Self-guided walking tours in Inverness

Inverness is compact enough to cross on foot, and this day never needs a car. The old town sits between the castle esplanade and the river, the three walks in this plan start within the centre, and the riverside and canal paths are flat, so the going is easy. The one climb is the path from the High Street up to the castle, and buses and taxis are there if your legs have had enough by the evening.

Inverness works in any season, but late spring and early summer give you the long northern evenings, which is when the canal leg at the end of this day is at its best. The castle stays open until 7pm from April to September and until 6pm from October to March, and Abertarff House opens only in season, so a short winter day is better spent on the old town and the river. The Botanic Gardens are free and open daily all year.

You don't need a car in Inverness, for the centre or for the walks in this plan. The bus and railway stations both sit in the middle of town, and every leg here uses footpaths along the river, the islands and the canal towpath. If the canal leg leaves you at Clachnaharry at the end of the day, buses run back into the city along the Beauly road, or you can call a taxi.

A day in Inverness on this plan costs around £45 to £60 a person, because most of the route is free. The fixed costs are the castle, at £20 an adult booked online or £22 on the day, and the cathedral, at £6 for adults who visit it as an attraction, while prayer, candles and services are free. The Botanic Gardens, the Ness Islands, the riverside paths and the canal towpath all cost nothing, so the rest of your money goes on coffee, lunch and dinner.

Inverness puts food on the route at every stage of this day. The Victorian Market food hall opens from 8am for coffee and serves lunch from several independent kitchens, with each business keeping its own hours. Rendezvous Cafe on Church Street trades daily from 8am to 3pm and serves lunch from noon to 2.45pm, Café Botanics in the gardens does lunches and cakes with last orders at 3.45pm, and The Clachnaharry Inn at the canal end does pub food, with a roast on Sundays.

One day is enough for Inverness itself: this plan covers the old town, the river and its islands, and the canal, and it still leaves room for two sit down meals. A second day lets you slow down, take the castle's afternoon tea, catch a show at Eden Court, and use the city as a base for the wider Highlands.

Inverness is a small, safe city, and the centre stays busy into the evening. The things to plan around are light and footing: stretches of the river and canal paths are unlit, winter afternoons end early, and the towpath can be icy, so carry a torch or use your phone light in the darker months. In summer, midges come out on still evenings beside the water.