Culloden and Clava Cairns: a morning east of the city

Culloden is the reason a lot of visitors come to Inverness at all, and it is close: the National Trust for Scotland puts it five miles east of the city, off the A9 and the B9006. On 16 April 1746, the Trust says, the final Jacobite Rising came to a brutal head there, in what it calls one of the most harrowing battles in British history. Half a day is enough for the battlefield and Clava Cairns, the prehistoric cemetery just beyond it. This guide covers the practical side.

Getting there

By car it is a short drive east. The car park at the visitor centre is open daily from 08:00 to 18:00 and costs £5 for anyone who is not a National Trust for Scotland member; the Trust warns that it can be limited at peak times, and there are bays for motorcycles, coaches and motorhomes.

Without a car, check before you go. The Trust's planning page gives no bus number, only a link to a public transport route planner, so use Traveline Scotland for the day you travel rather than trusting an old blog post. A taxi is the fallback.

The visitor centre

The centre holds the museum, a shop and a cafe. The Trust's hours for the current period are:

• Visitor centre and shop: 09:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30) from 2 March to 1 November; 09:00 to 16:00 (last entry 15:30) from 2 November to 28 February 2027.
• Cafe: 09:00 to 16:00 from 4 September to 31 October; 09:00 to 15:30 from 1 November to 28 February 2027.
• Battlefield: open daily, all year.

On 11 October 2026 admission was £12.50 for an adult, £11 concession, £8 for a child, £33 for a family and £26 for a one-adult family, with Young Scot cardholders paying £1. Members go free. The phone number is 01463 796090.

Take the museum first. It gives you the shape of the day before you walk out onto the moor, where the ground itself is the point. A local on the Inverness subreddit told a visitor to take the battlefield tour, and it is worth asking at the desk what is running on the day.

On the battlefield

The battlefield is open all year and you can walk it without going into the museum. Dogs are welcome on the battlefield if they are kept under close control and you pick up after them. Well-behaved dogs can also go into the shop and the cafe, but not the museum.

It is a moor. Dress for wind and rain whatever the forecast in town says, and allow time to stand still.

Accessibility

The Trust lends wheelchairs free of charge. There is level access from the main entrance to the cafe, the ticket and information desk, the accessible toilet and the shop, with designated disabled parking bays, display information in audio and a hearing loop throughout the visitor centre. A detailed accessibility guide is on the Trust's site.

Clava Cairns

The pins we use for the Culloden visitor centre and Clava Cairns are a little over a kilometre apart in a straight line, though the road between them is longer. Historic Environment Scotland, which looks after the site, describes it as the exceptional remains of an ancient cemetery, set on a terrace above the River Nairn, and says the cairns are about 4,000 years old and were built to house the dead. It lists the site as open all year, at Bulnuaran of Clava.

That is most of what the official page says. It gives no ticket price, opening hours, parking details or facilities, so treat it as an open site: use the toilets and the cafe at Culloden before you go, and check the Historic Environment Scotland page for any closure notice on the day.

Timing the morning

For a half day, arrive at Culloden as the visitor centre opens at 09:00, give the museum and the moor two to three hours, then drive on to Clava. You will be back in Inverness for lunch. Our full-day itinerary adds a Loch Ness cruise in the afternoon.

The anniversary

The battle date, 16 April, falls in spring, when the visitor centre is already on its longer March to November hours. If you want to be there on the day, check the National Trust for Scotland's site for what is planned; we have not listed an event because no programme was published when this guide was written.

Before you go

• Book or check prices on the Trust's site; members get in free, and so does their car.
• Bring boots for the moor and a warm layer.
• Keep dogs out of the museum, and on a close lead on the battlefield.
• Allow for the cafe's shorter winter day if you plan to eat there.