Luckily, Chuck was feeling a lot better this morning (he does still sound a little like Barry White, but his energy level has improved). We packed up this morning, made a brief trek to the bouncy bridge that he missed yesterday while he was napping, and then headed to Loch Ness. This loch (lake) is 23 miles long and is pretty to look at, but there’s otherwise not a ton to see… aside from Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster. Nevertheless, it was a picturesque drive and we pulled off the road in a couple of places to look for Nessie and take some pictures.

Our first real stop was Urquhart Castle, the ruins of a 13th century castle that sits right on the shore of Loch Ness. The castle changed hands several times between the English and the Scots before finally being destroyed in the Jacobite Risings in the 18th century. These ruins were not quite as well preserved as the ruins we explored at Huntly Castle, but perhaps more significant historically, given the importance of the Jacobite rebellion in Scottish history. And it gave us an additional opportunity to scan for Nessie.

We never did see Nessie and eventually got back on the road, stopping briefly to take pictures of Eilean Donan Castle. We had planned to eat lunch in Portree on the Isle of Skye, but happened to see another restaurant on our way that was a little less out of the way for our next stop at Dunvegan Castle. We made quick change of plans and I’m so glad we did. It was a fun, cozy environment with warm, delicious food. I finally tried real haggis, neeps (turnips), and tatties (potatoes). We’ve had haggis served in creative ways – on sandwiches, in pies, fried as fritters… but this was my first encounter with it on its own merit and I’m a fan. It also helped that I was pretty hungry by that point and had ordered a flight of whisky to keep me occupied in our 30 minute wait for a table. By the time we left our restaurant, I was feeling warm and toasty – as the Germans would say “gemütlichkeit”.

After lunch, we headed to Dunvegan Castle on the west side of the Isle of Skye. This castle is still in tact (as opposed to ruins) and is surrounded by beautiful gardens. The castle tour was nice – lots of fancy furniture and old artifacts, but I really loved the gardens. They were already beautiful, but I imagine in another month they’ll be staggering. I could see buds on a lot of the plants to indicate they would be blooming at some point over the next few weeks.

A couple of things I’d like to note about castles:

• If you’re ever touring a castle and are about to go up or down a narrow staircase or into a small enclosed space, peer in first. If there’s a face peering back at you, let that person through first. Then you’ll have more room to explore. I tried to tell several people this with my eyes as I peered back at them from the other side of a doorway, but none heeded and I found myself wedged in on several occasions.
• If you see a sign indicating a “prison” or “dungeon”, there will be a mannequin in that space. I still manage to forget this and it startles me EVERY TIME.

After Dunvegan, we headed to our B&B north of Portree. We knew it would be rural, but I’m not quite sure either of us realized the extent of it until we were driving 2 mph behind a couple of sheep that didn’t want to move off the road in front of us. It was so rural, in fact, that we ended up eating instant porridge that we raided from the B&B breakfast area because the closest open restaurant is over 30 minutes away. We ate such a heavy lunch that this actually probably suited us better and gave me more time to do “sink laundry” before settling in for the night.

Today’s Highlights:

• Beautiful Scottish countryside and loch views
• Chuck is getting the hang of driving on the left side and I’m doing less screaming
• So many castles
• Haggis, neeps, and tatties
• Whisky
• The cuuuutest little B&B
• Hearing sheep bleating through the window of our B&B

Tomorrow’s Proposed Adventures:

• Isle of Skye Trotternish Loop
• Exploring Portree
• More haggis and whisky?