Well, it is nothing short of fantastic up here! We are already regretting the things we do not have time to see (like the Harry Potter train crossing the Glenfinnen Aqueduct), but we are making the best of what we can see and wishing for the most part that we could stay in every place we have been for a bit longer.
Some of the towns seem touristy during the day but we are staying pretty much away from those areas. We did spend some time in Fort Augustus along with the tourists to watch a series of six locks open and move boats from one level to the next. Ingenious! We stayed on a farm on Loch Ness (no Nessie sightings) outside Fort Augustus with highland cattle, horses (the oldest is 33!) two dogs and many bird species. Not long enough!! There was another couple there from Glasgow celebrating their 55th anniversary and a young host who was not only kind, knowledgeable and super efficient but handsome as well (according to a reliable source, Liam Hemsworthy).
Anyway, we have unfortunately moved from that location but are now in an amazing apartment with a view of Lock Lihanne. There are trails right in back of our place - one (the murder trail) leads to the place where Colin Campbell of Glenure was killed by an unknown assailant in 1752. It is said that he was thought to be too sympathetic to the clans after the Jacobite uprising and was ordered by the British to remove the Stewarts from their land. He never made it there and some say that only the ancestors of the Stewarts know who actually killed Campbell. A man named James of the Glen was hanged for the murder but it's believed he was innocent and that the real assassin - one of the Stewarts - went mad because of this. There is a cairn dedicated to Campbell in the woods behind our temporary home on the spot where he was killed and another cairn dedicated to James by the bridge which crosses Loch Linnhe.
Further up the trail are views of the loch toward the west and a rock to sit on to watch the sunset or just to listen to the forest. I stayed as long as I could until the midges started to bother me and it got really cold.
This is a really cool place! Tomorrow more exploration of Glencoe!
Here are photos from the last couple days.
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Our B&B on Loch Ness and below our
first highland cattle |
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| Views of Loch Ness with Rainbow, at sunset and in the morning with mist. |
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| Some of the wild (and not so wild) life |
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Our host with his dogs, Amber and Ella
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The photos below are after we arrived in Ballanchulish near Glencoe. It is an incredible area with some amazing hikes. You could easily spend a month here just exploring the area. Below is a very small sampling of some of the beauty of this area.
Hi, Ruth, it is your neighbor Pam. So glad you are enjoying Scotland. Thirty years ago my mom and I went there and spent almost 3 weeks exploring it (we used trains...so many back then). I fell in love with it. Thought it would be too touristy but it was a most wonderful experience and I still dream of the beauty along the coast. Glad you are there and the pictures are lovely.
ReplyDeleteThanks Pam. We should share stories/experiences when I return.
ReplyDeleteSo very beautiful! All of it, even the birds and the cows. And am I your reliable source?! ;) But the murder tail and midges are slightly creepy lol. By the way Pip said she has been reading this blog and tried to comment but her phone wouldn't let her. I've heard that before. Anyway I want to go back with you and spend a month exploring each place with you. Oh and I see where your priorities lay, no time for Harry Potter but plenty of time for Outlander. Sigh.
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