Loch Ness: Day Two

"Then catch the moments as they fly,
And use them as ye ought, man:
Believe me, happiness is shy,
And comes not aye when sought, man"


Misty sunshine from 5 am to 10 pm. In Scotland, the rain is always just a few minutes away, but it is rarely aggressive. It's just slightly damper air. We suspect this may be why the grass is such a lovely shade of green (even on this side of the fence). The hotel provided a lovely breakfast that included both cold cereals and juice as well as a hot breakfast. We both had the Full Scottish this morning, and it was delicious, but made the traditional way including a tomato and baked beans instead of sauteed mushrooms. We think the black pudding may have been even better here than at Cucina, but, truly, Cucina wins on all other counts. After breakfast, we put on our walking shoes and headed through the village of Drumnodrochit to Urquhart Castle. Luckily, the mist held at just that during our two mile trek up and around the mountain to the castle and the walk was really easy through absolutely beautiful countryside that abuts Loch Ness. The lambs were gamboling and the mama sheep were contently baaing and relaxing while their babies played tag in a stand of trees. It was all adorable. After snapping many shots of sheep and the loch, we rounded the bend of the mountain and the castle appeared below us, sitting on the edge of the loch. Urquhart Castle is well known to history buffs and Diana Gabaldon readers, but for the uninitiated, there has been a fortified structure on this point since the Sixth Century and the castle structure itself was built in the Thirteenth Century. The vast majority of Nessie sitings occur in this area of Loch Ness. The castle was largely destroyed in 1692 to ensure it did not become a Jacobite stronghold and it has remained a ruin ever since. It has been taken over by preservationist teams in the last decade and nearly 300,000 people a year pay 7 pounds 20 to enter. Since 15 pounds seemed excessive for a tour of a ruin, we declined. The tour would have been interesting, but we had been rewarded for walking, as the view of the castle has been obscured from the parking lot to ensure people who drive cannot see it unless they pay for the privilege, while we humble pedestrians get spectacular views. Realizing that there was little for it but to make our way back down the mountain, we had a relaxing stroll back to the village. We stopped at the local co-op to buy fruit, sandwiches and cider for lunch (and snacks for Sunday since the stores would all be closed). We chanced upon a high school Shinty match, a game played almost exclusively in the Highlands. Its origins are shared with Irish hurling and it looks similar to Lacrosse. The mist was steadily getting thicker, so we did not linger long, but went back to the hotel to read in the common room and relax.
Impressions from the day: this was our most relaxing day, as we did not encounter crowds or fight traffic and it was really nice to take a break and enjoy the natural beauty of the Highlands. Tomorrow we are going to hike a little further inland to search out a waterfall and we will likely try a local pub.

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