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Scottish Highlander

Class: First Class
Location: Scotland
Guests: 8
Scottish Highlander is perfect for: Couples, Families, Groups of friends, Excellent Cycling/Walking, Exceptional historic interest, Magnificent scenery.

The 8 passenger Scottish Highlander offers an exceptional barging holiday with the feel of a Scottish country home, exquisite scenery and fascinating history. Scottish Highlander can be combined with a stay in Edinburgh or Glasgow, and even some golfing in one of the great golf resorts such as Gleneagles or St Andrews, for the perfect Scottish holiday.

At 35.6 metres Scottish Highlander is very spacious and offers tasteful décor with discreet tartan furnishings and lovely landscape paintings. On board you will find four en-suite cabins; one of the cabins is a larger suite which has been designed for those who want extra space during their cruise. The experienced crew of four, led by your captain, ensure attention to your every need. Cuisine is traditional Scottish fare, salmon, game, venison and seafood, prepared by your own Master Chef.

Highlights of this glorious cruise include: Neptune’s Staircase at Corpath, which raises or lowers your barge 21 metres, Cawdor Castle (home of Macbeth!), which has superb gardens, whisky tasting at the distillery of Ben Nevis, cruise on Loch Ness and look for the monster! And numerous fascinating anecdotes and historic stories to be discovered along the way.

Features At-A-Glance

8 GUESTS

1 SUITE OF 148 SQ FEET AND 3 SUITES OF 115 SQ FEET – ALL WITH EN-SUITE BATHROOMS & QUEEN SIZE OR TWIN BEDS

LUXURIOUS SALON AND DINING AREA WITH LARGE PICTURE WINDOWS AND LEATHER COUCHES

4 CREW

117 FEET (36 METRES) LONG

8 BICYCLES

FISHING EQUIPMENT AVAILABLE!

NO AIR CONDITIONING (BUT NOT NEEDED IN SCOTLAND)

AIR CONDITIONED MINIBUS FOR EXCURSIONS

Sunday, Day 1 Muirtown

Guests are met at the Glenmoriston Townhouse Hotel in Inverness and transferred by private chauffeured minibus to Scottish Highlander. Champagne Welcome and perhaps an early evening stroll to the sea lock with wonderful views over the Moray and Beauly Firths. Dinner on board.

Monday, Day 2 Muirtown to Dochgarroch

Our first cruise will take us up the Muirtown lock flight and through Tomnahurich swing bridge, with an option to walk alongside River Ness to the hamlet of Dochgarroch. After lunch on board, on our tour today we drive through stunning hilly scenery to take a closer look at one of Scotland’s best known exports, whisky, at the Glen Ord distillery, founded in 1838 on the Black Isle by the Mackenzies of Ord. A fascinating description of the maturing and ageing process of single and blended malts is followed by our special tasting. Dinner on board.

Tuesday, Day 3 Dochgarroch to Fort Augustus

This morning we enjoy Cawdor Castle*, forever immortalised in Shakespeare’s “Scottish Play”, Macbeth. The picturesque gardens have been listed as being 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. Then we visit Culloden Moor, scene of the last major battle on British soil in 1746. If there is time, we end our tour at the Clava Cairns, a pre-historic clan chieftain burial site dating back to 2,000 B.C. Our cruise today is through Loch Dochfour and down Loch Ness with perhaps a chance of spotting “Nessie” before arriving at Fort Augustus. Dinner on board.

Wednesday, Day 4 Fort Augustus to Cullochy

After breakfast, our cruise takes us up the “flight”, as the locals call it, at Fort Augustus and then on to our pretty mooring at Cullochy. Later, we encounter some of Scotland’s bloody past as we visit the ruins of Urquhart Castle in a spectacular setting overlooking Loch Ness, then take a gentle drive to the Invermoriston Falls and the “Old Bridge” designed by Thomas Telford where you may even see a salmon leaping. This evening we have dinner ashore at a local restaurant.

Thursday, Day 5 Cullochy to Laggan

This morning, 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. The afternoon cruise today 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. Dinner on board.

Friday, Day 6 Laggan to Banavie

Our final cruise today will see us cross Loch Lochy, passing Gairlochy, where there is the option to visit the Clan Cameron Museum. We continue on to Moy Bridge, the last fully hand-operated bridge on the canal to moor at Banavie beneath Ben Nevis and a stroll from Neptune’s Staircase leading down to Loch Eil. After lunch on board, our tour today takes us to the mystical battlefield of Glencoe, famed for one of the darkest days in Scottish history. Alternatively, we can enjoy some breath-taking panoramic views on a cable car ride to the summit of Anoch Mor mountain. If time permits, we can also visit the ruins of Old Inverlochy Castle. Captain's Farewell Dinner on board.

Saturday, Day 7 Banavie

After breakfast, guests are transferred by private chauffeured minibus to their choice of location in Inverness.

This is a sample itinerary and is subject to change. On alternate weeks the cruise will be in the reverse direction.

2026 Prices

Value Season
Regular Season

Stateroom per person

Value Season: €5,490
High Season: €6,350

Suite per person

Value Season: €6,450
High Season: €7,490

Single Supplement

Value Season: €2,000
High Season: €2,300

Charter Max. 6 pax.

Value Season: €39,700
High Season: €45,800

Charter Max. 7 pax.

Value Season: €41,100
High Season: €47,400

Charter Max. 8 pax.

Value Season: €42,500
High Season: €49,000

Note all our prices are in euros. Please ask us if you live in the USA and would like prices in US dollars. We convert to Australian dollars at current exchange rates on the day of payment of deposit/full payment.

Departure Dates 2026

Value Season

March 29; April 05, 12, 19, 26

Regular Season

May 03, 10, 17, 24, 31; June 07, 14, 21, 28; July 05, 12, 19, 26; August 02, 09, 16, 23, 30; September 06, 13, 20, 27; October 04, 11

Value Season

October 18

Price is all-inclusive - inclusions are:

  • Local transfers between Inverness and the hotel barge (the approximate transfer duration is 15mins or 1hr 30mins depending on the cruise direction)
  • A luxury 6 night cruise, all meals on board catered for by the on board Master Chef
  • An open bar 24/7 with a large range of alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks
  • All wines served throughout the cruise
  • Excursions and admittance fees as per the itinerary
  • The services of 4 crew and use of barge facilities, which include bicycles and a sonic fish finder

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