Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
LochNesshadpromisedtobeanotherhighlightofourtrip.Unfortunately,itdidn'tquite
live up to our expectations.
The A82 (yes, still that same bloody road), sits fairly high up the hillside and not along
the shores of the loch as we had expected. The views are also fairly restricted because of a
barrier of vegetation, wall, fence or field. It was slightly underwhelming
Just then, we saw a disturbance of the surface and out rose a giant serpent like creature.
Its huge body rippled out of the water behind it, as it glided effortlessly through the loch. It
must have been about 30 feet long, and I'm fairly certain it smiled just before it submerged
again into the deeps.
I may have made that last paragraph up. Such is the fame and legend of the Loch Ness
Monster, though, that every visit to Loch Ness is likely to be a disappointment. Even for
themostscepticalunbeliever,theremuststillbethatsmallelementofexcitementonseeing
the Loch for the first time, that maybe, just maybe, a mysterious creature might poke its
head out of the murky water right in front of your eyes. Then the realisation hits you that
there is no monster, and it's just a lake. And a fairly unremarkable lake at that.
The one exception along its shores is the magnificent Urquhart Castle. The splendid ru-
ins sit on a rocky outcrop by Loch Ness. Despite its ruinous state, it remains an impressive
sight and the castle has had a fascinating history. It is not known exactly when it was built,
but records show a castle on the site from 1230, with a fort previously occupying the spot
from as early as the 6
th
century.
The castle became an important stronghold in many battles and has changed hands sev-
eraltimes,astheScotsbattledforindependence.ItisnowownedbyHistoricScotland,and
the only things that are fought over these days are the postcards in the gift shop.
We had a stroll around the site and another look for Nessie, from one of the viewing
areas, before rejoining our beloved friend the A82, which we had been following for over
130 miserable miles.
The pretty village of Drumnadrochit - which I still don't know how to pronounce - sits
two-thirds of the way along the loch, at the point where we finally left the A82 and headed
north.
Drumnadrochit is the most popular tourist centre for Loch Ness and boasts a couple of
rivalLochNessmuseums.Oneofthem-LochNess2000-hasagiantfibreglassNessiein
thecarpark.Wehadtostop.WithanamelikeLochNess2000itpromisedtobeamuseum
of the future.
The gift shop was manned by a silver-haired lady, but was otherwise empty. Absolutely
everything for sale was Nessie shaped, had 'Nessie' written all over it or was tartan. Some
Search WWH ::
Custom Search