Lochness Lodge Drumnadrochit

... like me... hmm! This road literally passed over the top of the world... jaw-dropping...<br><br> <br><br> <br><br>When the road came out, almost in civilisation, we were around Braemar. Not much civilsation for long though - the other side was Glenshee, home to ...

... pay on a ferry - ie £5 for a car, £45 for a bus! Apparently some locals got around this by picking up sheep just before crossing the bridge, since we were exempt from the toll if you were transporting livestock! Mercifully after much outcry the tolls are removed, and we crossed without incident. <br><br>Lunch was spent on Portree, the main town of the island. Josh and I got some fan freaking tastic fish and chippies which we enjoyed down at the port and then had a look around town. The ...

... is sadly known for being voted the city with the ugliest people in Scotland! Not the best of awards to win. Had a quick look around and Josh even managed to squeeze in a quick haircut! <br><br>Then to the local distillery, a quick tour and some samples - i had a quick taste, but i'm truly not a whiskey person - josh said the Penderyn one in Wales was better. <br><br>Onwards to Loch Ness which is the best known of the 4 Lochs in the Scottish Highlands ...

... return but told everyone they had been attacked. Their sister didn't believe them and called on the King of Isle's for justice, the seven Elders were killed as an example to all. A well was setup on the edge of the Loch as a reminder.<br><br>We stopped off and took pictures of Ben Nevis, the highest moutain in Scotland.. in the picture you can tell I was getting a bit bored sitting in a bus all day!! lol ...

Finally back at home. It's been 15 weeks and 12 countries (14 technically, but a stopover in Sydney and stepping on Zimbabwean soil whilst Bungy jumping don't count). There's been highs and low's throughout, but on the whole, the experience has been fantastic and completely and ...

John<br><br>My only recollection of Inverness prior to this visit was a ditty that Garth Glover, an old Ayr basketballer, used to sing . <br><br>Four and twenty virgins went up to Inverness <br>And when the day was over there were four and tewnty less.<br><br>The drive to Inverness was also spectacular and included the famous Loch Ness. We did the obligatory Loch Ness cruise but no sign of Nessy.<br><br>The highlight for me of Inverness ...

... empty pint, already exhausted and covered in the sticky sweat and grime of London underground, and I hadn&#8217;t even left London. <br><br>Sure,Euston Station&#8217;s not Heathrow or JFK, or even Gatwick for that matter, but I like that. The pretentiousness is gone, and lets face it, flying is hardly an enjoyable experience in this day and age, unless you like queuing, being frisked by a humourless strategically shaven gorilla, and paying extortionate amounts for mediocre food ...

... well we can all try and hey it gives him an excess to come back. Just before hitting the road we grabbed some pics of Dave at the distillery with his bottle then we were on the road again. We stopped at a few places so Dave could take some pics but we really had a nice drive up. As it was summer we had so much sunlit that we didn't even realise that it was 10pm by the time we got to the gate. We slowly drove in and along the 2 mile driveway through the forest as ...

... 9:30 and so for a while there weren't many tourists milling about, but this drastically changed soon enough. They came in desperate DROVES (actually they came in tour buses), but somehow I managed to get some photos which showed next to no tourists. The castle itself was gorgeous and I thoroughly enjoyed the few hours I spent traipsing about the grounds and gift shop. I purchased matching t-shirts there for Papa San and myself. I headed back ...

... the Woods was very easy for Argi, he ran back and forth many times to check on me and to guide me through part of the way. Had it not been so late, I think I would have been less nervous - but frankly speaking, despite the drizzle, I quite enjoyed being in that Woods. It was really tranquil and nice to be so near to nature. I could hear so many different sounds from birds, insects and God knows what else! It was ...