Another great breakfast, the sun was shining again and we went to the Drumnadrochit Hotel and met our pick up for the motor boat cruise on Loch Ness! The colour of the water is what strikes you immediately. So dark brown it is almost black! However,the water is perfect, having simply been filtered through the peat which surrounds the Loch and also give the wat it's colour. The next thing you notice is the size of the Loch. It is the largest of the Scottish Lochs and is the biggest fresh water hold in the UK. It is 24 miles long and about a mile to a mile and a half wide. It is, wait for it, 227 metres deep! It has steep underwater banks (you can be only 10 feet off the shoreline but be in a depth of about 80 metres) and the Loch has a basic flat bottom, a bit like a giant bath! The water I'd extremely cold, only six degrees in the winter (but never freezes) and during summer, maybe at the surface the top couple of feet gets to eleven or twelve degrees.
Now, because the water is so cold, only a fifth of the water life that would ordinarily be expected to live in such a sized waterway exist. Therefore, sadly, the food supply is well well short of anything that could feed even a small population of larger predators. So, unless Nessy feeds off filtered peat, he would have starved.
Regardless, a lovely day out on the Loch.
We moved onto Inverness an had a good look around at this beautiful, typically Scottish town. We then drove on up to Golspie to see the magnificent Dunrobin Castle. This castle looks like one from the storybooks. It has magnificent gardens, and overlooks th ocean. It has the pointy turrets at the top of the castle towers, and little balconies where Princesses could throw down their hair et etc.....but the best thing about this castle is that it has a 'Falconry'. This guy has many many birds of prey, mostly differnt types of falcons, owls and eagles. He puts on a grand show with the birds and provides an enormous amount of information. The show was amazing, particularly the display put on by the Perigrine Falcon, the fastest animal that has ever lived! Incredible! The castle was pretty cool too....
We then moved on for the drive west across the 'top end' of the northern country. This is an amazing trip through some breathtaking countryside. The roa is one lane only the whole way, with 'Passing Places', so you have to be a bit careful? But how anyone eeked out a living here is beyond me. How tough were they? It was bare and desolet, then open and arid, then mountainous and rugged, then beautiful and spectacular. So glad we did tht drive! We arrived in a little town named Ullapool, which was a small fishing town. Stayed at a pub called the Arch Inn (not cheap, 85 quid!) but were fed and beered, the went for a walk about town. The sunset was glorious! Although, the sun doesn't go down until about 11pm!
Wednesday 16th July - Ullapool, Wild North Country, Thurso
Sunny again, we bid farewell to Ullapool, but not before filling up. Diesel here was one pound fifty (about $3 AustralIan) per litre! Seems in the wild north, they have to charge more????? Anyway, we headed away on the adventure that is the northern road, right around the very top of Scotland. This is the real highlands. Stunning and obviously dangerous. It seemed every turn ther was another spectacular sight. Again, just a one lane roa with passing spots. And littered along the roadside, and often on the road, were the local sheep wandering about. We even found a few of those Highland Cattle, the ones covered in long hair and huge horns, on the road. Wouldn't argue with them! No need to hurry, plenty of time to try to take it all in. This was a highlight of the trip! Just look at the photos....
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