No Nessie, but we found a slice of Heaven – Loch Ness & Isle of Skye

When thinking of Scotland you think of a few things, but right up there would have to be Loch Ness and the fabled monster otherwise known as Nessie. Loch Ness is a short drive from Inverness where we spent the night.

Driving around the side of Loch Ness is not a short trip as the loch (lake) is huge. It contains more water by volume than all the lakes and rivers of England combined, and once you get to either tip of the loch it stretches to the horizon. You could fit the worlds population in this loch more than 10 times over. The water is black with less than 3 metres visability due to the peat washing off the mountains. It is no wonder Nessie has been hard to find.

On arrival to Loch Ness we made a brief stop at Urquhart Castle where the most number of Nessie sighting have occurred. We are a little over paying for castles as usually you can see the outside which is nice enough and free. This castle however was not really visible until you paid to take the walk out to see it. We had our own ideas and went around the back of the visitors centre which looked over the castle and Simon climbed onto the roof to get a good view. Unfortunately we were not lucky enough to spot Nessie, but on the positive side we saved $30.

We stopped in the small town of Fort Augustus and went Nessie hunting on the local boat cruise. The loch itself is a geographic wonder with 3 of the steepest shore drops in the country, one nearly 100m deep at the shoreline. The views from the water are spectacular with high mountains encircling the loch. We were shown all the very impressive sonar equipment, it seems even to this day all the boats want to be the one to find Nessie. After all, 2 tonnes of fish are disappearing each day from the Loch and there is nothing to explain this…The guide on board told us tales of the lochs history, what species live it, how cold it gets and how it’s very different to swimming in the ocean. The water is fresh not salt which means you have no extra buoyancy, and with a surface temperature of 8 degrees it’s easy to cramp up and sink. A prize of 100,000 pounds is still on offer for the person who can swim the return trip of Loch Ness. To swim just one way (40km) takes 27 hours if you’re good. Anyone up for the challenge?

Whilst out the water we did catch a snap of something in the distance on the water, we’re not sure its confirmation of anything. You be the judge. 

Fort Augustus is also home to an impressive series of locks (note the K) that connect the loch to a channel stretching to the ocean. Crossing the bridge in Fort Augustus with the channel on the left and Ness on the right Simon has created the game, “Know you Lock\hs.” How to play is still a work in progress but those that know the difference between a loch and a lock will be at an advantage.

We left Fort Augustus just after lunch avoiding the hordes of tourists pouring from coaches (this is something that sends us nuts) and headed to the Isle of Skye.

We almost didn’t do the Isle in our initial planning, we thought it might be too far away and hard to get to. In comparison to some other places the Isle is a long way and a hard drive but the payoff was unquestionably worth it. The road from Loch Ness to the Isle is absolutely magical, and one of the best roads we have driven in our life. The views are magnificent and the road itself is sweeping and fun to drive. The rain was somewhat offputting but pushing through it we stopped at a few places and drank in some of the most incredible scenery we have seen to date. The mountains seem to loom over you and make you feel insignificant. There are glorious waterfalls running down all the mountains and it truly is a feast for the eyes. It is the only road we have seen a sign which indicated that there were ferral goats for 2 miles. 

We were lucky enough to pull over at this perfectly still loch in the most picturesque spot. We could not believe how well everything was reflected off the water, and the best part was there was no one but us around to appreciate this piece of beauty. These pictures are completely without filters (excluding the black and white one of course). This is nature at its best. 

Eilean Donan castle is the postcard Scottish castle overlooking where 3 lochs meet. This particular castle is apparently un-missable so we stopped to get our daily castle fix on our way to Skye. We were impressed with the long stone bridge over the tidal loch to get to this rebuilt medieval castle, and blown away by its picture perfect setting. We were happy to admire from the shore as we’ve seen inside enough castles to know what stone rooms look like by now.

Isle of Skye

Opening in 2009 there is now a bridge to the Isle making it much easier to get to than by ferry. Driving through torrential rain and stuck behind a stream of traffic, the fun was gone and serious business took over. On arrival at our BnB the weather subsided and left us well alone for the rest of our time on Skye.

The BnB was one of the best we have stayed in so far, new, modern, clean and the hosts could not do enough to help us and were so friendly. The view from our room and dining room were divine. 

View from our Bedroom window

TOP TIP: So far on our journey we have been really blessed with amazing BnBs at pretty competitive prices. This has been through careful selection, using sites such as Booking.com to filter places by our price range and then looking at the top rated and reading reviews. We recommend this approach.

On our first full day on Skye we followed some highlights given to us on a map by Craig our host. 

This included…

-         Old Man of Storr (a large rock formation). We started the steep climb and after 45 minutes and some breathtaking views we still had not made it to the old man and realised our shoes might not be up to the task so we left. Sorry old man you will have to wait for next time. 

-        Kilt Rock (a unique cliff face that resembles the pleats of a kilt).

 

On our way along the coast we found this special spot

-         Quiraing (Keirang) (a distinctive and dramatic landscape). It was almost like being in a scene from Jurassic park in that you fully expect to see Dinosaurs roaming across it at any stage. Unsurprisingly many Dinosaur fossils have been found here. Our photos do little to show the magnitude of this place.

-        The Fairy Glen (Bizzare and delightful miniature landscape of cone shaped hills) looks like something from the Hobbit.

-         Coral Beach (An impressive white beach, which looks like it belongs somewhere tropical). For us this beach was strange, bizarre and felt like it had been transported in from Thailand minus the palm trees. This place breaks every stereotype you may have of Scottish beaches. The most unique part was having to walk through a paddock of cows to get there. #mostrandommoment

     This adventure took all day and we were fully exhausted when we got back, but what we had seen was absolutely breath taking and humbling. The views from on high at Skye need to be seen to be believed they are Jurassic and awe inspiring. We ended this glorious day by treating ourselves to a gourmet meal and a bottle of wine. This day could not have been any more perfect. 

Day two we headed to the Fairy Pools which are some unique holes in the rock of a river on the Isle. They are shades of turquoise and green which look deep and smooth, exactly where you would expect to find fairies. 

The weather was not as pleasant as the previous day but we were fully kitted out in our outdoor wear and took it in our stride. It’s not a matter of will it rain in Scotland, just when. The #1 TIP we can give to anyone travelling Scotland is always have a spray jacket on hand.

Walking the trails of Skye has inspired us to get outdoors more when we get back. The hiking here is phenomenal and we could’ve spent at least a week on Skye just walking the trails and mountains. It is unbelievably beautiful.

We were sad to leave Skye, it is probably our favourite place in Scotland and we know we say this everywhere but we really could have stayed here much longer and been totally happy with that. We definitely will return to the Isle at a later date and finish the walks and climbs we started.

Crossing the bridge we turned south for Fort William.

An observation we have made in Britain is that service stations have really taken out the service part of the station. There are no windscreen cleaners available, and you have to pay to put air in your tyres. It’s the little things you don’t usually appreciate that you miss when you no longer have them. Thankfully Britain, unlike most of the countries we have been so far do provide free table water. 

Simon & Amy

xoxo