gondola (optional) to a height of over 600m. A short walk from here
and you can view Ben Nevis itself, which at 1344m is Britain's
highest mountain.
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From Aonach
Mor we then travel down to Fort William and onto Glen Coe, scene of the
massacre of the Macdonalds in 1692 and also of spectacular
mountain scenery which has been a mecca for mountaineers for many
years. We stop at the new Glencoe Visitor Centre before moving on
to absorb the atmosphere of the Claichaig, the most famous of all climbing
fraternity hostelries in Scotland!
From Glen Coe we
return to Spean Bridge and then follow the winding road past Roy
Bridge with an optional stop at the "Parallel Roads" of Glen Roy.
Then onto Loch Laggan and "Monarch of the Glen Country". We
then join the A9 at Kingussie for a short distance before
detouring off to take the quieter more scenic roads of Strathnairn
back to Inverfarigaig and Evergreen. Full day- £100
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5.
Local Circular.
This can either be a half day tour or a full day tour - it depends
on how much you want to know and do! Concentrating on everything local
(the natural,
historical, scenic, fact and well, perhaps some fiction) we stop
at numerous places including Boleskine Graveyard, the Falls of
Foyers, Suidhe Viewpoint, Dunlichity, Loch Ruthven and the
'Corkscrew' to name but a few, as we meander around
the area along the narrow single track roads. It is a day to
savour and appreciate the true essence of south Loch Ness at a
leisurely pace - Half day-£35
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Full day- £60
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6. Journey to the Edge….
This is a round trip to the far north
coast of Scotland. From Evergreen we head north past Carbisdale castle and
the Falls of Shin (time for a stop here to visit the ‘Harrods of the north’)
to Lairg. From here on it’s all single track as we head up past Altnaharra
to Tongue. The landscape we pass through is harsh, barren and empty which gives
it a truly unique beauty of it’s own. This is one of the wildest and lonely
roads in Scotland and certainly not a place to breakdown!
From Tongue it’s on along the coast to Durness. The coastal
scenery here is rugged and the beaches are quite simply the most beautiful
in Europe – absolutely no question! It’s just a pity that the climate is not
a bit warmer! Durness itself is perched on the edge, the edge of Europe, the
edge of the world(?) There is a sense here of being so far away from
anywhere that it is hard to believe that you are only a few hours drive from
Evergreen
After a visit to the
spectacular Smoo Cave we start the long journey home via Laxford Bridge and
Loch Shin. On this part of the journey keep an eye out for Golden Eagles
which thrive in the more remote highland glens that we pass through. Full
day £140 |
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Please read our car tour Terms
and conditions
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