Surrounding Inverness

Day two in Inverness

Rather than spend the day in Inverness, whose charms we had almost exhausted on day one, we set off early to see some more castles.

Heading down the highway  that runs beside Loch Ness, Barb kept her eyes peeled and camera at the ready in case we caught sight of the Loch Ness Monster. It was just the sort of misty freezing cold weather we imagined she’d like. No luck. We did however see plenty of “Nessie” tat for sale at every possible location along the way.



Loch Ness













The Calednian Canal, on the way to Urquhart Castle









 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We reached Urquhart Castle early and  made use of our castle pass again. What a dramatic setting for a castle! Right on a clifftop on the Loch with views in every direction. Although the castle is in ruins it is presented very well for tourists with artefacts displayed, a reproduction but decayed trebuchet siege engine in the grassy field leading to the ruins, and a short film to showcase the castle’s past which dates back to the 1200s.

 

First view of Urquhart Castle

They also had guides in period costume who were more than willing to share their knowledge. We loved it!







Tour guides in costume at Urquhart Castle





 

 

That is until we made our way back to the gift shop & café. Whilst we’d been happily wandering around the ruins three coachloads of tourists had arrived. The gift shop was heaving with customers, there was barely a spare chair in the cafe and don’t even think about going to the loos ….. the queues were horrendous.



Barb examining the ruins





 

John at Urquhart

 

John at Urquhart Castle





The beautiful ruins

 We beat a rapid retreat and headed towards our next destination. Dunrobin castle was some fifty miles away and to get there we had to cross two Firths by bridge. Think Houghton Highway to Redcliffe and you get the picture.

Dunrobin Castle was well worth the drive. It is the seat of the Duke of Sutherland and his home has all the grandeur of Downton Abbey with a few turrets added to make it castle-like. We were able to tour through the house.



Dunrobin

Sadly photography inside the building was forbidden, but it had a faded glory and richness of old money. Obviously Dukes past were keen hunters and there were many heads of elks?/moose? displayed on walls and worse, there were lion and tiger pelts  complete with taxidermied heads still attached decorating the floor of the Duke’s Library. I hope he tripped on them. Often!!

 

Barb at Dunrobin Castle

Dunrobin




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The views from the rooms were amazing though. They all looked down over various parts of the formal gardens and on down to the sea. It must take a whole army of gardeners to keep these gardens manicured.

 

There was a museum (more stuffed dead things … Barb walked out in disgust) and a falconry too. The entire estate is huge and in its hey-day must’ve been one of the best in the country.

 

Formal gardens at Dunrobin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We drove back towards Fort George. John was particularly interested to see this military fortress which was built after the final Jacobite Rising was crushed at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. It turns out the fort was never needed as the Highlands have remained peaceful since then, but is still occupied by the Military to this day with a garrison permanently housed there.

 

Barb at Fort George

John at Fort George

The beach from the battlements

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s a lot bigger than it looks from the outside and we almost froze wandering the perimeter battlements. If this is Summer, what must Winter be like?

The final stopover for our tour today was to drop by and see the Culloden Battlefields nearby. We also got a glimpse of the Culloden viaduct on the way there (oh yay!)

Culloden viaduct in the distance

The viaduct in the mist

By now we were pretty tired and suffering tourist burn-out. We declined the opportunity to part with more entry money to see a few plaques on the field. More interesting to Barb were the “Yakky-looking cows” (Highland cattle) we spotted in the next field.

  

Highland cow