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But first a tip: If you plan to visit several National Trust for Scotland landmarks, consider buying an NTS membership. It lasts a year, offers free parking and free entry to all NTS sites in Scotland and provides a discount (or a free entry) into National Trust places in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and other National Trust organizations worldwide.
DAY ONE OF YOUR 'OUTLANDER'-INSPIRED TRIP
Start your day with a full Scottish breakfast (veggie options available) -- or order a modern twist on Scottish porridge with almond or soy milk -- at the Rendezvous Café.
Make your way to the Culloden battlefield, an NTS site 20-minutes' drive from Inverness, where the famous battle that ended the final Jacobite Rising was fought in 1746. "Jacobite supporters, seeking to restore the Stuart monarchy to the British thrones, gathered to fight the Duke of Cumberland's government troops. It was the last pitched battle on British soil and, in less than an hour, around 1,600 men were slain - 1,500 of them Jacobites," said Devan LaBrash of the NTS via e-mail. "Visitors experience the powerful emotions of the Battle of Culloden in the visitor center's 360-degree battle immersion theatre, which puts you right in the heart of the action." If you have Scottish ancestry, the center has books with the list of families that participated in the rebellion; you can check how your ancestors fared in the uprising.
After touring the visitors' center, walk the length and the width of the battlefield itself to appreciate the distances and to picture what it might have been like for the Jacobites to stand against the better-equipped English army. If you're an Outlander fan, look out for the Fraser clan memorial stone, the one Claire visits in the second season. According to the NTS, the number of visitors to Culloden has increased substantially since the series aired; today the Trust works closely with the Inverness Outlander Group, a community of Outlander fans who live in the Inverness area.
Stay for lunch at the Culloden Visitor Center café and enjoy the kind of fresh meal the NTS sites are known for. The menu is seasonal, but hearty homemade soups and gourmet sandwiches are available year around. Before you leave, pick up a bottle of whisky, appropriately named Culloden Battlefield Highland Malt and only available at Culloden, in the gift shop.
On the way back to Inverness, drop by Clava Cairns, one of Scotland's standing stones sites and a Bronze Age cemetery. Dating back about 4000 years, the complex is free to visit and full of passage graves, ring cairns and standing stones.
Once in the city, stop by Abertarff House. Build in 1593 by Frasers of Lovat, it's the oldest secular building in Inverness. Afterwards, walk through the Victorian Market -- a covered marketplace dating back to the end of the 19th century -- on your way to Inverness Castle. Although today's building dates to the 1830, a castle has stood on this site since 1057. Closed for the past few years for renovations and for the creation of the Inverness Castle Experience, the castle is due to open at the end of 2025. "A former court and prison, the castle has been transformed into a gateway to the Highlands with immersive experiences throughout," said Rachel Cunningham of the Inverness Castle Experience via e-mail. As visitors tour the castle, a seanchaidh (a storyteller) will bring the stories of the area's past -- both folklore and real tales sourced from people living in the Highlands -- to life.
Continue with a stroll along the River Ness, stopping by St. Andrew's Cathedral, the northernmost Anglican Cathedral in the U.K. For a break, have an afternoon tea at the Ness Walk. Taste the British autumn in the carefully curated finger sandwiches and make sure to try its buttermilk and cinnamon-raisin scones, served with clotted cream and homemade jam.
Finish your day with a Highland Malt Whisky Experience -- an evening of music, legends, history and whisky -- at MacGregor's Bar, Inverness's "more than a bar" tavern.
DAY TWO OF YOUR 'OUTLANDER'-INSPIRED TRIP
Have breakfast at the White Cottage Tearoom in the village of North Kessock, a 15-minute drive from Inverness. Enjoy its waterfront location on the Beauly Firth with a choice of a traditional Scottish breakfast or it's veggie option.
Head to Beauly, a village located next to River Beauly, one of Scotland's most renowned salmon fishing streams. Take a stroll along the river and stop at the ruins of Beauly Priory, a 13 century church where Claire meets with the seer Maisri in the second Outlander book.
For lunch, enjoy a mostly locally sourced menu at Beauly's Corner on the Square delicatessen and eatery. Order the best fish chowder you'll ever taste and, if you happen to visit during the right season, try its black pudding salad.
For a great afternoon activity, board Loch Ness by Jacobite for a cruise down Loch Ness, the largest by volume loch in the British Isles and see if you can locate Nessie - either with your eyes or with the help of the onboard sonar. Choose the cruise that stops at Urquhart Castle, a Scottish castle with over 1000 years of tumultuous history.
In preparation for the next day's whisky adventure, spend your evening sampling from over 200 malts in the Malt Room, Inverness's first whisky bar.
DAY THREE OF YOUR 'OUTLANDER'-INSPIRED TRIP
For a different breakfast experience, make your way to Connage Highland dairy, a family-owned, fully organic farm in Ardersier, a town 20-minutes' drive from Inverness. Taste some of its cheeses, take a block or two with you and enjoy a board of locally made curd for breakfast.
Continue north to visit Brodie Castle, an NTS site and the former ancestral home of the Brodie Clan. Built in the 16th century and added to in the 17th and during the reign of Queen Victoria, the castle is a mélange of shapes and styles. A guided tour is included with all NTS castle visits and, as you walk its halls and admire its impressive library with over 6000 books, imagine the last of the castle owners -- Montague Ninian Alexander, the 25th Brodie of Brodie -- leading tours through his residence after donating the castle to the National Trust.
After the tour, take a walk through the castle estate where over 100 varieties of daffodils bloom in the spring; Brodie Castle is home to the National Daffodil Collection.
Have lunch in the tearoom, housed in the castle's Victorian kitchen. Its freshly baked scones will sway you towards a cream tea instead of lunch but if you can resist them, there are plenty of savory options on the menu of freshly cooked meals. Then, on your way back to Inverness, take a whisky tour at the Tomatin Distillery. Learn all about the whisky-making process and take home a memento -- after you fill your very own bottle with the distillery-exclusive whisky.
Finish your weekend just as you started it -- with a Culloden-related experience. Have dinner at Culloden House, the place where Bonnie Prince Charlie, the leader of the 1746 Jacobite rebellion, stayed before the Battle of Culloden. The menu changes with the season, but it's always sourced from mainly organic and sustainable producers and served at tables decorated with the same tartan Prince Charlie's attendants are believed to have worn during the battle. It's perfect setting to reflect on your time in the Highlands, how much there's still left to discover and when you can plan a return trip to see more.