Dunrobin Castle From Inverness and the Far North
Fifty miles north of Inverness on the A9, half a mile beyond Golspie, a castle with a French roofline stands above its own gardens and the sea. It is the turning point of the far-north day tours. The first thing to know is that for five months of the year it is shut, which is not what the tours that pass it say on the front. Both far-north routes are on Inverness castle tours.
What Dunrobin is
The seat of the Earls and Dukes of Sutherland, and a castle that reads far more like a French château than a Highland keep. Expect conical turrets, tall windows and formal terraced gardens dropping to the sea. Your ticket covers the castle, a museum and the gardens together.
It is a historic building, and it says plainly that a number of areas cannot be reached by visitors using a wheelchair or with limited mobility. Garden access can be arranged on request.
The season, and the months it is shut
Dunrobin opens 1 April to 31 October only. The far-north coach tours run outside that window as well as inside it. Between November and March the castle stop becomes the outside of the building — still a striking thing to stand in front of, but not a visit.
| Month | Opening |
|---|---|
| January | Closed |
| February | Closed |
| March | Closed |
| April | 10.00–17.30, last entry 16.30 |
| May | 10.00–17.30, last entry 16.30 |
| June | 10.00–17.30, last entry 16.30 |
| July | 10.00–17.30, last entry 16.30 |
| August | 10.00–17.30, last entry 16.30 |
| September | 10.00–17.30, last entry 16.30 |
| October | 10.30–17.00, last entry 16.00 |
| November | Closed |
| December | Closed |
Last-minute closures go on social media, not the website. The castle says so itself. If your day depends on getting inside, check on the morning — and if it is closed, a Loch Ness day is the alternative that still has a castle you can walk into.
Admission, and what it covers
An adult aged 17 and over pays £16, a concession £14, and a child of 6 and over £10. A family of two adults and up to three children pays £47, and under-sixes go free. One ticket covers the castle, the museum and the gardens.
Neither far-north tour includes it. On one it is named as an optional extra; on the other, attraction tickets are excluded outright. Either way it is money on top of the fare, and it is the stop that justifies the day.
Its own railway station
Dunrobin has a station on the Far North Line named after it. That is a rare thing for a private house, and a reminder of who built the railway through Sutherland. It is a request stop, so it puts the castle within reach without a tour at all if you would rather take the train up and back.
Getting there from Inverness
Fifty miles north on the A9, half a mile north of Golspie, at KW10 6SF. There is parking for 200 cars and four coaches, which tells you something about how the place is visited. By tour it is between two and two and a half hours each way, which is why both routes that stop here run eleven hours or more.
What to do if it is shut
Between November and March the far-north day still runs and still reaches John O’Groats, Wick and the Caithness coast, all of which are outdoors and open. What you lose is the one indoor hour of an eleven-hour day, which is a real loss in winter. If the castle is the reason you were going north, go south instead: Urquhart Castle is open every day of the year except Christmas, and the Culloden visitor centre is six miles from the city.
Which day tours stop here
Two, and they are near neighbours: one gives the castle an hour alongside Wick and John O’Groats, the other reaches the same corner of the mainland and offers Dunrobin as an extra. Both leave from Railway Terrace, both carry no toilet on board, and both set a minimum age of four.
Neither goes anywhere near Loch Ness, which is the other direction entirely, and neither calls at Inverness Castle on the way out. If you want the far north and the loch, that is two days.
See the far-north days
Eleven hours to the top of the mainland, with the castle, the Caithness coast and John O’Groats on the way. Check the season before you book.
If the castle is closed, Culloden and Clava Cairns is open all year and much nearer. See also the month-by-month page, or compare every route on Inverness Scotland Tours.