Looking after our Environment while out and about

Sustainable and responsible travel in Scotland

In this blog, we will help you to find Inverness, East of Inverness, and Loch Ness facilities whilst learning how to help to protect our Scottish history, heritage, culture, and landscapes. Environmental protection is at the core of everything we do here at the Kingsmills Hotel. And you can find out more about our steps to being an eco-hotel in our environmental policy.

Protecting Our Landscapes, Culture and Heritage

As part of aiming to be as eco-friendly as possible, we extend this care to our surroundings. And here we can help you to look after the planet whilst out exploring Inverness and Loch Ness. So let’s get started….

First off, please remember to leave each place you visit, exactly how you found it. So, dispose of your litter responsibly. Or if you bring it back to the hotel with you, we are happy to help dispose of and recycle it for you where possible. Secondly, please don’t light fires or leave disposable BBQs, these scar our landscapes and risk the wellbeing of our wildlife. And our landscapes are so beautiful, we want to leave them perfect for everyone to enjoy!

Protection of Scotland’s Artefacts

Everywhere you go when visiting Loch Ness and Inverness, you will come across ancient artefacts, structures and buildings. And many of these you can touch, enter, access and submerge yourself back in time. But, to preserve this open access, these special places need your respect. Please, please, please do not move, remove or alter these structures or items on each location. We are lucky to still have burial grounds, with boulders placed thousands of years ago. And each stone moved is another step closer to the loss of our history and heritage. Each gravestone vandalised is another artefact, a story of a life, that we cannot replace. Each fire lit for an evening’s entertainment is another irreversible scar on a sacred location.

Protecting Scotland’s Wildlife

And we also need your help to protect our Scottish wildlife! Yes, we are extremely lucky to call here home to many beautiful, rare and special animals, plants, trees and creatures. All of which you are very likely to be able to see and enjoy if you go to the right places: Plodda Falls, Glen Affric, the Cairngorms National Park, the Moray Firth, Glenfinnan, Glen Strathfarrar and on our many walking trails. As you will learn when you visit, we are a small town, and to visit most places you need to drive through the countryside. So please drive responsibly in case our wildlife is near (or on) the road.

Toilets and Facilities around Inverness and Loch Ness

And as you will be rather remote whilst enjoying our beautiful part of the world, don’t get caught short… Please don’t leave your personal waste lying around. Children, walkers, dogs… all sorts of visitors are out adventuring and none of us want to find a little unexpected surprise on our travels!

So, check out Google Maps for things to do, attractions, places to eat, and other locations likely to have facilities on route. And Google even has its own map for public toilets! Alternatively, The Great British Public Toilet Map offers some guidance on finding loos when on your travels.

Core locations and facilities are dotted all around Loch Ness, including the villages of Loch Ness: Dores, Foyers (and Cameron’s tea room just a few miles on), Fort Augustus, Invermoriston, Drumnadrochit, Dochgarroch Lock (at the home of Jacobite Cruises).

Places to stop for facilities on the East of Inverness Heritage trail include: Culloden Battlefield, Fort George, Cawdor Castle, and the town of Nairn. Please note that there are no facilities at the Clava Cairns or Culloden Viaduct.

But, if you do need to spend a penny, or two, and cannot source a toilet, the Scottish Outdoor Access Code gives us some good advice: “If you need to urinate, do so at least 30 metres from open water or rivers and streams. If you need to defecate, do so as far away as possible from buildings, from open water or rivers and streams, and from any farm animals. Bury faeces in a shallow hole and replace the turf.”

Inverness History and Culture

If we all follow these simple steps you can enjoy all the wonders and hidden gems of Inverness as much as the last person. So, please don’t:

1. drop litter
2. light fires or BBQs
3. move, alter or remove any stones, artefacts or features
4. toilet in the wild irresponsibly
5. drive or park irresponsibly

Now, it’s time to go and find more things to do and places to see in the Highlands on your own magical Scottish holidays. Including some of our favourite eco-friendly attractions in Inverness. And because we believe in creating the best holiday locations, holidays with a difference, you’re guaranteed to be in for a treat!