The next section of the trip was trapsing around the Scottish Highlands. It was a beautiful trip. We saw things are expected and we saw things we didn't expect. We drove in a big arc from Dunotter across the north part of the country to the west. We stopped in Inverness for the day. The drive is so picturesque. We loved seeing the shaggy Highland Cattle and the sheep dotting the green hills as we drove. We put on Harry Potter Audio Books--Jim Dale version--to keep us entertained as we drove. It made it so much more realistic to visualize the scenery in the books while driving through Scotland.
We drove through villages and towns. We had to stop a few times for people to pee and puke--hurray for winding roads haha. We always had sheep to keep us company when we did stop.
Inverness was cute. We were able to stay in a hotel right on the river. Then we drove along Loch Ness and booked a boat tour out on the Loch. We could have stayed there all day. It was sunny and clear. The air was crisp and the water was beautiful. We booked a boat with sonar so we could watch for "Nessie" as we went along our trip. The boat tour did well giving details about the loch and how it played an integral part of Scotland's history.
They said that Loch ness is not the longest or widest loch in the UK, but because of the depth, it holds more cubic feet of water than all of the lakes in England put together! That is a LOT of water.
We decided that we were close enough, we went to Eilean Donan Castle. Lady Hiva had seen it on a Piano Guys music video years ago and apparently always wanted to go. When we had planned out our trip, we were not sure we could make it. It is a bit out of the way. But we are this close, let's do it! I am glad that we did. The castle has been restored back to the way it would have looked. They also added in modern conveniences like bathrooms and electricity. The staff were so kind and loved the kids. Every where we went they told stories and shared secrets.
The drive through the Highlands was so perfect. We were lucky to get a blue sky day. We needed that. Nature and fresh air, just the reason we had come. Several times we just stopped to experience the view. None of them disappointed us.
Our next unexpected stop was Glenfinnan Viaduct. Again, another nod to Harry Potter. As on the of iconic scenes for Book #2 was filmed along the viaduct. It was fun to go see it as a family.
We stopped at another roadside pub along the way south. I had fajitas that were delicious and Lady Hiva got her daily dose of steak!
Lady Hiva wanted to stop and take a photo of some of the lochs as the sun was setting. Ironically we ended up stopped at a bog. She and Lucky Dragon decided to walk across the bog to get photos at the loch side. They were able to take some perfect photos, but were shocked when their shoes got sucked into the bog and lost! Lady Hiva had to hop around on one foot while Lucky Dragon dug her shoe out of the muck. She then had to walk into the hotel in Glasgow barefoot---classy people we are! HAHA.
That also meant I had to go find a laundromat to use for early morning. I have become quite adept to doing laundry at roadside laundromats. haha.
The last part of our drive was through the Loch Lomond and Ben Lomond area! There is so much beauty to see that it is hard to decide which way to focus our attention.
We did a rainy drive by tour of Glasgow. Then we headed south
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