Road Trip - Isle of Skye to Drumnadrochit

After a good rest & a hearty breakfast (I cringe to think of the weight I'm putting on), I headed back down the A87 to the Highlands.

It was an incredible sensation to finally arrive at Loch Ness after having been fascinated by it since I was a wee lass. It's the biggest loch in Scotland & holds some incredible amount of fresh water - more than all the lakes & rivers of Scotland & Britain combined (if you've ever visited Scotland, you'd know that's a bloody lot of water!). But, of course, it is the mystery of Nessie, the famed Loch Ness Monster, that really attracts the tourists (& me to some degree) here.

I went to the Loch Ness Monster Museum (no laughing please) & saw an interesting documentary revealing some facts for & against the existence of Nessie - the jury is still out on this one.

I decided to make Drumnadrochit (love that name!) my base here. But before I looked for a B&B to stay, I went for a drive around a loop up to the Muir of Ord where I hoped to check out my first whiskey distillery. I briefly stopped off for an important scones, jam & cream break (heaven), before continuing to the distillery. But it had just closed by the time I got there. Serves me right for being unable to deny myself those scones!

Luckily I found a B&B cause there were really no vacancies for a single traveller. So I had to stay in a 4-star B&B in a double room & paid a high price for it. But the hosts were lovely. And, as a bonus, there was a cute country pub just out the backyard gate. So I had a good pub meal, a pint of Guinness & even a shot of whiskey to try. I don't usually like whiskey, but I must say this was delicious! I asked an old local if he believed in Nessie - "aye" he stated in a most convincing tone. After I found my way back to my room, I chilled out, quite relaxed & watch a couple of movies. Ahhh...the good life.

The Road Trip - Fort William to Isle of Skye

I headed off fairly early the next morning after a hearty breakfast that included black pudding (yum).My destination was to get to the Isle of Skye, although I wasn't sure how long it was going to take.

First stop was this little castle site just near Fort William. I found out when there that the bridge across the river here was an excellent viewing point for the Harry Potter train, which was just about to come through there. Some I waited, & even though a little late, it roared by, steam belching out everywhere. I do like trains!

Betty & I then headed up past Loch Lochy (love that name), then did a swift left at a town (think tiny village) called Invergarry. At some point I did get lost, though I'm not sure where. You see, all the signs in the Highlands are written first in Gaelic, so you zoom by at the same time as trying to read the name & you just miss it altogether.

Anyway, along the way I stopped off at the Eileen Donan castle which initally (back in the 13th century) belonged to the McKenzie clan, which is my Mum's Scottish clan going bacck generations. It's one of Scotland's most famous & picturesque castles - beautiful!

By the time I reached the Isle of Skye, it was quite late in the afternoon. Many of the B&Bs were booked out - a never-ending problem in Scotland at this time of year. I found a pub in the middle of nowhere which had wifi - revelation!!!!! So I hooked up & was able to at least get a few things done before realising I really need to get a place to stay for the night. I ended up at this lovely little B&B in Broadford run by an old couple which had a comfy bed & BBC on TV.

The Isle of Skye around Sligachan was spectacular - almost lunar & quite desolate in its appearance.