Tuši's blog: 16519

Scotland: Day 6 - Around Loch Ness, Rogie Falls, Wilkhaven Point and Easter Lamington Wood

Scotland — where misty highlands meet ancient castles. We spent our days wandering through breathtaking landscapes, timeless villages, and the kind of peace you only find when the air smells like heather and rain.

After the morning walk with Bronco and search for Nessie, we gave up. So we returned to our tent, where we picked up Nada and our road trip continued along the lake. Loch Ness is an elongated loch located southwest of Inverness, extending for approximately 37 kilometres and flowing from southwest to northeast. At 56 km2, it is the second-largest Scottish loch by surface area after Loch Lomond, but due to its great depth it is the largest by volume in the British Isles, containing more water than all the lakes in England and Wales combined. Along the lake we stopped for breakfast, check the Caledonian canal, and a glimpse of Urquhart Castle. Our loop around the lake was soon finished so we continued further North, where we stopped at Rogie Falls, Wilkhaven Point and for the end of the day we settled our tent Easter Lamington Wood.

Previous days of our trip to Scotland: Day 5 - 16518, Day 4 - 16517, Day 3 - 16516, Day 2 - 16515, Day 1 - 16514.

An inn on Dores beach.

No people, just me and Bronco.

Bronco was sad, since he couldn't find Nessie.

We even stopped by at Nessie hunter's place for some hint, but he wasn't at home - https://www.nessiehunter.co.uk/. Steve Feltham has been hunting full time for the Loch Ness Monster since 1991.

We went to hunt deer instead.

Back at our camping place on the shore of Loch Ness.

Loch Ness never freezes - thanks to its depth and a mild climate, even in winter it stays liquid.

Morning for rainbows.

Nada, Bronco and Tuši.

Some may saw Nessie today, but it was only me, swimming in Loch Ness.

Breakfast time across the famous Urquhart Castle.

Driving along the Eastern site of the lake to the South with some rain.

Our passengers.

The Great Glen is a long valley that runs from Fort William in the southwest to Inverness in the northeast, created by a massive geological fault. Loch Ness is the largest and most famous loch in this glen.

At the south-west end of Loch Ness we arrived to Fort Augustus, where we also crossed the Caledonian Canal.

The Caledonian Canal connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness with the west coast at Corpach near Fort William. The canal was constructed in the early nineteenth century by Scottish engineer Thomas Telford.

The canal runs some 100 kilometres from northeast to southwest and reaches 32 metres above sea level. Only one third of the entire length is man-made, the rest being formed by Loch Dochfour, Loch Ness, Loch Oich, and Loch Lochy. These lochs are located in the Great Glen, on a geological fault in the Earth's crust.

There are 29 locks, four aqueducts and 10 bridges in the course of the canal.

The Lock Inn - a traditional Highland Pub sitting on the banks of the canal in Fort Augustus.

A set of locks arranged one after another with very short distances between them is called a "flight of locks" and Fort Augustus has 5 of them, where ships climb or descend for around 13 meters.

The Fort Augustus village has a population of around 646 (2001). Its economy is heavily reliant on tourism.

On the shores of River Oich, that carries water from Loch Oich to Loch Ness.

Also on this side of the lake we didn't find Nessie.

The canal was completed in 1822 after nearly 20 years of work. Today it's used mainly for leisure boating, kayaking, and walking along the Great Glen Way.

The canal is designed to handle surprisingly large vessels. Ships of up to 45.7 m in length, 10.7 m in width, and 4.1 m in draft can pass through, with a maximum air draft of 30 m. This means that cargo ships, fishing boats, and even small naval vessels have navigated this impressive waterway.

Our next stop supposed to be Urquhart Castle, but they didn't allow Bronco to go in, so we just made a few photos from far.

It really is a big lake. Brenda Sherratt Became the first person to swim the full 36.2 km length of Loch Ness in 1966 in 31 hours and 27 minutes.

Founded in the 13th century, Urquhart played a role in the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century.

We had to walk for an hour to find out, that Bronco couldn't go in.

In 1545, the MacDonald clan staged a massive raid on Urquhart Castle, stealing everything they could carry (even the castle’s great iron gates). Legend has it that some of the stolen treasure was hidden in the depths of Loch Ness - fueling stories of "Nessie guarding treasure."

4 legged friends of Mari and Bronco.

Just north of Inverness, over the Kessock Bridge lies the village of North Kessock. The shoreline offers excellent dolphin spotting opportunities over the Beauly Firth.

In the end, we didn't see any of them, but we had a nice view to the cable-stayed bridge across the Beauly Firth.

For our next attraction in nature we chose the Rogie Falls with easy and short hiking trail.

On the path in the peaceful forest.

Bronco found blueberries for Nada.

Nada scared all the people.

Come on Nada, leave the blueberries, we have to move on.

Finally we arrived to the Black Water river.

Bronco, still safe above the water.

Back on soft path, smelling the other dogs.

Rogie Falls (Gaelic: Eas Rothagaidh) are a series of waterfalls on the Black Water, a river in Ross-shire.

The Black Water has carved a multilevel gorge over time, creating striking waterfalls and deep pools.

Rogie Falls.

On the footbridge - Garmin Connect.

Along A834, towards Dingwall.

Approaching Wilkhaven Point.

The Tarbat Ness Lighthouse is located at the North West tip of the Tarbat Ness peninsula near the fishing village of Portmahomack on the east coast of Scotland. It was built in 1830 by Robert Stevenson and has an elevation of 53 metres and 203 steps to the top of the tower.

Tarbat Ness is primarily composed of Upper Old Red Sandstone, dating from the Devonian period. The color comes from the oxidation of iron minerals.

Exploring the Tarbat Ness. In Scottish place names, "Ness" comes from the Old Norse word "nes", meaning headland or promontory.

Nada, Tuši and Bronco.

The lighthouse tower is the third tallest in Scotland behind North Ronaldsay and Skerryvore and is notable for having two distinguishing broad red bands.

Bronco posing. #1

Bronco posing. #2

Built on a geological fault line, the lighthouse occasionally experienced tremors so strong they caused lamp shades and glass panes inside the tower to rattle and shake.