Sunday, June 25 2006
Sarah and I began our day with a nice morning run. From the village there was a nice smooth bike path alongside the main road that we were able to use the entire way. Lots of horses grazing as we ran.
Our B&B,
Bridgend, in Drumnadrochit was incredible! The house is on the village green. It's run by a woman called Ros and her spaniel, Molly. This place is a must stay if you are in the Loch Ness area. We spent a long time at breakfast talking to Ros. She told us a few stories - it's too bad we got in late last night, she probably would have sat with us talking for ages. Bridgend is exactly the type of B&B that makes people love to stay in a B&B.
 |
| Bridgend House, Drumnadrochit, Scotland |
 |
| Our room at Bridgend, Drumnadrochit |
From the house we went to
Castle Urquhart on the shores of Loch Ness.
The visitor's center here is pretty good. The English blew up parts of
the castle in 1689 to prevent the Jacobites from capturing it. It's too
bad, it would have been even more incredible if it was in tact!
 |
| Castle Urquhart |
 |
| The bridge to the front gate |
 |
| Loch Ness (no monster) |
 |
| No monster here either |
 |
| Castle Urquhart and Loch Ness |
After we finished poking around, we made our way from Loch Ness west into the Highlands. The Glens along the road to Ullapool were striking, especially along Loch Glascornoch and Loch Broom. We pulled the car over for a moment to check our map and discovered this ridiculous view out of our windows...
 |
| Ullapool |
We continued on and stopped in Ullapool
for some Ice Cream. The weather has been perfect so far, 14
°-18° and sunny. It was a beautiful day in this coastal town. I was able to go to a book shop across the street from the Ice Cream shop. This trip was necessary because even though the gift shop at Stirling Castle was selling a book I had been trying to find for a couple of years (Whisky Galore by Compton Mackenzie), I decided not to buy it. I'm not sure why, but I didn't. I was immediately sorry, so I was thrilled to find it at this shop.
 |
| Enjoying the sun in Ullapool |
 |
| View from the bridge in Loch Inver |
After our Ice Cream, we proceeded to Loch Inver after a brief stop at Ardvrek Castle. We had to split up in Loch Inver (we couldn't find a B&B that could house all four of us together since we hadn't booked ahead). Sarah and I stayed at a B&B named Tigh Guithais, run by Rachel and Graham. The house was built in the 1860s, but they've added on the back. It's a more homelike feel than many B&Bs - it used to be their holiday home - but Sarah and I really liked it. For dinner, we walked into the village (a major fishing port) and ate at the seafood restaurant you can see to the left - The Lochinver Larder.
 |
| Tigh Guithais, Loch Inver, Scotland |
 |
| Our room at Tigh Guithais |
No comments:
Post a Comment