Loch Ness to Haunted Castle

I just liked the way the sunlight is hitting the hills in the background.


First stop is Urquhart Castle. It sits beside Loch Ness in Scotland along the A82 road, between Fort William and Inverness. It is close to the village of Drumnadrochit. Though extensively ruined, it was in its day one of the largest strongholds of medieval Scotland, and remains an impressive structure, splendidly situated on a headland overlooking Loch Ness. It is also near the castle where the majority of Nessie (Loch Ness Monster) sightings occur.

There is a new visitor's center which blocks the view so we look for the best angle to take pictures.

Ben enjoys the view.
Once on our way, Greg, our funny, energetic guide and driver, spots a baby "hairy coo'" and stops the bus so we can all take pictures.

Greg does the Loch Ness dance.

The beautiful Loch Ness.

Next stop was Culloden Moor, where Bonnie Prince Charlie (Charles Edward Stuart) led the Highlanders in the doomed final Jacobite uprising, and changed Scotland forever.

The Jacobites—the majority of them Highland Scots, supported the claim of James Francis Edward Stuart ("The Old Pretender") to the throne; the government army, under the Duke of Cumberland, younger son of the Hanoverian sovereign, King George II, supported his father's cause. It too included Highland Scots, as well as Scottish Lowlanders and English troops. The aftermath of the battle was brutal and earned the victorious general the nickname "Butcher" Cumberland. Charles Edward Stuart eventually left Britain and went to Rome, never to attempt to take the throne again.

The English were 8,000 strong with 50 killed & 254 wounded by the end of the battle.

The Jacobites were 7,000 strong with 1,250 killed & 1,000 wounded.


The Clava cairn is a type of Bronze Age circular chamber tomb cairn, named after the group of 3 cairns at Balnuaran of Clava, to the east of Inverness in Scotland. There are about 50 cairns of this type in an area round about Inverness.

Carbisdale Castle was built by the Duchess of Sutherland and is now used as a youth hostel, operated by the Scottish Youth Hostels Association. It is located on a hill above the Kyle of Sutherland in the region of Ross&Cromarty in the Highlands.

The castle is said to have several ghosts. It has been investigated by paranormal experts with varying results. The appearances include a lady in white, fallen soldiers of the Battle of Carbisdale and the sounds of a piper. The Ghost of the Castles Gardener, The Hooded Gardener, is said to roam the grounds looking for his lost daughter, he often haunts girls that are the same age as his own daughter (15); he has been seen dressed in black with a black hood with only part of his face shown.

The Castle has a large collection of art with some pieces dating back to the year 1680.

There are 19 Italian marble statues in the Lower Gallery of amazing beauty, dating back to around 1857.

There are nice views from the castle.


That evening we all head out to the local pub for a pint. There is only one place out here, and it is for sale if anyone is interested.

At the pub, the girls put on some traditional outfits.

And the guys get a kilt.

A bag piper shows up later in the evening.

Haggis Adventures - First Stop Loch Ness

Early Monday morning I joined my tour group with Haggis Adventures to begin a 5 day "Compass Buster" journey around Scotland. We headed off from Edinburgh with the destination for the day at Fort Augustus (Loch Ness). Once again, the scenery in Scotland is amazing!


The first stop that morning was at Dunkeld Cathedral on the north bank of the River Tay.

Built in square-stone style of predominantly gray sandstone, the cathedral proper was begun in 1260 and completed in 1501.

Although partly in ruins, the cathedral is in regular use today and is open to the public.

More scenery.

We also did a short hike that day up into the hills.



Back on the road again up into the highlands.

After lunch, I had a taste of a deep fried Mars bar. I was not expecting it to be too good, but I was pleasantly surprised.

After lunch we headed to Ruthven Barracks near Ruthven, Highland in Scotland. They are the smallest but best preserved of the four barracks built in 1719 after the 1715 Jacobite rising, set on an old castle mound. It comprises two large three-storey blocks occupying two sides of the enclosure each with two rooms per floor.

