As we headed into the Scottish north we were struck by the beauty of Scotland, ranging from heather covered scrub lands to beautiful pine covered forests (which reminded us of northern Ontario). Our stop for the night was Aviemore which seems like a great place to spend a week with the family enjoying the Cairngorms National Park. Unfortunately for us, it was a stop off before heading to the Loch Ness region and I cannot see us coming back. It would be an amazing place to hike, ski and enjoy the outdoors.

The next day we headed up to the Loch Ness region, staying at a hotel near Inverness. At the hotel there was a traditional Scottish wedding going on (kilts and all), which was quite a sight. The region has a plethora of tourist options, travelling a little farther north to watch the dolphins and whales or hitting the traditional tourist spots around Loch Ness.

Our first stop was Urquhart Castle, our favourite castle in the UK so far:

It is not known precisely when the castle was built, but records show the existence of a castle on this site from the early 1200s. The area had been granted to the Durward family in 1229, and they were probably the builders of the castle. It was certainly in existence in 1296, as it was captured by Edward I of England at this time. Sir Robert Lauder of Quarrelwood was Constable of Urquhart Castle in 1329, and his grandson Robert Chisholm succeeded him in 1359. The castle was seized from the Crown in the mid-fifteenth century by the Earl of Ross, but recovered shortly afterwards. In 1509, it was given as a gift to the Grants, whose ownership lasted until 1912. During this period, the MacDonalds captured the castle in 1545, while it was also captured by a Covenanter force in 1644. The castle was then largely destroyed in 1692 by Williamite troops who had been holding the castle against Jacobite forces (Gifford 1992, 217). The intention was to ensure that the castle could not become a Jacobite stronghold, an intention that was fully achieved as the castle was never repaired and remained as a ruin. Subsequent plundering of the stonework for re-use by locals, and natural decay, further reduced the ruins.

 

 

A ruined castle means one thing, that you can run up and down the moat. You can climb on the walls. You can climb all over the walls. In other words, it officially becomes our favourite castle in the UK. Spectacular.

While in the carpark, I was waiting for the family and overheard two North American tourists discuss the castle. They were obviously just married and had hats on that said ‘Just married him’ and ‘Just married her’.

They looked down on the castle and took a token picture with the following comment:

‘I hope the tour bus gets going soon. I am ready to go. Quick, take a picture of us’

‘Yah, me too. Seen one castle, seen em all’

I hope we never get like that.

Our next stop was the Loch Ness Monster Exhibit (think 3D – had to be done) and an exploration of the Inverness region.

 

 

 

I found this sign a good laugh. It was then off to Stirling.