I don’t know about you but the first monster of any kind I remember from my childhood is the Loch Ness Monster. From an episode of the Goodies. From memory they made a fake Nessie and managed to convince the world of its authenticity. I don’t know if that had anything to do with the tacky tourist trade associated with Loch Ness, but it all feels a bit like a late 70s/ early 80s theme park. Last time I visited (yes, this is my second time), I took a town bus from Inverness to Drumnadrochit bypassing the Loch Ness Centre, the true home of Nessie tourism. I didn’t manage to see it on this trip either as it was closed for renovations. Not even the gift shop was open. We went into the café where there is a bit of stuff celebrating the Scotsman who almost achieved a world record for speed on the Loch but crashed and died. On my last visit I attended the runner up tourist destination – Nessieland, sitting through a half hour film depicting the sightings over the years. Even it was closed on this visit, which was surprising given it was a weekend. So, we took a photo with the painted concrete Nessie, looked in the gift shop at the post office for anything new and quirky and were on our way. (I already have a stuffed Nessie with a Scottish tartan cap sitting with my Y2K bug at home so didn’t need another one.}
Because I caught a bus here last time, I didn’t have the opportunity to visit Urqhart Castle so we made the stop this time. It was well and truly worth it. While Edinburgh Castle has heaps of exhibits, you don’t see as much of how it functioned as a castle. Here, at the ruin of Urqhart Castle, you can wander around inside the ruins of this castle in a spectacular setting on the shore of Loch Ness. The museum itself is very well constructed – The visitor centre is nestled under the hill on approach to the castle and there are easy to follow paths down the hill. There are no trees planted to block the vista of the castle once you are through the visitor centre but the way the centre is constructed, it stops you from seeing the castle from the road so you have to pay to get in. Of course what this does is ensure the upkeep of the ruins, which in turn cements it as a tourist stop.
From here we started our journey towards the Isle of Skye, but first a couple more castles on the way. Castles are ubiquitous in this part of the world. It seems there is a new one around every bend in the road in various states of disrepair – and the entry fee (or lack of one) is often related. There are of course some in private hands (and some of these are best described as a folly – the eccentricities of the 18th and 19th centuries when territories were no longer held by defence of castles, wars were fought with guns rather than swords, and rich people built homes to look like castles. The privately owned castles mostly seem to be away from the main thoroughfares. If you happen to have the money to renovate one, you probably don’t want tour buses pulling up at your gate each day. Eilean Donan Castle is another quite spectacular castle with a bridge across to the island at the mouth of Loch Dulch where it sits. We stopped and took some pics but didn’t feel the need to invest in a prolonged visit here. We had places to be and the landscapes we were driving through – more of the spectacular highlands we saw the previous day – were incredibly majestic and enveloped us with a feeling of this big sky country in a way no castle could really achieve.
Highlanders also need those mountain goat genes found in residents of Edinburgh– much of the land here is farmed. It is not uncommon to see sheep halfway up the mountainside. And there are actual goats. You see quite a few of them going about their business eating what grass and vegetation they can find on the roadside. Unlike much of our own fauna, these goats had pretty good road sense. They didn’t seem to be bothered by cars driving past – nor did they even think about crossing. [I’m on my way – The Proclaimers – y ou can’t have a Scottish playlist without the Proclaimers. As long as it’s not 500 Miles which really does grate after a while. I went to see these lads about a decade ago and their broader catalogue is worth the effort – they’re also pretty great live if you get the chance.]
We kept driving, stopping at many, many parking spots along the way to take pics where so many of our fellow travellers had no doubt done every day since the camera was invented. Eventually we arrived at the Isle of Skye Bridge. This sweeping bridge was only opened in 1995. Before that ferry was the only way on to the Isle, which probably helped it retain the feeling of remoteness that it still enjoys today. Although in the villages around its shores there is definitely signs of building and expansion, much of it architect designed and seemingly with plenty of money behind it. No doubt the acceptance of remote working from the pandemic coupled with the ability to get to Glasgow or Edinburgh more easily with the opening of the bridge has driven a wealthier resident. For the rest of us, we can enjoy this remote corner of Scotland staying in the litany of guest houses dotted along its coastline.
Our destination for the night was Portree, about halfway up the eastern coast but we continued on to see the Old Man of Storr, a rock formation up another massive hill. It took quite a while to get there as access is by a single road which they are resealing while still letting traffic drive through so there are times of the day when no traffic is allowed through and even in the winter this is still a popular spot. I swore there would be no mountain goating for me but the only way to get a proper view of the Old Man was to climb at least part way up the hill. The whole path looked much more like a day hike that required all sorts of gear I don’t have. I do have a pair of pretty solid hiking shoes at home and if the wilds of Scotland (and Ireland) were my only destinations, they would have certainly made the cut for my shoe quotient but with NYC and a warm spring in LA in my future, my winter boots just had to do. So up the hill I clambered, careful of my footing because mud is just a thing here. The ground is never dry and dusty. It was spectacular and worth the short climb. Although we did drive about 10 minutes further down the road and got a pretty decent shot at ground level.
From here we headed back to Portree and had a quick stroll around the town, peeking in a few gift shops. There were also a few pretty solid takeaways about but unsure what would be open, we had decided to book at the restaurant hotel for dinner. The Cullin Hills Hotel staff were fantastic. We mentioned that we couldn’t seem to turn the heat down and that the room was quite hot so while we were having dinner, the receptionist went up to our room to turn it down. They had also ensured the requested mini fridge was in the room and turned on prior to our arrival. And booking dinner was not a mistake. The food used local ingredients, including really fresh seafood and was fantastic. I had Isle of Skye Mussels steamed in white wine – they came with a creamy sauce made from the steaming liquor and accompanied by bread (as well as a dish for the shells and a finger bowl). They were much smaller, sweeter and tender than the mussels we get back home – truly delicious. I kept the seafood theme going with locally caught and pan-fried salmon with lemon & herb new potatoes, broccoli and wild garlic salsa. Dan had the goat’s cheese ravioli and Skye venison loin with smoked bacon, roast celeriac, horseradish mash and port and juniper jus. I also ordered a delicious warm beet salad and although delicious, I certainly didn’t need it (or finish it).
We decided to take a punt on seeing the Aurora Borealis. The Met advised the best time to see it was between 10pm and 2am so we retired for the evening and woke at 11pm to drive north to find it. Unfortunately the previous evening’s clear skies had given way to a cloudy night. We drove almost to the end of the island (or as far as we could safely go without driving off a cliff into the ocean) but alas, no Aurora. My best advice – don’t listen to the Met. (I probably should know that by now.) It turns out the skies were clear earlier in the evening and other guests at the hotel had a clear view from a lookout not far away at 9pm. It seems I am destined never to see the Aurora. Although to be honest, I wasn’t expecting the opportunity here so while disappointing, I wasn’t devastated. Just an excuse to go to Scandinavia again or perhaps visit Canada or Iceland. [The Flower of Scotland – The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards – because you can’t drive through this lkandscape and not listen to drums and pipes. And this is the quintessential tune.]
Breakfast came free with the stay in the hotel and we were happy with that based on our dinner experience. The breakfast was no less impressive. There was a continental breakfast by order rather than browsing, along with a cooked breakfast. I had some toast with marmalade and marmite along with peat smoked haddock and a poached egg. The peat smoked fish was fantastic. The peat really added a depth of flavour. After breakfast we got on the road, heading back through the picturesque village of Glencoe to Glasgow, stopping at more parking spots along the way to get just one more perfect shot of the majestic landscapes as we transitioned out of the Highlands. Glencoe looks like it is overrun by tourists in the summer and at weekends but there wasn’t much open when we drove through. We headed back to the service centre (which had a supermarket and café and toilets that were vandalised and closed). Fortunately, there was a petrol station with a reasonably clean toilet up the road. We arrived into Glasgow by evening, checking into our accommodation for the next two days – The Sherbrooke Castle Hotel.
Fridge Magnets – 5 Postcards – 7 T-shirts – 1 Christmas decorations – 2
