Loch Ness - Urquhart Castle - Inverness

Today was our easy day on tour... only a half day really, as the afternoon was free time.

I was beginning to think of all the positives about today and everything was going swimmingly ...

• The weather had changed and was back to gloomy and misty - yay!!!
• I was over my grump and was happy again! 
• I found a laundrette around the corner and got all my washing done!!!
• I got tomorrow's trip to Kyle of Lochalsh sorted (more about that later)

Then........  those bloody banks struck again. I went to get some cash out and it has rejected my card again... Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.......

I've been trying to get on to the CBA but it's the middle of the night in Sydney or wherever they hole out, and they just kept me on hold forever, so I gave up. I'll try again after tea and see if there is anyone out there who can explain why I cannot get my own money out my bank, using my own card and pin number!!!!!!

Anyway.... moving right along....

I'm over my grump from last night! I was hot and tired and didn't have time to get to this blog until late, so I'll just remember Inverness for lots of reasons and move on.

Today was nice and relaxed. We didn't have to be down at the bus until 10am, so we could all take our time.

First on the agenda was a drive back to Loch Ness and board a ferry to take us to Urquhart Castle.

Here's our ferry coming in.

I was sitting on the op deck too...

As you can see, the weather has changed, and it's back to cool and cloudy - far more suitable for Scotland.

The Loch was very calm, which was good, because I have been on it before and it was quite choppy.

But it was a very pleasant half hour trip...

Loch Ness views

Loch Ness views

Loch Ness views

Here's the commentary from Wikipedia - I couldn't remember all the things they said on the boat!!!

Loch Ness is the second largest Scottish loch by surface area at 56 km² (22 sq mi) after Loch Lomond, but due to its great depth, it is the largest by volume in the British Isles. Its deepest point is 230 m (126 fathoms; 755 ft),^[2][3] making it the second deepest loch in Scotland after Loch Morar. A 2016 survey claimed to have discovered a crevice that pushed the depth to 271 m (889 ft) but further research determined it to be a sonar anomaly.^[4] It contains more fresh water than all the lakes in England and Wales combined,^[3] and is the largest body of water in the Great Glen, which runs from Inverness in the north to Fort William in the south.

 You might be wondering if I found Nessie, the monster of Loch Ness... well actually I did!!!

Nessie and me

The legend of Nessie can be traced back to St Columba's day... he's getting quite a write-up on this blog!!! Trust the Catholics to be involved!!!

 
It went very quickly, then we began to approach Urquhart Castle which is on a headland on the Loch

Urquhart Castle from the Water

A guided tour was just about to start, so I tagged along with that. The guide was excellent as he ran through all the British and Scottish history of over 1500 years in half an hour - and how it related to Urquhart Castle. Obviously I can't replicate that here, but if you're interested, Wikipedia has all the details... Here's few..

The present ruins date from the 13th to the 16th centuries, though built on the site of an early medieval fortification. Founded in the 13th century, Urquhart played a role in the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century. It was subsequently held as a royal castle, and was raided on several occasions by the MacDonald Earls of Ross. The castle was granted to the Clan Grant in 1509, though conflict with the MacDonalds continued. Despite a series of further raids the castle was strengthened, only to be largely abandoned by the middle of the 17th century. Urquhart was partially destroyed in 1692 to prevent its use by Jacobite forces, and subsequently decayed. In the 20th century it was placed in state care as a scheduled monument and opened to the public: it is now one of the most-visited castles in Scotland.^[1][2]
The castle, situated on a headland overlooking Loch Ness, is one of the largest in Scotland in area.^[3] It was approached from the west and defended by a ditch and drawbridge. The buildings of the castle were laid out around two main enclosures on the shore. The northern enclosure or Nether Bailey includes most of the more intact structures, including the gatehouse, and the five-story Grant Tower at the north end of the castle. The southern enclosure or Upper Bailey, sited on higher ground, comprises the scant remains of earlier buildings.

Here's a few pics to complement that...

Castle Ruins

Castle Ruins

Castle Ruins

He told us all sorts of interesting things, some of which were retold on these boards...

Info about Urquhart Castle

Info about Urquhart Castle

Info about Urquhart Castle

And of course there's always a Chapel somewhere...

Chapel Mound

About the Chapel

One more...

Prison Cell

And when the last garrison decided to leave, they more or less blew the place up!

Destroying the Gatehouse

So, when that was all over we went up to the Visitor's Centre to get some lunch and go to the loo.... Only problem was some cruise ship had just arrived and the queue for the loo would've taken 20 minutes or so - even the blokes had to queue!!!! And we had a limited time before we hopped back on the bus. So, cross your legs and be grateful it was only a 30 min trip back to our hotel!

So, this afternoon I had a few jobs to do.
First was pick up my washing 😃   £12.50 and all done for me while I was out. What a bargain!!!

Another one was go to the ATM...... let's not go there again just now!!!!

The last one was to go to the Railway station and pick up a return ticket for the train journey tomorrow.
As I think I mentioned previously, when I booked this trip I thought it mainly involved train journeys, but it seems to have evolved into a series of long bus journeys, which I don't really enjoy around all those windey roads.

Tomorrow we are going by train to Kyle of Lochalsh, but returning by bus.

I had a chat  with our  tour director Liz and asked if she would mind if I caught the train back from Kyle of Lochalsh tomorrow instead of coming by bus. She didn't mind at all so I got straight online and booked a ticket. Much happier with that scenario, because we are all still in this hotel tomorrow night and it makes no difference really.
So I went along to Inverness station and picked up the ticket.

Inverness Station

Then I just had a mosey through the streets of Inverness to get the feel of the place.

I've been accused by some of my fashion police friends of not including photos of me shopping, so here's a couple to keep you off my back!!!!

Victoria Market - Inverness Style!

Here you go Anna, petal!

Went in and had a look anyway!

Inverness Shopping Centre - didn't actually go in there!

Then I walked up to the castle, which is on the opposite side of the river to our hotel.

Lovely views from up there..

Inverness Views

Inverness Views

Inverness Views

They also had a statue  dedicated to Flora McDonald who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape

Flora McDonald Statue

Inscription on Flora McDonald Statue

BTW, did you know Bonnie Prince Charlie ended up dying a helpless alcoholic, in the Vatican!
More useless information for the day.

So that was the end of my adventures for today. I'm finishing this a bit early today so that I can go down and have a beer before dinner and gird my loins for yet another  fight with that bloody bank!!!!

Happy birthday to Kath and Eric for May 30th 💓🎂