Inverness & the Highlands - Discover Scotland: Experience the Best of Scotland - page 507

Need to Know
BEST TIME TO GO A calm day, for monster-spotting TOP TIP Avoid crowds - take
the minor road on the loch's east side BEST PHOTO OP View from Urquhart Castle For
more: Click here
Loch Ness Don't Miss List
ADRIAN SHINE, LEADER OF THE LOCH NESS PROJECT
1 LOCH NESS CENTRE & EXHIBITION
I designed this exhibition ( Click here ) myself, presenting the results of eight decades
of research. The collection has everything from one-man submarines to the Rosetta ap-
paratus that opened the 10,000-year-old time capsule concealed within the loch's sedi-
ment layers. The exhibition does not have all the answers and it will certainly not try to
sell you a monster. Instead, it places the mystery in its proper context, which is the en-
vironment of Loch Ness.
2 URQUHART CASTLE
If, having learned some of the inner secrets of the loch, you want to see it through new
eyes, you cannot do better than visiting Urquhart Castle ( Click here ) . Perched on a
rocky promontory jutting into Loch Ness, its exhibits recount the castle's history, from
a vitrified Pictish fort to its role in the Scottish Wars of Independence. The view from
the Grant Tower is truly breathtaking.
3 FORT AUGUSTUS LOCKS
At the southern end of the loch is a flight of locks on the Caledonian Canal ( Click here
), built by the great engineer Thomas Telford. It is always interesting to watch vessels
being worked up this ' staircase' of water. British Waterways has a fascinating exhibi-
tion halfway up.
4 CRUISING THE LOCH