Scottish Highlands

 Some scenes from our visit to the Scottish Highlands,  August 23 - 26, 2021.  Our first stop was in a little town called Pitlochry which is in the region of the River Tay and the Tay Forest. This was significant for us, because our favorite fruit from Whidbey Island is the Tayberry, which originates here. We had lunch here and explored the town briefly, but never found any sign of tayberries.  

After whizzing past Inverness, we headed straight to Loch Ness where we stopped at the Urquhart Castle.  Fortunately for us, Kenny had pre-booked our tickets and we had a reserved time-slot. Even though they (sometimes) sold tickets at the door, they were strictly enforcing the pre-booked times when we arrived. Sadly, we saw another family being turned away after a long drive there with no reservation. This castle played a significant role in various battles between the Scottish and the English since the thirteenth century, finally falling to ruin in the late 17th century.  It is one of the most-visited castles of Scotland with over half a million visitors per year. 

Remains of Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness

View of Urquhart Castle from the Citadel

Here are a couple of my spherical 360 panoramas of the area. (Click the image to look around and the +/- buttons to zoom.) 

Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

  

On the shores of Loch Ness - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

On our way to Loch Ness, we tried to expain the legend of the Loch Ness Monster to the kids. We could tell their imaginations were charged as they asked many questions. Jacob, who is our nature lover and says all the animals are his 'friends', informed us that "Bessie" as he called her, was his friend too. We didn't get a chance to see Bessie (or Nessie), but we did see plenty of tour-boats out on the water looking for her. 

Tour boat on Loch Ness

Skipping stones on the beach of Loch Ness

On the beach of Loch Ness

After Loch Ness, we drove to our next stop, which was our vacation rental house with 4 bedrooms in a small village named Dornie. The house faced the water which provided a very peaceful view of what we'd call a cove, that connects to the sea. The house was perfect for our group and had a spacious kitchen which turned out to be a big blessing as most of the nearby restaurants were restricted to pre-booked tables and couldn't take walk-ins due to COVID restrictions and lack of staff.  

A view of Loch Long from the beach in front of our rental in Dornie, Scotland

A short walk from our rental, we discovered one of our most favorite castles yet: Eilean Donan Castle originally of the McKenzie clan. This castle is a private residence and offers tours through a private foundation. The history dates back to the sixth century, but around the 13th century it became the castle of Kenneth MacKenzie or the MacKenzies of Kintail. Now if you watched the TV series called Outlander, you might be familiar with some of the MacKenzie legends and characters. I know I've seen this castle on the screen before and perhaps you have too. It's been included in many movies including these: 

Bonnie Prince Charlie starring David Niven (1948)

The Master of Ballantreee starring Errol Flynn (1953)

The New Avengers (1976)

Highlander (1986)

Loch Ness (1996)

James Bond – The World is Not Enough (1999)

BBC One Television Idendity (1997 – 2002)

At Eilean Donan Castle on Loch Duich

Eilean Donan Castle in the evening

During the time of the MacKenzie clan, they employed a family called the McRae to be their bodyguards and provide protection. Long after the castle fell to ruin, the McRae family purchased the island in 1911 and began restoration of the castle. It is this family who owns it today and still uses it for family events.  

We enjoyed a private tour inside the castle and learned much about the history and families involved. Because we were the first tour of the day, the boys got special treatment by the tour guides and were taken back into areas normally not accessible by visitors where they got to see the back side of the peep-holes of the main Keep, where the bodyguards watched over the MacKenzies when visitors came. 

The tour was different than most old stone castles, in that this castle is actively used as a residence and is fully operational. In the main keep and kitchen, they had wax figures and plenty of old artwork, arms decorating the place. (Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed inside.)

Eilean Donan Castle in the morning fog. 

Painting of Eilean Donan Castle by Jonathan Wheeler

Castle map

Here are a few of the spherical 360 panoramas of the castle in the fog. (Click the image to look around and the +/- buttons to zoom.) 

Eilean Donan Castle bridge - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

  

The Great Wall Walkway at Eilean Donan Castle - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

After our time exploring the Isle of Skye, we headed back down through the Highlands and passed through The Trossachs National Park and Loch Lomond. We decided to stop at Firkin Point and spent some time on the beach just relaxing and enjoying the beautiful scenery.  There is something magical about being in the far northern latitudes on a lake in the summertime. The water, the skies and the hills take on a magical glow. This feeling can be similar to the feeling one gets from being at Glacier National Park in Montana, or Denali National Park in Alaska, or even Iceland, Norway or Sweden during the summer months.  

Enjoying the sunshine at Loch Lomond

On the beach of Loch Lomond and Firkin Point. 

Another view of Loch Lomond from Firkin Point. 

-David