Fort Augustus: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Most traffic around Loch Ness takes the main road on the north shore. The south side is quieter: a road that climbs high over the hills behind Fort Augustus and then drops to the water at Foyers, following the line of an old military road. This route goes along it to the north end of the loch at Dores. Come back the same way or round by Inverness and the north shore to make a loop.
A short history of Fort Augustus
In Gaelic the village was called Cille Chuimein, after an early church, until the British built a fort here after the Jacobite rising of 1715. The fort was completed in 1742 and named after Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, and the name stuck to the village. In 1746 the Jacobites briefly captured it, and a few months later, after the Battle of Culloden, the Duke himself used it as a base for subduing the Highlands. In 1822 the Caledonian Canal was opened, running through the middle of the village in a flight of five locks down to Loch Ness. In 1876 the Benedictines turned the fort into an abbey, which operated until 1998.
The ten best sights in Fort Augustus
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1Fort Augustus Locks
Five locks step the canal down to Loch Ness right through the village; watch a boat go through
2Caledonian Canal CentreDisplays on the canal and a café, beside the top lock
3Fort Augustus AbbeyThe old fort, then an abbey, now flats; see it from the lochside path
4Cherry IslandThe only island in Loch Ness, a short walk from the village; seen from the shore
5Suidhe viewpointHigh on the south road; the whole length of the Great Glen opens up
6Falls of FoyersA steep path down through woods to a deep gorge
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7Dores Beach
A pebble beach at the north end of the loch with the classic long view down it
8Urquhart CastleThe ruined castle on the loch, 35 minutes away; busy from late morning
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9Loch Ness Centre
The monster story told honestly, in Drumnadrochit
10Invermoriston BridgeAn old stone bridge over a rocky river, ten minutes north
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Fort Augustus →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Fort Augustus:
Free walking tours in Fort Augustus
The quiet south shore
Most traffic around Loch Ness takes the main road on the north shore. The south side is quieter: a road that climbs high over the hills behind Fort Augustus and then drops to the water at Foyers, following the line of an old military road. This route goes along it to the north end of the loch at Dores. Come back the same way or round by Inverness and the north shore to make a loop.
- Fort Augustus Locks · The Caledonian Canal, engineered by Thomas Telford and opened in 1822, links a chain of lochs to cross Scotland from coast to coast. Only about a third of its roughly 100 km is dug canal; at Fort Augustus five locks carry it down into Loch Ness.
- Suidhe viewpoint · Suidhe Chuimein means "Cumein's seat", after the 7th-century abbot of Iona, St Cumein, who is said to have rested here. The village below was called Kilchuimen, Cumein's church, before the fort gave it its English name.
- Falls of Foyers · Robert Burns came here in 1787 and wrote a poem about the falls in pencil on the spot. In 1896 a company built one of Britain's first hydro-electric aluminium smelters at Foyers, and since then much of the river has been diverted, so the falls are at their best after rain.
- Boleskine House · The occultist Aleister Crowley bought this lochside house in 1899, and in the 1970s it was owned by the Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. It was badly damaged by fire in 2015 and again in 2019, and is private; see it only from the road.
- Inverfarigaig · The road here follows General Wade's military road of the 1730s, built along the south shore to link the forts of the Great Glen after the Jacobite rising. Above the hamlet a steep pass climbs into the hills through a narrow gorge.
- Dores Beach · Loch Ness is about 36 km long and up to about 230 metres deep, and it holds more fresh water than all the lakes of England and Wales together. From the beach at Dores you can see straight down its length.
The north shore and the monster
The north shore is the famous side of Loch Ness, with its castle, its monster centre and the main road to Inverness. This route follows it to Drumnadrochit and then turns inland into Strathglass and Glen Affric, where the old pine forest and two waterfalls make a good counterweight to the crowds. Visit the castle first thing, before the coaches arrive. The glen roads are single-track.
- Cherry Island · The only island in Loch Ness is not natural: it is a crannog, an artificial island built of timber and stone in prehistoric or early medieval times for a defended house. It used to be bigger, before the canal raised the level of the loch.
- Invermoriston Bridge · Thomas Telford built the old bridge over the River Moriston in the early 19th century, as part of the new roads he laid across the Highlands. It stands beside the newer road bridge, over a gorge of rapids.
- Urquhart Castle · The castle changed hands many times in the wars between Scotland and England. In 1692 government troops blew up its gatehouse so that Jacobites could never use it, and it was left to fall into ruin.
- Loch Ness Centre · The monster legend took off in 1933, after a new road along this shore gave drivers a clear view of the water. The most famous photo, the "surgeon's photograph" of 1934, was revealed in 1994 to have been a toy submarine with a model head.
- Dog Falls, Glen Affric · Glen Affric holds one of the largest surviving remnants of the ancient Caledonian pine forest that once covered much of the Highlands. At Dog Falls the River Affric squeezes through a narrow rock gorge among the pines.
- Plodda Falls · The falls are on the old Guisachan estate, where Lord Tweedmouth bred the first golden retrievers in the 1860s. He also planted the giant Douglas firs around the falls, which are now among the tallest trees in Scotland.
