Scotland the Brave - Report 3

We had breakfast and then had to decide where to go. Getting down to the loch didn't seem possible as there are few parking places and even fewer places where the road isn't way above the shore. Matching these two requirements is frankly nil.

In the end we decided to go to the Culloden Battlefield to the south-east of Inverness.

Inverness itself proved pretty traffic heavy with all the A82 traffic from the west having to go right through the centre. I took the opportunity to fill the tank at an Esso station. Maybe test the theory that branded fuel is better than supermarket fuel. After several fills of both over the last ten thousand miles the jury is out!

Once clear of the city and onto the A9 south it wasn't far before we saw the signs. TomTom had tried to take us on a different route near the airport but the radio reported that there were holdups after an accident.

As you approach the site, you can see the flags marking the front lines of the rival armies. Like all of history both sides have their own opinions and tell the story of the whys and wherefores of the Battle.

Education Scotland describes it this way. BBC version.

Cairn and monument to the Jacobite dead

Leanach Cottage

The original farmhouse of Leanach survived the battle and has been restored several times. The roof is heather thatched, a traditional Highland craft.

We had a coffee but as Reggie wasn't allowed in to the vistor centre we had to have it outside. Something the National Trust for Scotland might like to invest in are some benches for people that want to take in the view outside or maybe the less able that might need a sit down as they get around the battlefield. Or silly sods like us that have a dog!

From Culloden we decided to try a different way back to the glampsite. Along the south/east bank of Loch Ness.  Much of the first few miles are narrow road with passing places. It isn't as busy as the A82 on the northern bank.

Along the road we came across the Falls of Foyers. I have never heard of it before and didn't see it on the map.  We pulled into a newly surfaced car park and as it was way past lunch time we went into the attached cafe/store....  Everything in one place.

Tasted better than it looks

It was quite late and we were lucky, the weather had finally looked up. Did I mention that most of the day so day it had alternated between drizzle and miserable feeble sunshine? Sitting outside Reggie was able to have his breakfast that hadn't been eaten.  He was a little off his food with all this travelling. I had the baked potato with haggis and cheese..... 

Then we went down to see the falls.

Claire and Reggie

Once back up and after a sit down (!) we set off south west again alongside Loch Ness.  

We came along the road and it opened to a viewpoint looking across the Great Glen.

And then we had the change to stop and dip a toe into it!  At last Reggie got to paddle in Loch Ness, no monster though. The moment not captured on camera as it was a brief paddle!

And then back in the car for the last leg of this bank of the Loch to Fort Augustus. Here the Caledonian Canal links Lochs Ness and Oich.  Some ten or eleven kilometres apart.

There are a series of  5 locks to allow boats to get from Ness level to that of the canal to Oich at Fort Augustus,

From here we had a relatively short drive back to the glamping via the co-op at Drumnadrochit. We would eat in again, but self cooked in the microwave at the site.

Another day over. Tomorrow?