In August 1745 some 200 Jacobites tried to capture Ruthven Barracks. A force of just 12 British redcoats, commanded by a Sergeant Molloy, fought them off with the loss of just one man. By February 1746 Sergeant Molloy had been promoted to Lieutenant. He was still in charge when a larger force of Jacobites arrived, this time equipped with artillery. As a result the government garrison surrendered.

The stables which stood slightly to the west of the barracks were built in 1734 to house 28 horses for dragoons.

A castle in the distance.

A war memorial.

Arrival at Loch Ness. Look very closely in the background. The local expert maintains that there is not just one creature living there. In addition, he believes there are more such creatures living in other lakes around the world.


One of the locks at Fort Augustus. Loch Ness makes up part of the Caledonian Canal, which connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness with the west coast at Corpach near Fort William. The Caledonian Canal runs some 62 miles (100 kilometres) from northeast to southwest. Only one third of the entire length is man-made, the rest being formed by Loch Dochfour, Loch Ness, Loch Oich, and Loch Lochy. These lochs are part of the Great Glen, a geological fault in the Earth's crust. There are 29 locks (including eight at Neptune's Staircase, Banavie), four aqueducts and 10 bridges in the course of the canal.

Edinburgh Weekend

For the first weekend of August, Anatole, Hannah, Alice, and I decided to head up to Edinburgh for the Festivals - Comedy, Fringe, etc. We took the train directly from King's Cross. The scenery on the way up was amazing! Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and the second largest city after Glasgow. Edinburgh has an urban population of 1.25 million people (out of Scotland's population of 5.1 million).






The next morning after getting some take-away croissants and coffee from Pret-A-Manger, we headed over to Edinburgh Castle. Edinburgh Castle is an ancient stronghold which dominates the sky-line of the city of Edinburgh from its position atop Castle Rock. It is Scotland's second-most-visited tourist attraction. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC. As it stands today though, few of the castle's structures pre-date the Lang Siege of the 16th century, with the notable exception of St Margaret's Chapel, the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh, which dates from the early 12th century.

View from Edinburgh Castle looking out over New Town. The New Town was an 18th century solution to the problem of an increasingly crowded Old Town. The city had remained incredibly compact, confined to the ridge running down from the castle. In 1766 a competition to design the New Town was won by James Craig, a 22-year-old architect. The plan that was built created a rigid, ordered grid, which fitted well with enlightenment ideas of rationality. The principal street was to be George Street, which follows the natural ridge to the north of the Old Town. Either side of it are the other main streets of Princes Street and Queen Street.

Hannah and Alice with the soldier and gun.

An old army recruitment poster from inside the museum.
The great fifteenth-century siege gun Mons Meg can be seen today outside St. Margaret's Chapel. The six-ton bombard faces North across the city. Mons Meg has been defunct since her barrel burst on 14 October 1681 when firing a birthday salute for the Duke of Albany.

Was actually not very much down there . . .
Cool gun display.

The tea and coffee house where J.K. Rowling wrote much of the early Harry Potter series.

The Royal Mile is crowded with tourists. As the name suggests, the Royal Mile is approximately one Scottish mile long, and runs between two foci of history in Scotland, from Edinburgh Castle at the top of the Castle Rock down to Holyrood Abbey.
We decided to take a short bus trip outside the city to visit Craigmillar Castle. We hiked across some hills and wound up accidentally entering on the side "for free".

The Fringe Festival kicked off that afternoon with a parade.
Looking out over New Town.

Looking back toward Edinburgh Castle and Old Town.

At the other end of the Royal Mile.

The Palace of Holyroodhouse, or informally Holyrood Palace, founded as a monastery by David I of Scotland in 1128, has served as the principal residence of the Kings and Queens of Scotland since the 15th century. The Palace stands in Edinburgh at the bottom of the Royal Mile. The Palace of Holyroodhouse is the official residence in Scotland of Queen Elizabeth II, who spends time at the Palace at the beginning of the summer.