Down the Great Glen
The Great Glen is a straight crack across Scotland, a geological fault that runs from Inverness to Fort William. South of Fort Augustus the canal and the road follow it together past Loch Oich, the highest point of the waterway, to Loch Lochy and the foot of Ben Nevis. On the way are a clan feud, a prince on the run and the soldiers who trained for D-Day here. Every stop is beside the main road.
- Bridge of Oich · This suspension bridge over the River Oich was built in 1854 to a design patented by the engineer James Dredge, with chains that get thinner towards the middle. It is now closed to cars and kept as a historic monument.
- Well of the Seven Heads · The monument was put up in 1812 by MacDonell of Glengarry. It recalls the revenge for the Keppoch murders of 1663: the seven killers were beheaded, and their heads were washed in this spring before being laid at the chief's feet.
- Invergarry Castle · Bonnie Prince Charlie stayed in the castle of the MacDonells of Glengarry in 1745 and again in 1746 as he fled after his defeat at Culloden. In revenge the Duke of Cumberland's troops burned it, and it has been a ruin ever since.
- Laggan Locks · Loch Oich, just behind you, is the summit of the Caledonian Canal, about 32 metres above sea level; from here boats are lowered towards Loch Lochy and the west coast. At the north end of Loch Lochy the clans fought the Battle of the Shirts in 1544, so called because the day was so hot they threw off their plaids.
- Commando Memorial · During the Second World War the British Commandos trained at Achnacarry Castle nearby, in some of the toughest conditions in the army. The bronze memorial was unveiled by the Queen Mother in 1952 and looks out towards Ben Nevis.
- Neptune's Staircase · Eight locks in a row lift the canal about 20 metres at Banavie, the longest staircase lock in Britain. A boat takes about an hour and a half to climb it.
Getting to Fort Augustus and getting around
- Inverness Airport · About an hour by car, round the top of Loch Ness
- Spean Bridge Station · The nearest railway, 40 minutes south, on the West Highland Line
- Fort Augustus bus stance · Citylink buses between Inverness and Fort William stop here several times a day
Cheap eats in Fort Augustus
Fort Augustus is a canal village, and lunch happens by the locks: fish and chips, tea rooms and a few pub kitchens, all within a few hundred metres. Scottish staples are easy to find — Scotch broth, a bacon roll, a scone with jam. In summer the village is busy with boats and coaches, so eat a little before or after one o'clock. Out of season, opening hours shrink.
- Canalside Chip Shop · Fish and chips by the locks, about £10-13
- Monster Fish and Chips · Takeaway fish and chips in the village, about £10-13
- Ripples Tearoom · Tea, scones and toasties by the canal, about £4-9
- Nourish Ness Community Café · Community-run café; soup and a roll about £6-8
- Bothy Bite · Quick lunches by the locks, about £8-12
- Caledonian Canal Centre café · Coffee and cake by the top lock, about £4-7
Museums in Fort Augustus
- Caledonian Canal Centre · Free displays on Telford and the canal
- Fort Augustus Abbey · The building from outside, and the lochside walk behind it
- Loch Ness Centre · An hour of science and hoaxes; better than the gift shops suggest
- Urquhart Castle · Visitor centre with a short film; then the ruin on the water
- Commando Memorial · A garden of remembrance beside it with plaques from later wars
Nature and day trips near Fort Augustus
- Suidhe viewpoint · Pull in at the top of the south road for the view
- Corrieyairack Pass · A long walk or mountain-bike route on an old military road; no cars
- Dores Beach · Pebbles, sunsets and the long view down the loch
- Glen Affric · Waymarked walks from the car parks at Dog Falls and River Affric
- Falls of Foyers · Steep steps; good shoes
Things to do in Fort Augustus with kids
- Fort Augustus Locks · Watch boats rise and fall; walk beside them up the flight
- Cherry Island · A lochside walk to spot the only island
- Loch Ness Centre · Monster hunting, with the science behind it
- Urquhart Castle · Towers to climb and a great view over the water
- Neptune's Staircase · Eight locks in a row; trains cross the swing bridge at the bottom
Where to eat in Fort Augustus
- The Lock Inn · Old pub on the canal bank; haggis and fish
- The Boathouse · Restaurant right on the shore of Loch Ness
- The Moorings · Pub food by the locks
- The Brasserie · Dinner in the village, a few steps from the canal
- Eagle Barge Inn, Laggan Locks · A pub on a barge moored at the locks, 20 minutes south
Frequently asked questions about Fort Augustus
What is there to see in Fort Augustus?
The top sights in Fort Augustus are Fort Augustus Locks, Caledonian Canal Centre and Fort Augustus Abbey. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Fort Augustus?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Fort Augustus without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Fort Augustus?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Fort Augustus, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The quiet south shore.
How do you get to Fort Augustus and get around?
The main ways are Inverness Airport, Spean Bridge Station and Fort Augustus bus stance. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Fort Augustus, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Fort Augustus that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Fort Augustus for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.