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Cawdor Castle Shore Excursion Review – All You Need to Know

Thinking of taking a Cawdor Castle shore excursion during your Invergordon port call?

Here is all the practical information you need to decide if it’s the perfect excursion for you.

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cawdor castle shore excursion map

Cawdor Castle Shore Excursion

Is There a Shore Excursion to Cawdor Castle?

Most ships offer an excursion to Cawdor Castle when they visit Invergordon. There are also private tours that offer this as part of a package, or you can arrange your own private tour and include a visit.

Cawdor Castle operates timed entry slots for groups. There may be more than 2 coaches from the ship taking this shore excursion. If that’s the case the entry is usually staggered to avoid overwhelming the castle and causing long queues.

Some itineraries include a brief stop at Culloden Battlefield. This may be done before or after Cawdor Castle depending on how many coaches are going on this tour.

The longest travel time to Cawdor Castle is around 1 hour and 15 minutes if going via Culloden, plus the time spent at Culloden Battlefield which can be anything from 15 minutes to 30 minutes.

The shortest travel time to Culloden is around 1 hour.

The journey to and from Cawdor Castle is the same, apart from the stretch going past Culloden Battlefield.

cawdor castle shore excursion entrance

Cawdor Castle Shore Excursion – Facilities at Cawdor

Cawdor Castle is a very popular visit and has the following facilities on site for guests;

  • Ladies and Gents toilets on the way from the car park before the ticket office
  • Wool shop on way from the car park before the ticket office
  • Small cafe on the way from the car park before the ticket office
  • Ladies’ and Gents’ toilets beside the cafe in the courtyard
  • Small shop in the courtyard
  • The cafe serves hot meals, soup, sandwiches, and drinks
  • Gift shop at the corner of the castle near the walled garden
lockers

Cawdor Castle Shore Excursion

Practical Information

  • Coaches park and stay in the coach park. There is a walk from the coach park to the ticket office where groups are given a ticket and an audio guide.
  • The path is mostly flat and level with a few bumps along the way.
  • Once you have passed the ticket office you reach the main front lawn that looks over the castle.
  • To enter the castle you cross the drawbridge and then take 4 steps down to your right-hand side.
  • The castle visit is self-guided using the audio guides given out at the ticket office.
  • There is no flash photography allowed inside the castle.
  • No backpacks or large bags can be taken inside the castle. There are free lockers by the ticket office where you can store any bags if you need to.
  • Most coach drivers and guides will allow you to leave anything you don’t need with you on the coach during your visit too (at your own risk).
  • If you listen to every piece of information in the audio guide it will take 45 minutes.
  • There are no lifts at Cawdor – it’s a very old castle. There are steps up and down. Some of the steps are very narrow with low beams. Some of the steps are steep and twisty like those in the turret.
  • It is difficult to avoid these stairs if you want to see most of the castle.
  • You will generally have around 1.5 hours at Cawdor depending on your itinerary.
entrance to walled garden

Cawdor Castle Shore Excursion

What is There to See at Cawdor Castle?

The castle is a home that is still used during the winter months and it is very interesting to visit with lots of personal details such as family photos, sculptures, lovely gardens, and lots of personal details.

entrance to flower garden

The flower garden is well worth a visit. This is accessed by entering through a doorway to the left of the castle as you face the front. There are beautiful flowers and several lovely sculpture pieces as well.

One of my favourite pieces of sculpture is a bird feeder that looks like a flower bud. Turn left as soon as you have gone through the gateway. If the gardens are quiet you may even see red squirrels.

The walled gardens are to the right of the castle as you face the front. The gardens look lovely any time of the year and they also have some lovely sculptures in them too.

path to woods

One of my other favourite spots is a nice quiet walk in the woodlands.

At the front right-hand corner of the castle, there is a path that runs beside the castle. Follow this down and then step down the large steps and cross a bridge over the river. There are two amazing redwoods there and a nice path that follows the river. It does go up and down a bit so there are some steeper sections.

coach park sign

Cawdor Castle Shore Excursion

Getting from the Castle to the Coach Park

Head past the sign on the lawn to the exit which is back by the ticket office.

to the exit

Head between the trees and round to the right-hand side to pass through the exit gate or barrier.

You can drop your audio guide off here if you still have it.

cafe and path

Walk past the toilets, wool shop, and tiny cafe. The golf course is on the left side across the small road.

tiny caravan

Pass the cute caravan on the right-hand side of the path.

through the tree

Walk through the tree to reach the car parking area. The coach park is on the far side of the car park.

Culloden Battlefield Photo Stop

  • If your itinerary includes a photo stop at Culloden this will be around 20 minutes or so long.
  • The coach has to park in the coach bays.
  • You will then need to walk past the visitor centre to see the battlefield. You will not have time to walk out into the battlefield area.
  • There are bathrooms and a shop at the visitor centre.

Cawdor Castle Shore Excursion – Conclusion

  • Cawdor Castle is a lovely visit especially if you enjoy gardens as well as castles
  • The walk to and from the coach park is around 0.5 miles each way
  • There are steps to get into the castle and also to get around inside the castle
  • The paths around the garden are mostly flat with gentle gradients on a few
  • The audioguide brings everything to life.

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