Parking at Urquhart Castle is free, but Historic Environment Scotland only guarantees a space if you add it to your timed ticket online before checkout. Motorhomes from 4.5 to 6 m must book too. Without a booking, take the Citylink 919 or 917 to the castle car park stop, or walk about 30 minutes from Lewiston.
Urquhart Castle parking is free, but it is only guaranteed if you book it. Historic Environment Scotland (HES) says spaces are limited and that you add parking to your timed ticket online before checkout. Turn up without a booking in summer and you risk finding no space and no ticket either: HES says tickets often sell out, and once the online allocation has gone, none are sold at the castle. The car park is on the A82 about 2 miles south of Drumnadrochit, postcode IV63 6XJ.
So the order of play is simple: pick a time slot, add parking, pay. Everything below is for the days that does not work out.
| Vehicle | Fee | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Car (up to 4.5 m) | Free | Limited; only guaranteed when booked online with your ticket |
| Motorhome or minibus (4.5 to 6 m) | Free | Designated bays; must be booked online. No space online, no space at the castle |
| Coach | n/a | Reserved for trade partners through their trade account |
| Bicycle | No charge stated | Bicycle rack on site |
| Private boat (castle jetty) | Not stated | Moorings must be booked online |
Checked October 2026 on the HES plan your visit and getting here pages.
The car park itself is level and tarmac with accessible bays, according to HES. From it you walk across to the visitor centre and then down a steep tarmac path to the castle. HES does not mention EV charging; the nearest rapid charger is in the Drumnadrochit village car park (price in the EZO app).
No official source gives a time, and HES does not say what happens to drivers who arrive without a booking. What HES does say is that tickets “can sell out far in advance, especially in summer”, and since the parking guarantee comes with the ticket, a sold-out day is effectively a full car park too. One TripAdvisor reviewer found coach groups arriving for the 9.30am opening and the site quieter after about 10.15. A slot after 10.30, or in the last two hours of the day, is worth trying.
You need a ticket to use the booked parking, so here are the figures HES showed in October 2026.
| Ticket | Online | At the castle |
|---|---|---|
| Adult (16 to 64) | £14 | £16 |
| Concession (65+) | £11 | £13 |
| Child (7 to 15) | £7 | £8 |
| Dates | Opening hours |
|---|---|
| 1 April to 31 August | 9.30am to 8.15pm |
| September | 9.30am to 6pm |
| October | 9.30am to 5pm |
| 1 November to 31 March | 9.30am to 4.30pm |
Checked October 2026 on the HES plan your visit page. Last entry is one hour before closing; closed 25 and 26 December. More on the visit itself is in the Urquhart Castle guide.
Scottish Citylink’s 919 (Inverness to Fort William) and 917 (Inverness to Portree on Skye) both stop at “Urquhart Castle, at Car Park”. The 919 takes about 38 minutes from Inverness bus station and 4 to 5 minutes more than the Drumnadrochit stop, so you can park in the village and ride the last stretch. In October 2026 the 919 ran 10 times a day from Inverness on weekdays. Single adult fares are capped at £2 under the Scottish fare-cap pilot. Stagecoach’s 17 turns up Glen Urquhart and does not serve the castle. Routes and times are on the Inverness to Drumnadrochit page; check Citylink for the day you travel.
The village car park by the green is free (the council invites a donation), and from there the castle is about 3.6 km on foot. The Loch Ness Centre car park gives only 160 free minutes, which is not enough for the walk there and back plus the castle. See Drumnadrochit parking for both.
If summer tickets are gone, a tour that already holds them is the fallback. The 3.5-hour cruise and castle trip from Inverness bus station includes entry and an hour inside; longer days from Inverness do the same. You never touch the car park.
| From | Distance | Time on foot |
|---|---|---|
| Village green (Drum Green bus stops) | About 3.7 km | About 48 min |
| Loch Ness Inn, Lewiston | About 2.3 km | About 30 min |
| Loch Ness Backpackers Lodge, East Lewiston | About 2.3 km | About 31 min |
| Loch Ness Bay Camping, Borlum Farm | About 1.9 km | About 25 min |
Checked October 2026 with OpenStreetMap foot routing (FOSSGIS), run on 14 October 2026.
The route is the A82. Through Lewiston it is a 30 mph street with pavements on both sides. Beyond the last houses the limit rises to 60 mph, and OpenStreetMap shows a pavement or separate roadside path on one side for most of the way to the castle. Walkers on the Walkhighlands forum describe lorries passing close on this stretch, and nobody would call it a country walk. Go in daylight, wear something bright and keep children on the inside.
The Great Glen Way leaves Lewiston up Bunloit Road, but it heads for Grotaig and Invermoriston rather than along the shore, so it is not a short cut to the castle. Walking routes away from the road are in the Drumnadrochit walks guide.
Book one of the 4.5 to 6 m bays with your ticket; HES says that without an online booking it cannot take your motorhome. Anything longer has no bays. The castle is not an overnight stop, and none of the Highland Council’s overnight motorhome car parks is on Loch Ness (the nearest is Torvean in Inverness). The closest campsite is Loch Ness Bay Camping at Borlum Farm, about 25 minutes’ walk from the castle; the Drumnadrochit hotels guide has its prices.
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Yes. Historic Environment Scotland says parking is free but limited, and a space is only guaranteed when you book it online with your castle ticket. You add it to the ticket booking before checkout. Motorhome bays for vehicles of 4.5 to 6 m are free too but must also be booked. Coach parking is reserved for trade partners.
If you want to be sure of a space, yes. HES only guarantees parking that was booked online with a ticket. Tickets often sell out in summer, and once the online allocation has gone there are no tickets at the gate, so a sold-out day also means no parking. Book as soon as your dates are fixed.
Yes. From the village green it is about 3.7 km, roughly 48 minutes on OpenStreetMap's walking route, and from the Loch Ness Inn in Lewiston about 2.3 km, around 30 minutes. Most of the way follows a roadside path beside the A82, a 60 mph road with heavy lorries, so wear something bright and avoid it after dark.
Yes. Scottish Citylink's 919 (Inverness to Fort William) and 917 (Inverness to Skye) both stop at the castle car park, about 38 minutes from Inverness bus station on the 919. Single adult fares on both are capped at £2 under Scotland's fare-cap pilot, which Highland joined in March 2026. Stagecoach's 17 does not go to the castle.
Only in the designated bays for vehicles 4.5 to 6 m long, and only with a booking. HES says that if no spaces are available online, the castle cannot accommodate your motorhome. Longer vehicles have no bays. Overnight stays are not offered; the nearest Highland Council overnight motorhome car park is Torvean in Inverness.
Urquhart Castle is a ruined castle on a rock above Loch Ness, about 2 miles from Drumnadrochit, run by Historic Environment Scotland.
Park in the Highland Council car park by the village green: it is free, with donations invited, and has the Loch Ness Hub, toilets and a rapid EV charger.
Three buses run from Inverness bus station to Drumnadrochit: Scottish Citylink's 919 and 917 (about 33 minutes, and on to Urquhart Castle) and Stagecoach's 17 (about 25 minutes, Monday to Saturday).
Stay on the village green if you come by bus or want to walk to dinner: Morlea B&B and the Loch Ness Drumnadrochit Hotel sit by the Drum Green stops.