Lots of Ness

Loch Ness

The 10th was a big travel day for us. Left Glasgow without much hassle and set course for Inverness! With a stop to say hi to Nessie on the way. We drove from Glasgow up the western side of Loch Ness, seeing a shitload of stuff along the way (including Ben Nevis).

Driving from the Lowlands into the Highlands was amazing. The road runs through huge deep valleys covered in heather and peat, with massive cliffs, hills and mountains within what feels like touching distance. Some even still had a bit of snow on the top.

Inverness Castle

We stopped in Fort Augustus (right on the southern end of Loch Ness) and waved to Nessie. From there it was miles and miles of weavy rural roads right on the side of the Loch until we reached Inverness. It was a fantastic drive, with green trees arching over the road on both sides with the Loch right there. That, and the mountains on the way in completely met and exceeded my expectations of Scotlands natural beauty. You can see why the Scots loved the South Island when they emigrated here (after being booted out of the Highlands by the Duke of Sunderland so that he could use the land they were tenant farming to raise sheep and crops- more profitable you see). Inverness was a pretty little town/city. All made of reddish stone. We were right on the river looking up at the castle, but more about that next post.