A place to relax, eat and shop

Beauly is a fantastic destination and a brilliant base for touring the Highlands. It maintains a good selection of independently owned shops, cafes and hotels which we hope you'll enjoy. But this audio tour will take you just a little off the beaten path and show you parts of Beauly many visitors never see.

But before we begin let's remind ourselves of some of the best places to visit in Beauly.

Just outside the Downright Gabbler you'll see two of our most distinguished neighbours - two wonderful shops that will delight all visitors.

Across the road you will find Iain Marr's. A veritable Aladdin's Cave of treasures. Iain is a renowned expert on Scottish silver and has hundreds of items on display. You'll also find antique porcelain, glass, paintings, scientific instruments and a good few things you'll be hard pressed to guess what they are.

And next door, towards the square, is Campbell's of Beauly. It's a traditional tailors where you can still get a made-to-measure tweed suit designed especially for you. They hold a Royal Warrant from HRH The Queen for the supply of tweeds, which the company supplies to many of the large sporting estates for use by their gamekeepers and ghillies. They also sell a wide range of country clothing and other gifts. Walking into Campbell's and seeing the bolts of cloth stacked neatly on the shelf really is like stepping back in time.

Across the road we have Corner on the Square, a brilliant delicatessen and cafe. It stocks some fantastic cheeses and freshly prepared snacks and has a wonderful range of wines from around the world. And at the other end of the same block we find Cafe Biagiotti which serves some of the best and most authentic Italian snacks and cakes you'll find in Scotland.

And don't forget to see what events are running in our own place, The Downright Gabbler, where we tell stories about the history and culture of Scotland, showcasing our fantastic food and drink.

But if you can resist browsing just now, we can start our tour by walking towards the Square to find Ferry Road on the right.

A stroll around Beauly with the Downright Gabbler
  1. A place to relax, eat and shop
  2. Ferry Road, Lovat memorial Garden and traditional estate cottages
  3. The Beauly River
  4. Beauly Priory
  5. The Square
  6. Mid Street, King Street and Fraser Street
  7. Crofting and the coming of the railway
  8. Cnoc-Na-Rath and the magnificent game of shinty
  9. Station Road, the Phipps Hall and The Lovat Estate Office
  10. The Downright Gabbler