Loch Ness: Day Three

"How sweetly bloom'd the gay, green birk,
How rich the hawthorn's blossom;
As underneath their fragrant shade,
I clasp'd her to my bosom!"

We tried to pack our last day in Loch Ness with as much sight-seeing as possible. I think we succeeded. The plan was to walk as many of the local hiking trails as we could and try to see as much of the local beauty as we could. After our obligatory Full Scottish, we hit the trail, literally. Our first trail started just past the village of Drumnodrochit and led to Divach Falls. We stepped off the sidewalk into one of the Highland "right of ways," the narrow paths that allow safe passage between privately owned lands. Here and there the trail joined a roadway or a cart track, but for much of it, we were on narrow ways that either wound through a forest or between meadows dotted with sheep. It was a mostly sunny, partly misty day as we wound our way up the mountain, hearing the roar of the river as we climbed. The hike has a "moderate" difficulty rank, and the incline was a bit more challenging than Arthur's Seat. That said, we passed a few people in their gardens, and a couple of girls met us coming down as we were starting up, but we had the trails to ourselves the whole day; it was fantastic. The trail met a road just before the final trek to the Falls and that stretch was pretty tough, but once we opened the gate and began the hike down, it was a pleasant walk through lovely woodland. Once we emerged at the vantage spot and caught our first breathtaking view of the Falls, the last of our weariness faded away. We were so energized by the natural beauty, that, on this morning, was there just for us. If there had been a bench and been perhaps a bit less damp, we may have stayed there all day, but at last, we tore ourselves from the view and strolled back down the trail - which was an incredibly easy downward walk. As we reached the midpoint of the trail back to the village, we came to another branch off that led to three different walks up into the mountains. We decided that since we were now experienced hikers that a few more trails would be no problem at all. The Balmacaan Forest hike was our second walk and it was a beautiful stroll through the woods that took no time at all. The forest has gorgeous ancient trees covered in many different varieties of moss and ivies and, aside from the wee coos and sheeps, we were alone amidst the quiet beauty. Our third walk was more challenging, probably equal in difficulty to the Divach Falls hike, and much more haunted. From the intermittently spaced three stacked stones along the trail to the deep gloom and chill of some portions of the woods, it was not difficult to envision this as a route to an execution site. The trail is another moderate hike, and it was pretty challenging for us (for Melody, certainly) and frequent rest stops were necessary, but the mysterious forest medieval was splendid, and the weather held to just a mist as we finished our climb. The summit, Craig Mony, has the remains of an Iron Age fort, and while these remains appear as little more than large exposed rocks, the view did not disappoint. We looked down upon the entire valley of Drumnodrochit, another breathtaking view. We had packed a lunch, and so we ate our roast beef and cheddar rolls along with fresh raspberries as we sat on the remains of a fort swallowed by time and a mighty forest. It was wonderful. As we began to pick our way back down the trail, the rain, which had been held at bay throughout the day, began to fall and the trail, difficult on the way up, became a bit treacherous on the way down. We, at last, made it back to the road where we had picked up the Craig Mony trail and in the falling rain walked back through the village to our room. After we changed from our soaking clothes, we took a nap and went out for a great meal. While this was our only meal "out" in Drumnodrochit, it was exceptionally good. We had a three-course meal for just 13 pounds at the Courtyard Restaurant. DJ had country chicken pate and oatcakes and Mel had goat cheese and peppers for appetizers, both were great. The lamb shank was better than the pork loin, and just fell off the bone. For dessert, the toffee pudding with toffee sauce and the chocolate cake with Mars bar sauce were fantastic, and the coffees were perfect complements. We finished the night with wee drams of whiskey at our hotel pub and with a recap of Manchester United's capture of the Premier League title with their largest winning margin in a decade. What a brilliant day!

Further impressions of the day: We really have enjoyed the hikes around the area, probably even more than we expected. When we booked just three nights here, we felt it would be plenty, but a few more days to explore more of the walks toward Inverness would be great. Our hotel staff here have been very good and while people don't seem quite as open as they do in Edinburgh, they have been pleasant and helpful and we have felt welcome. Tomorrow, we get back on the road. More roundabouts! Culloden! Stirling!

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