Premier Inn Inverness - Centre

... A9 (pretty much the only straight road there) where a lorry had crossed the central reservation and we were held up for about 45 mins, and all I could see was literally mist and rain. Thankfully I had my CD player or else it could have broken me!<br><br>So I only ...

... king - who told her that if she put her face in the enchanted river for 7 seconds, her beauty would be restored forver and peace would return. Which she did - and which we did too! Yup! threw our faces, in the middle of the rain, on cold slippery rocks! (hopefully i'll be able to upload photos at the next hostel!). <br><br>Phew - what a day! and what an entry! Tonight at the hostel is the Tartan Yoga party, so i had better go and see what outfit Josh has created. <br><br>Till next time! <br>

... merriment and band playing. <br> Todays meals have consisted of Haggis Sausage Roll for lunch and baked potato with haggis mince for dinner! Mince has come a long way n the past few years - due to EU regulations they have to put some form of normal meat in it, although there is still bit of heart, kidney and liver poking out! Very tasty though, might have to have Haggis Curry one night when we get home!<br><br>To the Isle of Sky tomorrow<br><br>XO<br>

... the last tour!). <br><br>So out of Edinburgh we set, over the Forth bridge (whic is very pretty and sexy if you're into bridges), past Perth (the Anicient Capital of Scotland) and had a quick break at Dunkeld. It's a pretty little village, set on the river Tay, which an ancient cathedral and an oustanding bakery. <br><br>A little bit further up the road we stopped at the Hermitage Walk. Evidently in older times it was fashionable to have a 'walk' on your land ...

... back to the early 1200s and once was one of the largest strongholds of Scotland. Loch Ness is the second largest Scottish loch by surface area at 21.8 sq mi after Loch Lomond, but due to its great depth it is the largest by volume. There was no way that we could avoid stopping at the uber-cheesy Loch Ness gift pavilion. I am glad we did so, for we got to capture Nessie on film&#8230; enough of that. <br><br> Our lodging for the evening was located ...

... Weather wasn't the best but it was Scottish and that was that. Next stop on the list was the local distillery a must for any tourists that we show around. We decided to go to one that Katherine and I hadn't been to before and just down the round from Balmoral was Royal Lochnagar. The only distillery in Scotland to have been given a royal warrant of appointment, which basically means that can wack Royal at the start of their name. It was also Queen Victoria's ...

... went to a stone circle that was 3000 years old, kind of a smaller Stonehenge. The trip back was a little more interesting, in that there were 5 foot swells and the boat was rocking quite a bit. Needless to say, I spent the trip out on the deck trying not to get sick. On Wednesday we split up and Stacy and I went to Fort George. It was built in the 1750's and is huge. It covered 42 football fields. We met Mike and Anne later and made spaghetti dinner. On ...

... ascent. 600 descent. Hiking 09:55 until 16:20. Steep up and then along a road over the top. Dropped down to the forest above Loch Ness. At the top of the zigzags we were told it was all down hill except for one up. It wasn't! The rain started. Many ups and then a final steep up and down the road to Invermoriston and a nice drier in the B&amp;B. Dinner in the local restaurant. Another early night. Monday the 2nd of July ...

... 8211; we&#8217;d surely have died of exposure. <br><br>Through Dundee and Perth we then turned northwards and threaded between the Monadhliath and Cairngrom mountains. We kept an eye on the car&#8217;s outside temperature gauge with great interest as it dipped below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, eventually bottoming out at 13 degrees. At -10.5 degrees Celsius this was easily the lowest temperatures either Ali or I had faced, and we so quickly pulled ...

... August of 1691 King William III ordered that all the MacDonald clan be killed. They had taken the recent of pledge of alliance but were still an easy target because they were a small clan and known cattle thieves. This was odd because it was a massacre sanctioned by the crown. One of the homes that some of the leaders of the clan were shot in front of still have remaining foundations. In the center is a cross and around the foundation are seven ...