Sensational Summer Festivals & Events in Inverness 2025

Sensational Inverness Summer Events

Highland Games, Music Festivals and of course Under Canvas at Eden Court on the banks of the River Ness. There is so much to see and do this Summer during the day and night! Remember when you come north, we enjoy much longer days, where the nights barely get dark! Make this year to explore and discover Inverness and the Highlands

Sensational Summer Festivals & Events in Inverness

May

May kicks off the Summer in Inverness, the days are already long and the nights bright! May is a fulfilled month with 2 Music Festivals The Black Isle Belter & The Gathering, plus 2 Car shows one for the classic enthusiasts and the other with over a 1000 performance cars, plus the NEW Gin to My Tonic Festival at Eden Court theatre, just a short stroll along the river bank from the Inverness Palace Hotel on the Spa!

• Peat and Diesel The Black Isle Belter, Saturday 3rd & Sunday 4th May 2025, at the Black Isle Show ground, Muir of Ord, Near Inverness. Saturday 3rd over 16s day & Sunday 4th May is family day and all ages welcome. Saturday we welcome Alabama 3, Trail West & RUMAC and on Sunday 4th it’s Scouting for Girls, The Farm & Valtos. Across both days there will be a Funfair, Street food, Bars.
• ULTRA X ULRTA MARATHONS – Saturday 3rd & Sunday 4th May 2025
• Inverness Classic Vehicle Show – Saturday the 17th – Inverness City Centre – The annual Inverness Classic Vehicle Show takes over the city centre with loads for the family to do! At 3pm the Parade Finale takes place through Inverness High Street with the procession of vehicles led by the City of Inverness Youth Pipe Band.
• Inverness Car Show  – Sunday the 18th of May – Expect to see 1000 Performance, modified, street, classic, retro & race cars on display, along with a Live stunt show taking place 3 times across the day
• The Gathering, Inverness 24th May 2025 The Gathering returns, another fantastic music line up this year you will love featuring Skipinnish, Red Hot Chilli Pipers, Torridon and many more amazing acts! As always there are kids activities, beer taster sessions, fantastic food and more! You can buy tickets to this celebration of Scottish music here.
• The Gin To My Tonic, Rum & Vodka Festival Inverness at Eden Court – Saturday 31st May

June

• Loch Ness Classic and Vintage Car Tour – 7th June 2025
• Market on the Green Drumnadrochit – 14th & 28th June 2025 – experience a fantastic community craft market. You will discover fabulous local and Highland makers & producers on Drumnadrochit Green.
• Tartan Talks at Rebel Row – Enjoy something unique during your stay in Inverness, these multi weekly hour talks share the stories about tartan… and the little shared story of tartan in the Highlands!

July

• 2nd July to 23rd August 2025 every Evening – Under Canvas returns every evening, at Eden Court. Relax under the tents, lit with sparkling fairy lights, live music bar and snacks; come and enjoy Scottish musical talent nightly.
• 5th July 2025 enjoy the Scottish National Whisky Festival at Eden Court in Inverness a fantastic evening sipping and savouring!  Indulge in tantalising cocktail pop-ups from world class mixologists, live music and enjoyable seminars to expand your knowledge and just a short walk from the Inverness Palace Hotel & Spa.
• Saturday 12th July 2025 Outdoor Theatre at Cawdor Castle see The Three Inch Fools performing A Midsummer Night’s Dream on Saturday 12th July live on the front lawn at Cawdor Castle. A truly memorable evening, bring your chair, blanket and picnic and prepare to be entertained!

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August 2025

August packs a punch, Under Canvas can still be enjoyed on the evening, don’t miss Fort George Celebration once in a lifetime reenactment, take in some culture with Shakespeare on the lawn at Cawdor Castle or perhaps pick up the pace and dance the weekend away at Belladrum Tartan Heart festival.

• 1st to 23rd August 2025 Every Evening – Under Canvas returns every evening, at Eden Court. Relax under the tents, lit with sparkling fairy lights, live music bar and snacks; come and enjoy Scottish musical talent nightly.
• Friday 9th & Saturday 10th August 2025 Celebration of the Centuries – Fort George, this amazing event is back in 2025. Fort George’s largest re-enactment event. In this weekend-long celebration, re-enactors will bring the mighty fortress to life with a living timeline depicting over two thousand years of Scottish history. Wander through the living history camps dating back to Picts and Romans and see how life would have been. This year make sure you see the Robert The Bruce jousting show!
• Thursday 28th August, Outdoor Theatre at Cawdor Castle, live on the lawn at Cawdor Castle you can enjoy the The HandleBards with a performance of Much Ado About Nothing on Thursday 28th August. Bring along a chair, some blankets and a picnic, and settle in for the show.
• 31st July to 2nd August 2025 Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival , celebrating 21 years, located on the Belladrum Estate, By Beauly, Inverness in the heart of the Highlands, get your toes tapping to a range of Scottish and international artists, musicians and performers during this 3-day summer festival. This summer you can enjoy TEXAS, Supergrass, Paul Heaton, Tom Walker, Natasha Bedingfield, CMAT, Example, Skipinnish, Tide Lines, Gok Wan, The Pigeon Detectives and many many more amazing acts.

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Summer Highland Games near Inverness

A Scottish Summer would not be complete without a trip to a Highland Games, if you can make sure you get to see a Highland Games, they are unique from the swirl of the kilt, to the strength events, wonderful highland farm animals, sound of the pipes and everything in between they make for a fun filled day out.

• Inverness Highland Games, Saturday 12th July 2025 at Bught Park
• Black Isle Show, Thursday 7th August 2025
• Dornoch Games Friday 1st August 2025
• Nairn Highland Games Saturday 16th August 2025 at Nairn Links
• Glenurquhart Highland Games Saturday 23rd August 2024, Blairbeg Park, Drumnadrochit.
• Castle of Mey Games, 2nd August 2025not to be missed if you are on the NC500 or visiting John O’Groats.

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Come and stay with us at the 4 Star Palace Hotel & Spa in Inverness is the perfect base for your #highland staycation. If you’re looking for a Summer Escape, look no further than the Palace Hotel, Inverness. Our family-run hotel is centrally located on the banks of the River Ness, overlooking Inverness Castle, offering easy access to all the attractions in the city and further afield.

Stay in newly refurbished luxury River & Castle view rooms – they are the rooms with the view in Inverness! Don’t forget the Palace is 4 star, it is the only hotel in the city centre with a swimming pool, plus you can you enjoy the brand NEW luxury Gym, Spa & lovely heated swimming pool with jacuzzi! Book your stay and make new memories this Summer.

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