Scotland roadtrip - part 4

 After leaving Glencoe, Laura and Nicholas James continued on the final part of the Argyll Coastal route to Fort William, then delved into the Ben Nevis valley to find the Ben Nevis caravan and camping site. They had booked a camping pod for the night, quite a contrast from the Ballachulish Hotel which they had just left. The camping pod looked like an armadillo. 

It was a beautiful sunny late afternoon when they arrived at their camping pod so they admired the view of Ben Nevis from the picnic table, with Heilan Coo.

"Wow, look at Ben Nevis" cried Laura.
"How lucky the clouds have lifted from the top" said Nicholas James.

Laura, Heilan Coo and Nicholas James with Ben Nevis behind them at the campsite

They decided to go further up the Ben Nevis valley to find a waterfall called Drochaid an Eas Bhuidhe (The bridge over the yellow falls). They didn't have to climb to get to it because it was a short fairly level walk from the car park they used. This was easily the most accessible of the waterfalls in the valley and was beautiful. There were some men jumping from the road bridge into the waterfall, which both Laura and Nicholas James thought was completely crazy as it was quite a narrow drop.

Laura and Nicholas James relaxed on the grass beside the waterfall

They could see where the water fell down the rocks and went under the road from where they sat

Drochaid an Eas Bhuidhe from the bridge, this is where they saw people jumping into the falls

View of the top of Ben Nevis from near the waterfall

After a surprisingly comfortable night in the camping pod, Laura and Nicholas James reluctantly left Ben Nevis and started their exploration of the length of the Caledonian Canal. They drove to the other side of Fort William to view Ben Nevis from a different angle then continued on minor roads for a while to roughly trace the route of the canal, which was built over 200 years ago to provide a safer passage from Inverness to Fort William than going round the north coast of Scotland.

They passed Loch Lochy and Loch Oich on the route, then stopped for lunch when they reached Fort Augustus as the foot of Loch Ness, the largest volume of water of all the Scottish lochs due to its great depth (Loch Lomond is apparently larger by surface area). 

There were some lock gates for the Caledonian Canal at Fort Augustus and the cafe where they had lunch had an interesting exhibition about the building of the canal.

Their first view of Loch Ness from the bridge in Fort Augustus

The road trip along the northern banks of Loch Ness took them past Urquhart Castle which they wanted to visit but the car park was full, so they went on instead to the newly reopened Loch Ness Visitor's Centre, in the building which had been a hotel in the 1930s when the manager, Aldie Mackay, had rushed in claiming to have seen the Loch Ness Monster (Nessie). This and other recent 'sightings' had rekindled public interest in the fabled creature. 

It was an exhibition in several rooms explaining the origins of the Loch, the myths surrounding it, explorations of it and some of the characters involved. It was geared towards masses of tourists moving as a group from room to room to hear the narrated story with video projections and lighting effects, only the waiting room had museum-like displays. Laura and Nicholas James didn't notice any indication the tour could be done in other languages other than the narration in English with a lovely Scottish accent. Of course there was a large gift shop at the end and ice creams! 

Outside was a small yellow submarine (there had been a large submarine in the exhibition) so Laura and Nicholas James decided to be Loch Ness explorers.

Laura and Nicholas James beside the Yellow Submarine at the Loch Ness Visitor's Centre

Laura and Nicholas James wondered what it was like to be sub-mariners

The journey continued along the north shore of Loch Ness. They managed to find a place to look back at Urquhart Castle from the road.

Loch Ness looking towards Ben Nevis and Urquhart castle in the middle distance

Looking towards Urquhart Castle on the shores of Loch Ness

Urquhart Castle, but no sign of Nessie

Laura and Nicholas James were not surprised they didn't catch a glimpse of Nessie as they drove along Loch Ness, it is vast and scientific evidence shows the loch is too cold to support a large creature such as Nessie. As they approached Inverness the countryside became much flatter than the mountainous countryside they'd been in the last few days, gentle rolling hills rather than dramatic mountains.

They got to Inverness and stayed in a hotel overnight on the outskirts of the city (they didn't visit the city itself).

On the Saturday morning Laura and Nicholas James left the outskirts of Inverness and drove the short distance to Cawdor Castle. 

Heilan Coo at Cawdor Castle

Nicholas James and Laura at the entrance drawbridge to Cawdor Castle

Nicholas James was keen to get going into the castle

Laura was happy to have her photo taken at the castle entrance

There was plenty to see inside the castle, including the dead but upright remains of a Holly tree in the base of the tower which apparently the castle had been built around for good luck. Laura and Nicholas James liked a room which had some old modes of transport in it.

Laura and Nicholas James were intrigued by this 3 wheeled bicycle in the basement

Outside the castle they explored the beautiful gardens. They were disappointed that the maze was no longer opened to the public, this was to allow it time to regenerate.

The Cawdor Castle maze, firmly locked to visitors

Scottish Thistle in Cawdor Castle gardens

In the woodland garden beside the river, Laura and Nicholas James discovered an enormous tree

"It is so tall" they shouted with glee

"Far too high for us to climb!"

They enjoyed visiting the tower house castle which had been built for the Thanes of Cawdor (well after the time of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth').

After leaving Cawdor Castle, Laura and Nicholas James made their way towards the Cairngorms.