Day 4 - Loch Ness

I've already done posts of the first three days of my family's visit, so I'm picking back up with Day 4. On that day we got up early and got ready for a 2 1/2 hour drive cross-country to Inverness and Loch Ness. I was so excited, because this was a place I have wanted to visit since I got here. On the way, we ended up at the coast of the Moray Firth, along the top part of the main area of Scotland. Mom was thrilled to get to go to the beach (she loves the ocean), though it was quite cold out there, and the water was frigid.


After we convinced Mom to leave the beach, we continued our drive to Loch Ness. It was amazing when we finally saw the loch. It is HUGE! They say that Loch Ness is big enough and deep enough that it could hold all the water from all the lakes in Scotland and England. Wow! The scenery was gorgeous, with the sun blazing strong and reflecting off the water, and the mountains in the distance. We parked in an observation point, where we walked down to the loch and searched for Nessie. Unfortunately, she didn't come out to have her picture taken. But Dad tried to entice her to the surface by skipping rocks on the water, and we all picked up rocks from the shore to take home as souvenirs.


After a picnic and a little shopping at the Loch Ness visitor's centre, we headed a little farther south the Urquhart Castle, (pronounced uh-kurt) a castle ruin on the shores of Loch Ness. Oh my goodness - it was incredible! First they show a short film about the history of the castle, then when the film is over the curtains open for this beautiful panoramic view of the castle and the loch. We explored all the various areas of the castle, braving the wind to climb to the top of the towers. Thankfully the sun was out in all its glory, because it made things much warmer.




Finally, we headed for home. We took a brief stop in Elgin and saw the outside of the Elgin Cathedral (another ruin, unfortunately). In its day it must have been phenomenal, and it was disappointing that it was closed by the time we got there. We got home late that evening, but I think it was one of our best adventures of the vacation. A truly incredible day.


Check back soon for details of Day 5 - Coastal Trail!