Scotland has it all rugged mountains, historical sites, lochs and
forests. Our holiday in Edinburgh, Scotland's capital was filled with visits to
beautiful castles and well preserved museums. Edinburgh is a modern city with a
historical past and the two have blended together very seamlessly, giving it a
unique character. One experiences both the worlds, the New Town with its
beautiful Georgian architecture and the Old Town home to medieval fortresses
and narrow cobbled streets. The nicest experiences for us were the Scottish
people who are very friendly and ready to help out.
After an enjoyable stay in Edinburgh we went onto the Scottish
Highlands - the land of lochs, with it's amazing landscapes, magnificent glens and
fascinating history. We travelled from Edinburgh to Inverness by road and took
the Highland Tourist Route which has some spectacular scenery between
Aberdeen to Inverness. It’s a single carriageway at some places so the traffic
moves cautiously and it took us around 4 hours to reach.
Inverness the Highland's capital is on the banks of the River Ness
at the northern end of the Great Glen. It is a full - fledged
town and has all the high end London stores here so one didn’t feel that we
were away from civilization. Inverness is such a paradox ... here you are in
this charming little village and all around is the vast open expanse of the
countryside giving you a total rural feel and just 10 minutes drive away is the
bustling city center with its fancy stores where one can indulge in some retail
therapy and dine at top notch restaurants. At the Victorian Market one can pick up souvenirs to take
home. Tesco, the chain of supermarkets is supersized here and stocks up a mind
boggling range of goods.
We stayed in a charming cottage with mules grazing in the fields
outside. It was set in a remote area with no signs of any other cottage within
a km radius. The cottage had a fireplace in the living room and basket load of
logs for burning ... in fact we got so enthusiastic about keeping the fire alive
little realizing that the whole cottage had become like a furnace.
A major attraction in this area is the Loch Ness Lake and
its famed mythical inhabitant Nessie.This is the largest fresh water lake in
Great Britain and contains more water than in all the rivers and lakes of
England and Wales combined ... the lake is awesome and is truly amazing. The
lake is seemingly endless ... we learnt that, as my hubby drove along the lake
in the Avis rented Vauxhall wagon. There is surely something about this lake
... what with its placid waters hiding all the innumerable tales of sightings
of the so called Loch Ness Monster ... it was a little late in the evening when
we stopped and spent some time near the lake ... the unusual calm and its
crystal clear waters sure did manage to send a shiver down my spine. I guess
the fear also comes from watching too many of 'Lake Placid' series of movies!!!
If you are into cryptozoology then a perfect place to advance your knowledge
... hopefully not your experience.
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| Loch Ness Lake |
We visited Nairn,
a sea side resort home to excellent golf courses and beaches. And lo behold! There
was a fairly serious cricket match going on too ... Scotland is still working
on getting Test status! In the 19th century it was believed that the sea
water here had medicinal properties and thousands of people flocked here for
that reason as well. It is half an hour drive from Inverness and is a great place to spend a day in.
There are plenty of things to do and see in Inverness- Urquhart
Castle, a medieval fortress on the banks of the Loch Ness, it has had a long bloody history and was, at one time Scotland’s largest castle. A walk upstream
along the River Ness, which runs through Inverness took us to the Ness Islands,
beautiful parks which makes you feel as if you are in the countryside. It’s a
great place for salmon fishing and seal spotting. Cross over to the other side
of the river using one of the many footbridges to get a view of the majestic
buildings along the way. Past the Islands, a little further down is the Floral
Hall, with its lovely
gardens, small waterfall and charming cafe where we had a great cup of coffee
and some yummy baked goodies. Watch dolphins at Chanonry Point, between
Fortrose and Rosemarkie on the Black Isle and the best time to spot them is
couple of hours before high tide.
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| The Urquhart Castle |
Inverness is one of those idyllic country villages - one's dream
place for settling down post retirement, a perfect place away from the hustle
and bustle of the city.
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