Orkney Island Adventure Final Chapter
After a great breakfast, it’s time for us to get on the road. Today we’ll make it back to Crieff but not via the most direct route. Our drive will take us by Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle, Ft. Augustus, Ft. William and finally, Crieff, in all, about 160 miles. Piece of cake! Back in the States, less than 3 hours, easy. Here, probably closer to 4 hours maybe even a little more. The roads are quite narrow and have more curves than Kate Upton!
Within no time we’re in Loch Ness, the town not the actual loch. There, as one would expect, everything is tied to the monster in the loch, Nessie. There isn’t a piece of clothing that has been spared from a logo, patch, embroidery, iron-on, printed picture or snappy saying of the Loch Ness monster. And the prices, I getting the feeling we’re not the first tourists here. Hey, it’s something you do when in Scotland so no bitching.
Thought we’d try out the Exhibition center that tells the story of the Loch Ness monster and the history of the efforts to prove or disprove its existence. Let’s examine the facts then we can go off and do our own search for Nessie, or have a coffee and pastry. This state-of-the-art center has a 3.8-star rating on Trip Advisor, one person said it was interesting, while another complained that they ran out of sausage rolls and chicken. Guess we’ll make up our own mind if this is worth the cost, $18.00USD for two seniors.
Well, this will be quick and not as painful as going through the Exhibition center. If we were younger, say 10 or maybe 12 years old, this would have been a fun event. They could certainly do with a little help from the folks at Disney with their displays and animations. And when did plywood become state-of-the-art?
One of the “State-of-the-art” displays
Ever wonder where the Beatles got their inspiration for that song…….
Shouldn’t the air hoses be on the inside?
What the hell is the SS Minnow doing here?
OK, not everything was a bust. The section on John Cobb and his attempt to set the water speed record on Loch Ness was interesting. If you’re not up on this story, John Cobb was a three-time holder of the land speed record at Bonneville. Not satisfied with being the fastest man on terra-firma, John decide to hit the water, and he did. Apparently when Crusader, his jet powered boat traveling at over 200mph, hit some waves created by his rescue boat, it disintegrated, killing John.
As for Nessie, the jury is still out. Half of the exhibits in this center are pro-monster; half say it’s all a hoax. At least the views of Loch Ness are amazing.
Now that we’ve settled the monster debate, time for us to visit Urquhart Castle. Built in the early 12th century, Urquhart castle has been the site of numerous sieges, wars, rebellions and out right unruliness. The first recorded record of Urquhart is made in 1296 when Edward I (Edward Longshanks for those who watched Braveheart) captures the castle starting the Wars of Scottish Independence. The Scots retake the castle in 1298; lose it to the English in 1303; Robert the Bruce takes it back again in 1307, and so on, and so on. In the Jacobite war (1745), the troops holding out in the castle decided to blow it up so no one could use it as a stronghold against them in the future. I guess that made sense at the time.
So, what we have today are the remains of Grant tower at one end and the kitchen, great hall and inner close at the other end of the castle. All the other rooms have been demolished by stone robbers or were destroyed in the explosion.
The castle close and kitchen rooms
Grant Tower
The castle grounds seen from the visitors center
A replica trebuchet
Looking over the castle close
Urquhart castle does have awesome views of Loch Ness.
Loch Ness looking Northeast from Grant Tower
Loch Ness looking Southwest from Grant Tower
Tour boats are starting to arrive so time for us to take to the road. No other programmed stops along the way so should be home at a reasonable time. This has certainly been one of the best road trips we’ve taken. Orkney is fabulous, with its ancient sites and relics. The Highlands are absolutely beautiful, even in the Fall. And the people have been wonderful, guess it pays off to tell them we’re Canadian!
Highland hairy cow
Heading home….
Going to take a day off to recover and catch up on laundry but after that, off to Edinburgh for an over-nighter and some sight-seeing.
Til then amigos, Cheers.