By ship
The Caledonian Canal links the Beauly Firth through Loch Ness to Fort William at the foot of Ben Nevis, Britain's highest mountain.
By train
Wikitravel has a guide to Rail travel in the United Kingdom.
Inverness railway station is located in the City Centre. There are direct services to Edinburgh, Glasgow and London from the south and Aberdeen from the east. There are two scenic lines: to Thurso and Wick, and to Kyle of Lochalsh.
If you're travelling from London, the sleeper train (http://www.firstgroup.com...) is an excellent way to travel. It leaves from London Euston and arrives between 0800 - 0830. East Coast (http://www.eastcoast.com) also operate a daily service to and from London King's Cross known as The Highland Chieftain which leaves at around 0900 southbound or 1200 northbound. Journey time is around 8 hours.
Be warned. There is sometimes an error with the booking system through the internet if you intend to sit rather than book a sleeping berth; if your ticket says 'no seat reserved', you need to either phone up First Scot Rail or visit your nearest train station to reserve one for free. If you don't have a reserved seat you may not be allowed on the train, despite having bought a ticket with the times and dates of the train printed on them, or at best be forced to pay £40 for a sleeping berth if there is one available.
By car
Inverness can be reached from the south by the A9 from the south Perth & M90 from Edinburgh, Glasgow and from Aberdeen, 110 miles by the A96 road. The A82 reaches Inverness from the south-west, Loch Ness, Fort William and eventually to Skye. None of the roads to Inverness are entirely dual-carriageway. The A9 continues to Thurso on the extreme north coast of the Scottish mainland.