Todays route is under 3 hours of driving, crosses Scotland from west to east, includes some iconic stops and terminates in Inverness.
The rain hit us again this morning as we started our way south on the A87 toward Skye Bridge. Low clouds accompanied the rain which limited our view as we exited the island.
As it had on prior days, the rain eventually cleared, but much of the day was damp with off and on showers. We were expecting rain on this trip though and, so far, it had been mostly sunny. On the occasion when it did rain it was a light, cool and comfortable rain. I hardly think we could have asked for better weather throughout the entire trip.
Eilean Donan Castle
If you’ve been reading through the prior days, you may have noticed we decided to skip a few castles. From here on that ends. There will now be a lot of castles. Castles every day, starting with the iconic Eilean Donan Castle. The original castle in this location was built in the 13th century. It then went through several modifications and additions until it was eventually destroyed by the British in the 18th century while occupied, interestingly, by a Spanish garrison. The twist of events that occurred to have the Spanish defending a Scottish castle from the British is fascinating. The castle that stands here now is a restoration which was completed in the 20th century and subsequently opened to the public.
Glen Sheil and Loch Cluanie
On a good roadtrip, the road to the next destination can itself become a destination. The route crossing east through Scotland toward Loch Ness along A87 fits this description as it runs through scenic Glen Sheil and alongside Loch Cluanie.
A short way past Loch Cluanie we pulled off for a break at a roadside place called Redburn Cafe where we ate some delicious meat pies and fed their heilan coo (aka. highland cows).
Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle
No monsters were seen today unfortunately. Technically we did see some plush ones at the gift shop of the Loch Ness Centre. It is a pretty lake though. Perhaps not as nice as Loch Lomond, but it is much more famous and so it must be high on the list for anyone visiting Scotland, and Urquhart Castle is a great place for loch views.
We arrived at Urquhart to find a sign stating it was full. However, from the website, we were able to make reservations for 40 minutes later. With extra time to kill we went to the Loch Ness Centre in nearby Drumnadrochit, and, surprisingly, I enjoyed it. It is a tourist trap, as expected, but it contains a well done presentation full of interesting facts about the history of the monster and about Scottish folktales. In the display you move from room to room listening to each story and, at the end, you can decide for yourself if the stories are true.
After finishing at the centre, we headed back south for our reserved time at Urquhart. The castle here appears to have once been an impressive fort, but is largely ruined now. A single tower stands on the northern end and the gatehouse is partially intact, but the majority that remains is sections of outer walls and foundations of buildings. The area is scenic though and makes an excellent spot for photos of Loch Ness.
Inverness
Our final stop for the day was Inverness, also known as “The Capitol of the Highlands”. We had an apartment booked close to downtown where everything would be walkable. Parking also appeared to be a concern at several downtown hotels, so this was one of the prerequisites of our booking. Laundry facilities was another requirement. We found a place directly across the River Ness from Inverness Castle with the added bonus of being next to a large Tesco, where we could replenish our snacks.
We arrived in town a bit late, so our sightseeing options were limited. The Victorian Market was open, but many shops had closed for the day. Leakey’s Bookshop, Scotland’s largest secondhand bookshop, is apparently an impressive sight, but it had closed for the day. Inverness Castle was under construction and closed to the public, still we were able to walk around the outside. We ended up spending some time exploring the walking districts and riverfront. There are a lot of food and live music options in Inverness as well as an excellent gallery and other sights. I leave it up to the reader to discover one of the many city guides available online.
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