EDINBURGH, LOCH NESS & HOGMANAY

Our latest adventure took us to the Scottish capital just after Christmas, then north into the Highlands to visit Inverness and Loch Ness, then down the centre of Scotland through Fort Augustus, Fort William and back to Glasgow - arriving home just in time to celebrate a Scottish NYE (Hogmanay). For this trip we were joined by a couple of Frenchies from Rennes - with Jacques and Karine flying into Glasgow on Boxing Day to visit us and grapple with the Scottish accent! Unfortunately we began our trip a little under the weather thanks to the Flu but we fought on and enjoyed another great adventure, exploring this frigid part of the world!..

Our first view of Edinburgh Castle, from Princes Street..

Looking east along the Royal Mile (High Street) in the Old Town..

Arthurs Seat as seen from the castle forecourt..

This post has a record number of photos of the 2 of us so brace yourselves! On the castle ramparts..

The view north from the ramparts - looking over Waverley Gardens to the New Town, with the Firth of Forth in the background..

Crown Square near the highest point of the castle. This is the Great Hall, built around 1500 for James IV and used as a meeting place for Scottish Parliament until 1639. To the right is the entrance to the Royal Palace, where the Honours Of Scotland (The Scottish Crown Jewels) are now kept - no photos allowed! Dating from tha late 15th and early 16th Centuries they are the oldest crown jewels in the British Isles..

Nightime, well actually early afternoon (!) view of the New Town from the castle's walls..

The castle entrance/forecourt..

The western end of the Royal Mile at Castlehill - High Street was dubbed the Royal Mile as it was the route between the castle and the royal palace, approximately 1 mile to the east..

The next day under grey skies we visited the eastern end of the Royal Mile, where Holyrood Palace stands. This is the official Scottish residence of Queen Elizabeth II and apparently she still spends time here at the beginning of each summer..

Holyrood Abbey, adjacent to the palace, was built by King David in 1126 but has been in ruin since the roof collapsed in the 18th Century..

The entrance to the palace..

After visiting the palace we walked the length of the Royal Mile to visit a couple of museums. Firstly we went to the National Museum of Scotland to the south of the Royal Mile - which afforded this view of the castle, then we went to an even better museum..

The Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre! After a crash course in scotch whisky production and tasting techniques we spent a little bit of time in the bar..

The Christmas carnival on Market Street, in front of the Museum on the Mound (The Royal Bank of Scotland museum) as seen from Waverley Gardens..

After spending a couple of days in Edinburgh it was time to jump in the car and explore some of the country. Heading north from Edinburgh (through Perth!) we headed towards Inverness via the Cairngorms region. This is a roadside stop somewhere along the way..

Cairngorms National Park..

We arrived at Inverness around lunchtime and after a quick lunch of (authentic and excellent) Breton Crepes headed up to the 18th Century castle to check out the views..

Inverness is located on the banks of the River Ness, which flows from Loch Ness into the Moray Firth - this is the view north from the castle..

Looking to the south we were treated to an awesome sunset view..

Photo of us #2! We didn't know it at the time but the temperature when we were at the castle was around -5..

Just south of the city centre are the Ness Islands, a group of small islands interconnected by walking bridges..

Ness Island view of Inverness Cathedral..

The air temperature was a lot colder than the water - hence the mist..

Next day we headed south again to the shores of Loch Ness! This is our first view, just out of Inverness..

Photo of us #3! Cruising on Loch Ness..

The countryside around the northern end of Loch Ness is stunning..

From our departure point at Clansman harbour we headed south to have a look at Urquhart Castle - it's somewhere in that mist..

The castle..

Circling around to get a better look at the ruins..

Another spectacular site..

A photo of Jacques taking a photo..

The colours were brilliant..

After our cruise we visited one of the Loch Ness (Nessie) discovery centres/gift shops (you have to!) then we headed back to Urquhart Castle to have a closer look..

Photo of us #4! In front of the 5 storey Grant Tower..

Radiocarbon dating has placed the age of some of the ruins at approximately 1500 years, indicating there has been some sort of fortified settlement on Strone Point since around 460-660AD. It's not known exactly when the castle itself was built, although the first indications are of a castle being here in the 13th Century..

Northern view from the base of Grant Tower..

The sun slipping away again - at 2:30pm!..

Monster! It's easy to understand why people think they see something. Most of the reported Nessie sightings have actually come from this area..

Grant Tower standing tall against an impressive backdrop..

From Urquhart Castle we continued heading south, stopping here at Fort Augustus to check out 5 of the 29 (manmade) lochs that make up the Caledonian Canal..

The Lord of the Glens navigating the last loch as it heads north into Loch Ness. It takes each boat about 1 hour to squeeze through all 5 of the lochs and the complete trip, which starts at Corpach near Fort William (west coast) and ends at Inverness (east coast), covers about 100kms - 35 of which are on manmade waters..

Opening the swing bridge to allow access to Loch Ness..

After spending the night at Fort William we began our journey back to Glasgow to celebrate NYE. We did make a couple of stops on the way though - boats on the still shore of Loch Leven..

Loch Leven mirror, near Glen Coe..

We passed through Glen Coe, one of the spots we went to a few weeks back which were covered in snow - but surprisingly it had all gone! It was still cold though. This is Bidean Nam Bian (1150m) rising above the valley..

We made it back to Glasgow in time for Karine to do some shopping (women..) then we had a tapas dinner and joined the Hogmanay party in George Square..

Evan, Jacques, Karine & Carly - George Square Hogmanay Party, Glasgow..

Of course it wouldn't be a Scottish celebration without their national anthem would it!? The Proclaimers always seem to get a gig..



There was some good music too - local lad Paolo Nutini entertaining the crowd just before midnight..

And so ended our Christmas/NYE trip. Jacques and Karine flew home early the next day, we slept for 2 days, then we started planning our next trip! Although we haven't got that far yet - stay tuned..
Happy New Year everyone!..