Day 9: We're Coming For You, Nessie!

While we were going to be staying in Inverness later in the trip, we headed up there to give Jonathan a chance to see Loch Ness before he left. He was due to leave earlier than we were, so he would be gone by the time we would be there later.

We drove in the general direction of Fort William until we hit the Lochs region. There, we passed Lochs Oich and Lochy on our way to Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle.

Urquhart Castle's history started when St. Columba stopped at the home of Emchath, a Pictish nobleman, and converted him to Christianity. Accordsing to legend, Columba encounter a large beast in the waters of Loch Ness and compelled it to flee.

The castle itself was built in the 1200's by the Durward family. It changed hands several times through battle before finally falling into those of the Grant Highlanders. When they eventually abandoned the castle, they stuffed the structure with kegs of explosives and blew it up to prevent it from being used by anyone else.

The castle remains in ruins today as it was following that event. Only a couple of structures exist to reveal its true identity.

Upon beginning the tour, you start with a movie that visualizes the history I reported above. The curtain then pulls back to review a view out the windows overlooking the castle. From there, you head outside to tour the ruins.

Here are some ruins of our trip to Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle and the surrounding area: