Hi all In Inverness now - the word Inver means 'river confluence' and Ness is the name of the river that passes through town. And yes, it's the jump-off point for exploring Loch (ie. Lake) Ness. It's a cute little town (pop about 50,000) but the rain when I first arrived made it a cute, quiet town :)
Today I went on a full-day tour to Loch Ness and to Glen Affric - including protected original Scottish forest. There is only 1% of the original forest left in Scotland and this is it.
I think it's weird that as a kid I remember seeing pictures of the famous 'Loch Ness Monster'. It's a story I have always known about, even though I know nothing of the facts. So I went on a tour today called with a company called Loch Ness Experience. It promotes itself as the 'non-touristy' tour, ie. one that tells the truth about the story. So I learned all about the history - from when it was all about a big fish (in the 1930s), to when guys that were fighting with each other, for some reason made up that it was a plesiosaurus (sp?) etc. etc. Ahhh it was all so silly. But it's made tourist-millions $$$.
We then went to a cairn - an old burial chamber aligned to see either the solstice or extreme moon positions from within - dating from the Neolithic and Bronze ages. I think the guide said it was 5,000 years old? Anyway, these cairns, and the standing stones and stone circles in Scotland, date from between 4000BC and 1500BC. (More info here and about the orientation of them here.)
It was nice weather all morning - misty but not raining!!! And then at Urquart castle, the heavens finally opened. But it was ok. I had all my cold weather gear on - incl thermals, polar fleece, scarf, gloves, beanie and raincoat.
Then we went to the Glen. The part I was really looking forward to. It was still raining alas. But it was still so beautiful, I didn't really mind. UNTIL my shoes and therefore my feet, got wet. Damnit, I wished I had some gumboots/diveboots/waterproof boots. Anything...
Couldn't wait to get back to the hostel for a hot shower. Will sleep well I'm sure.
First stop on the side of Loch Ness
Today I went on a full-day tour to Loch Ness and to Glen Affric - including protected original Scottish forest. There is only 1% of the original forest left in Scotland and this is it.
I think it's weird that as a kid I remember seeing pictures of the famous 'Loch Ness Monster'. It's a story I have always known about, even though I know nothing of the facts. So I went on a tour today called with a company called Loch Ness Experience. It promotes itself as the 'non-touristy' tour, ie. one that tells the truth about the story. So I learned all about the history - from when it was all about a big fish (in the 1930s), to when guys that were fighting with each other, for some reason made up that it was a plesiosaurus (sp?) etc. etc. Ahhh it was all so silly. But it's made tourist-millions $$$.
We then went to a cairn - an old burial chamber aligned to see either the solstice or extreme moon positions from within - dating from the Neolithic and Bronze ages. I think the guide said it was 5,000 years old? Anyway, these cairns, and the standing stones and stone circles in Scotland, date from between 4000BC and 1500BC. (More info here and about the orientation of them here.)
It was nice weather all morning - misty but not raining!!! And then at Urquart castle, the heavens finally opened. But it was ok. I had all my cold weather gear on - incl thermals, polar fleece, scarf, gloves, beanie and raincoat.
Then we went to the Glen. The part I was really looking forward to. It was still raining alas. But it was still so beautiful, I didn't really mind. UNTIL my shoes and therefore my feet, got wet. Damnit, I wished I had some gumboots/diveboots/waterproof boots. Anything...
Couldn't wait to get back to the hostel for a hot shower. Will sleep well I'm sure.
First stop on the side of Loch Ness
The view on Loch Ness.
The view of the centre of the cairn where the moon or setting sun could be seen from the inside. Burial section right in the middle.
Some gorgeous cows - the hairy ones of course :)
Me at the top of the tower at Urquart castle (the Loch behind)
In front of the ruins of the Urquart castle.
Some very wet walking along the river in Glen Affric
The original Scotland forest.
Lookout above the River Affric - not much to see really but some lovely heathland.
Lookout above the River Affric - not much to see really but some lovely heathland.
2 comments:
Last summer I was in Scotland, it was light out until almost eleven in the evening. The people are freakishly nice.
We love your blog Claire :-)
Post a Comment