Today we had an early start, meeting at 7am to make our scheduled bus tour with Highland Experience. We grabbed breakfast and Coffee at Cafe Nero and loaded up. Our tour guide Alan gave us 12 1/2 hours of superb direction, Scottish music, and loads of Scotland’s history, its culture and its beautiful countryside.
We headed out of Edinburgh, and went over the Firth of Fourth, 3 over water bridges running parallel to each other all built in different centuries, all serving a different purpose.
Our first stop was the Perthshire Visitor Center. We grabbed souvenirs, snacks and took pictures with a friendly Highland Cow. On our 2.5 hour drive to Loch Ness, we paused to take photos at the Pass of Drumochter. After driving through Inverness we arrived at the edge of Loch Ness. There we grabbed lunch and snacks at the Loch Ness Clansman hotel. Everyone then boarded a boat to enjoy a boat tour on Loch Ness with Jacobite Loch Ness Cruises. Upon arriving at the shore of Urquhart Castle, our group parted ways. One group sailed back to the hotel and drove on the bus to the castle. The other group remained at the castle ruins to explore and eat lunch.
Loch Ness is fed by 8 major rivers. The temperature of the water in Loch Ness is 5 or 6 degrees Celsius and stays that temperature year round regardless of the season. In 565 AD were the first recorded sightings of a monster. In 1933 there were other reported sightings, however there hasn’t been published proof of the monster. In the early 1990s a sighting was reported with a photograph, which later was proven to be fake. The last reported official sighting was in October 2023.
On the route to our last main stop from Loch Ness, we drove through multiple towns including Fort Augustus, Fort Williams, and Glencoe. We took a brief stop to visit the Commando Memorial (WWII). While traveling through some majestic landscapes, we passed Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles. We took a brief moment to pause and take pictures in the rain at the mountain, Bidean nam Bian. Further down the road, we made our final tour stop in Tyndrum at The Green Welly Stop. There we grabbed dinner and boarded for the last stretch of the journey back to Edinburgh.
During the drive we learned about Scottish culture, history, and other fun facts about the country while viewing the picturesque hills and Lochs of the Scottish Highlands. Scotland has more than 30,000 lochs with Loch Ness being the largest by volume. Sheep were scattered across the landscape throughout the tour. There are more than 6.5 million sheep in Scotland which outnumbers Scotland’s human population. During the tour we observed some backpackers which seemed to be behind fenced land. It was then we learned about the law Scotland has, Right to Roam. The Land Reform Act of 2003 states everyone in Scotland has the right to be on land for recreational purposes and to cross this land for their use. There have been many disputes regarding this which all have ruled against the landowners and favored the “right to roam”.
At the end of the tour we were dropped off around 8:45pm at St. Andrew’s Square as our original pickup as the roads were closed, due to the Fringe festivities. Our group spilt up for the evening and some retired back to the hotel, some went to Albanach on the Royal Mile. We along with Dr. Donna Lee Sullins went to the St. Giles Cathedral for our first experience of the Edinburgh International Festival: 900 Voices. This showcase is a combination of 100 Voices being interviewed of what belonging and feeling a sense of community means to them living in Edinburgh. Speakers are stationed throughout the Cathedral with different tones and stories playing simultaneously. Listening to this, each attendee will hear and feel something different than the others through the voices.
Thanks for reading about our journey through the highlands!
Ashley Fuqua & Dana Keenan
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