Home -> Europe -> Scotland -> Travelogue 2000 -> Friday 7 July

A trip around Loch Ness, Urquhart castle

Today is our Loch Ness day. Via Inverness we drive southwards, along the west shore of the lake, up to Drumnadrochit. First, we visit one of the Loch Ness Monster Exhibitions. There are two, the 'Original' and the 'Official'. We take the northern one, but they must be a bit the same, according to the travel guides. We leave the exhibition with great doubts on the existence of the monster, but we keep on looking for it.

Castle Urquhart looks very nice when you walk towards it. It is a ruin as a ruin should be, or at least, that is what we think.

Our first live bagpiper in Scotland. Elisabeth still wanted to know if they wear anything underneath. Within 2 weeks she will know the answer...
The castle is build in the 14th century to defend the Great Glen in the war of independance against the English. It was blasted in 1692, but one can still see it must have been a mighty fortress, not easy to be conquered.

And, of course, part of the fame of this castle originates from the infamous monster. Most pictures of it have been made close to the castle, in the bay of Urquhart. We don't see it, but we keep on looking.

But, according to us, this place doesn't need a monster to attract tourists. The ruin and the gorgeous location are enough attraction for tourists. The high pound and the expensiveness of the country are the only things that keep the tourists away.

After visiting the castle, we drive on towards Fort Augustus where we go to the opposite side of the lake. It is a single track road but big tourist coaches take it as well. From this side, one has a much better view on the lake and the scenery is much nicer. When you are there and have some spare time, don't forget to follow this route.

In the course of the afternoon we return to Inverness and go to the Tourist Information, searching for a place to spend the night. After looking through many brochures, comparing prices, we end up in Beauly again. To a hotel which we had seen from the outside yesterday, but it did look so dark inside and the paint on the outside is peeling off. We daren't sure whether this could be something good. But the hotel also has a pub, so we go in to have a drink. Then we can decide better if we want to stay or not. We have a beer and a coffee and within half an hour we feel like at home.

The owners, Iain and Cathy, are very sympathetic and quickly we are in conversation with them and the locals who visit the pub. No fuss. So we take a room without inspecting it first and it turns out to be quite large and clean, with an additional sitting room. This is a nice place where we can stay for some time.

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with Elisabeth and Teije