Fort William is a lovely town, but alas, it is time to depart. Our first adventure consists of a drive across the so-called “Great Glen”, the valley (actually, a geologic fault) that connects Fort William on the west side of Scotland to Inverness on the far northeast. But first, one last farewell run up to the Ben Nevis trailhead!
From Fort William, we drove northeast and soon took a quick break at one of the only features in today’s post that ISN’T a castle–the Commando Memorial, commemorating the unprecedented training and sacrifice of the original highland-based WWII commandos (and many since then).
From there, we continued northeast past Loch Lochy (beautiful place) and Fort Augustus. It was interesting to learn just how much of the area was developed from the initial Hanoverian dynasty’s efforts to establish control over the north end of the country (hence, the name of all the forts). This brought us to the west end of the infamous Loch Ness. Keep your eyes open!
This brought us to Urquhart castle, one of my favorite castles in Scotland. Now adays, it’s a well-maintained set of fascinating ruins along the shore of Loch Ness, but it’s nonetheless beautiful and the setting is quite majestic. The ruins themselves have an almost enchanted-like quality that makes the contrast between emerald green grass and reddish-brown stone particularly striking.
Here’s a shot of Leila with some of her favorite cousins, standing in front of the castle gate.
Even the little one had fun running around the lakeside ruins with mom, dashing from courtyard to courtyard with all the enthusiasm of a one-year-old who has just learned to make the most of her new-found running skills.
From the castle’s lakeside dock, we boarded a boat that returned us to a nearby Nessie tourist trap. Still, the boat ride was nice–I was amused by the real-time sonar readings displayed on the wall for the benefit of those seeking a more scientific approach to hunting the fabled beast. Here, though, we are topside and greatly admiring the view.
From there, we continued on our drive past the loch and straight through Inverness, shooting through traffic to venture out east to one of my other favorite castles in Scotland at Cawdor. It’s a beautiful landmark, so we stopped for a number of very serious Kirkpatrick family photos in front of the building before we went in.
After touring the castle (no photos allowed inside, sadly), we strolled through the beautiful adjoining gardens. This, needless to say, proved highly photogenic. First, the happy couple underneath a tunnel of flowers:
All all four in the middle of the gardens…
It had been a busy day, so we headed back into Inverness to check into our hotel and go for a peaceful stroll along the bank of the Ness. Aren’t those some great, rich Scottish clouds in the background? =p
Tomorrow, the adventure continues with yet another castle and some tasty tastings!