Loch Ness

Casting my mind (and my diary entries) back to Friday the 10/4/08 and continuing our Scottish camper van holiday…As Jasper and I seem to be the only two that actually enjoy the driving, I decided to get up early and get some miles out of the way while everyone else was asleep.  I set off at 6.30 and by 6.45 Karina was begging to come down from the double bed as it was rolling around so much she was getting even more car sick than normal.We drove off Skye and stopped at Kyle of Lochailsh for breakfast.  Karina then drove us to Fort Angus which is at the start of Loch Ness.  

On the edge of Loch Ness

Jasper and Karina on the edge of Loch NessWe spent several hours enjoying this pretty little town, the loch and the Caledonian Canal locks.  We were all fascinated by the series of five locks that lift the boats about 15 metres.

After this, it was time to make a choice… time is beginning to run out, so what do we do?  We decided that although Loch Ness was lovely, there is really not that much to do and so we headed instead to the Cairngorms, about another 1hr and 30 minute drive away.  It turned out to be the right choice…As we travelled up above the snowline onto the alpine plain that is the heart of the Cairngorms, the scenery was some of the most stunning we’ve seen, and although Aviemore (the town we travelled to) probably translates in ancient gaelic as “tourist trap”, there is more than enough to see and do.We found a great camping site on the Rothiemurchus estate, the sound of shotguns (shooting clay pigeons) in the distance and settled in for the night. After a week of cooking in the van, we felt instead like a steak so headed to the “Whispering Owl” and enjoyed a great steak and some good local beer.