Our Journey
We left Greenfaulds and the outskirts of Glasgow in our Corsa, heading north to Loch Ness. Erin had stayed up late the night before working, so once we were safely outside the numerous roundabouts, it was left to James to navigate along the wrong side of the road for the 3+ hour journey. It was a beautiful day here in the UK. The forecast was for rain, which was spotty, but we were able to spot quite a few rainbows on our journey. Most of the trip was on two-lane highways, and there were a number of points of congestion behind slow-moving trucks and tractors.
 |
| James sitting in the driver's side of the car. |
 |
| One of the rainbows we saw during our drive to the Highlands. |
The Scottish have their own system of traffic signals and operation; you can drive 70 mph (only the British and their prior colonies still use miles) if there are two lanes per-side, and 60 mph if there is only one lane per-side. This is only evident after one has driven more than an hour, and when following a tractor, more wishful thinking than a restriction. The Scots also have cameras that measure average speed over a given distance, creating the appearance of traffic jams every 20 miles or so.
Despite our initial ignorance of driving customs, and a very imperfect technique for roundabouts, we picked our way north relatively on-time, admiring the sheep, horses, cattle, and the occasional ancient castle along the way. After picking up a quick, budget lunch at an Aldie's, we took another 45 minutes to arrive at our destination: Urquhart Castle, an ancient and now ruined castle directly on the banks of Loch Ness. Our younger readers will know (or should know) Loch Ness as the alleged location of Nessie the "Loch Ness Monster," but Loch Ness is famous for other reasons beside.
 |
| A common site in the Scottish countryside. |
The Required Language and History Lesson
A bit of terminology to start. A "Loch" is a lake, in the Scottish Gaelic language. Loch Ness is the lake or channel that connects the River Oich to the River Ness, and its monster sightings stem in part from its exceptional murkiness, which in turn is due to the high peat content of the water. Loch Ness also provides hydroelectric power for Inverness, one of the main cities of the Scottish Highlands.
Loch Ness, and Urquhart Castle, were also the site of a valuable military property - hence the building of the fortress. Urquhart was first built, in a smaller version, in the 6th century - nearly 1,400 years ago! History's first mention of Urquhart was a visit in the 6th century by St. Columba, and the story says that St. Columba converted Emchath, the King of the "Picts," a northern tribe, to Christianity on Emchath's deathbed. A larger fortress was built in the early 1200's, and was captured and recaptured all the way through 1692. In that fateful year, protestant Williamite troops were holding the fortress against Catholic Jacobite troops; when the Williamites were forced to abandon the castle, instead of leaving peacefully, they filled the castle's foundations with gunpowder - and lit the fuse on their way out the door.
Present Day
The Williamites were successful - Urquhart Castle was destroyed, and was never rebuilt. However, its foundation, and much of its skeletal remains, kept silent watch over Loch Ness until the Scottish National Trust took over its management. Part of that management was a gift shop, well-stocked with Scottish memorabilia, part was installing safety railings throughout Urquhart's ruins, and part was the creation of the masterful Urquhart introductory video, playing once every ten minutes throughout the day. The video itself was 6 minutes long, and while the production values were high and the audience (8 including us) was attentive, it ended in flames. Which was fitting, given the end of Urquhart castle - but the flames on the film continued to crackle as the screen was raised, and the blinds opened to give we the audience a full view of what was left.
Well, James thought it was strange. The audience certainly seemed to enjoy it. The rest of the visit was spent wandering around the ruins, attempting funny photos and pushing the environment to provide as much exercise as possible. We also found a quiet corner to allow James to finish his lunch. In an exceptional stroke of good luck, the rain had stopped as we pulled into the castle's parking lot, and the views - and the weather - were absolutely perfect. As we bundled back into the Corsa, Erin felt the first drop of many that would accompany us back south.
The Majesty of Urquhart Castle:
The rainy drive was no match for James, the now-experienced driver, but we still managed to get lost. We somehow ended up in the Tesco near Mary's home, and James took the opportunity to purchase all of the exotic candy he had noticed on his last visit.
 |
| It was everything James had dreamed of. |
It's been said before, but we think we're off to Edinburgh tomorrow. Wish us luck!