Loch Ness
Appears it's true what Bill Bryson says about B&B dining rooms in "Notes From A Small Island" as everyone felt compelled to eat breakfast in complete silence with only the tick tock of the clock and arrival of more toast breaking the silence.
Fully toasted up we headed to Inverness Airport (well I say "airport", I've seen it described as "a cow shed that got lucky") to collect the hire car. We drove back through the city centre to pick up the A82 to drive an anti-clockwise circuit around the Loch (for the best views according to the Lonely Planet guide).
Loch Ness. S'alright I suppose
The first proper glimpse of the Loch is hard to describe, having been aware of it for as long as I could remember it seemed unreal that we were actually there. We blamed the TV generation, whenever you're at a famous landmark it feels surreal and like you're looking at a big TV screen!
Of course had to do the touristy stuff at Drumnadrochit; see the Nessie exhibition, buy sheep shot glasses (Scotland is a haven for sheep-related merchandise), take photo of giant fibreglass Nessie, drool over the display in the Whisky Shop etc.
Giant Nessie!
Urquhart Castle looked amazing with the Loch and stormy sky behind, and a rainbow formed over the water just as we arrived which was perfect for the photos (Nessie didn't put in an appearance unfortunately, was it too much to ask that she raise a flipper to say hello after we'd traveled so far?!).
Urquhart Castle (and genuine rainbow; none of that Photoshop bollocks here petal)
This view was nothing compared to the viewpoint on the B862 on the southern side of the Loch between Glendoebeg and Whitebridge. Awesome is an overused word but it applies here in the original meaning rather than the modernised Bill & Ted "awesome dude" sense!
The viewpoint (although photos don't do it justice!)
We headed to our B&B for that night, ran by a very pleasant lady who looked a bit like Carol Vorderman around the eyes (a "Border Vorder") who owned a house with jawdropping views over the Loch. How she ever gets anything done I don't know, I put off the hoovering if Murder She Wrote is on, if I had that view I wouldn't move from the window!
Had the best meal of the holiday in the Clansman Hotel overlooking the Loch which made a memorable 30th birthday for the other half. Like a lot of Scottish drinking establishments, it had a whisky list in the same way restaurants in the rest of the UK have wine lists. Fitting for the occasion the other half had 2 shots of 15 year old whisky (15+15=30!). Unfortunately (or fortunately) I was driving so avoided inevitable over indulgence and credit card maxing out.
Fully toasted up we headed to Inverness Airport (well I say "airport", I've seen it described as "a cow shed that got lucky") to collect the hire car. We drove back through the city centre to pick up the A82 to drive an anti-clockwise circuit around the Loch (for the best views according to the Lonely Planet guide).
Loch Ness. S'alright I suppose
The first proper glimpse of the Loch is hard to describe, having been aware of it for as long as I could remember it seemed unreal that we were actually there. We blamed the TV generation, whenever you're at a famous landmark it feels surreal and like you're looking at a big TV screen!
Of course had to do the touristy stuff at Drumnadrochit; see the Nessie exhibition, buy sheep shot glasses (Scotland is a haven for sheep-related merchandise), take photo of giant fibreglass Nessie, drool over the display in the Whisky Shop etc.
Giant Nessie!
Urquhart Castle looked amazing with the Loch and stormy sky behind, and a rainbow formed over the water just as we arrived which was perfect for the photos (Nessie didn't put in an appearance unfortunately, was it too much to ask that she raise a flipper to say hello after we'd traveled so far?!).
Urquhart Castle (and genuine rainbow; none of that Photoshop bollocks here petal)
This view was nothing compared to the viewpoint on the B862 on the southern side of the Loch between Glendoebeg and Whitebridge. Awesome is an overused word but it applies here in the original meaning rather than the modernised Bill & Ted "awesome dude" sense!
The viewpoint (although photos don't do it justice!)
We headed to our B&B for that night, ran by a very pleasant lady who looked a bit like Carol Vorderman around the eyes (a "Border Vorder") who owned a house with jawdropping views over the Loch. How she ever gets anything done I don't know, I put off the hoovering if Murder She Wrote is on, if I had that view I wouldn't move from the window!
Had the best meal of the holiday in the Clansman Hotel overlooking the Loch which made a memorable 30th birthday for the other half. Like a lot of Scottish drinking establishments, it had a whisky list in the same way restaurants in the rest of the UK have wine lists. Fitting for the occasion the other half had 2 shots of 15 year old whisky (15+15=30!). Unfortunately (or fortunately) I was driving so avoided inevitable over indulgence and credit card maxing out.
posted by Vicki at 8:15 pm
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