Monday 26th

After another good breakfast - this time including haggis - we checked out and bid a reluctant goodbye to Glenelg. But we'll definitely be back. We returned the way we'd come but this time had better views with less low cloud. Our next destination was Inverness and since it wasn't far, we decided to stop at Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle on the way. The Castle, an NTS property, overlooks Loch Ness and is a beautiful ruin. It was the hottest day of our holiday but unfortunately everyone was taking advantage of the sunshine and the place was heaving with tourists from all over the world. Our previous destinations had all been very quiet and peaceful so this came as a bit of a shock. After exploring the ruins and scanning the Loch for any signs of Nessie, we went back to the new visitor centre which is set into the rock. We saw a short film about the history of the castle - there's a great surprise at the end of it, which I won't spoil by describing. We then moved up the road a little to Drumnadrochit to investigate the Loch Ness 2000 exhibition. That dispelled any romantic notions I might have had that it actually exists! We then went on a cruise of the Loch which was a pleasant way of spending an hour. No sign of monsters but the views of the castle were good. The actual loch is rather disappointing compared to others. It's so vast that it lacks the picturesque qualities of others we had seen. 

The next stretch of the journey took us up to Inverness and the Glen Mhor hotel - the only one we'd booked with more than 10 rooms. It was OK although I did rather wish I'd booked a superior room as ours wasn't as good as we'd been getting used to! But it was in a very peaceful location, which isn't always easy to come by in a town. Since it's right next to the river, after a short rest, we walked along the river into town. I couldn't work up much enthusiasm but I'm sure that wasn't the fault of Inverness - I was just preferring life without cars, shops and many people! We ate at Nico's at the hotel and although my starter was a bit disappointing (crab & lobster terrine), the rest was excellent. I had chicken tajine and a raspberry and cassis delice. Had coffee which was lovely but probably a bad idea as I had trouble sleeping that night.   

Tuesday 27th                     

We were up at 8am and after breakfast set off for a day's history. First up was Culloden, site of the last battle fought on British soil in April 1746. Our timing was perfect and we were able to take a guided tour 15 minutes after our arrival. The tour was taken by Mike Newcomen from the Alba Adventure Company (and recently seen on TV's 'Two men in a Trench'). He was brilliant, really bringing the history to life. Appropriately, it was overcast and cool - somehow sunshine would have seemed wrong in a place such as this. We walked around the battlefield for about an hour and were given lots of information regarding the circumstances surrounding the battle, before, during and since. It must have been a terrible sight on that fateful day when Bonnie Prince Charlie's troops suffered so terribly at the hands of the English. I felt myself getting really annoyed with his incompetence and with the brutality shown by the English after the battle was over. Much of the hostility of the Scots towards the English probably has its roots in that period of history. After the walk we looked at the exhibition and watched a video, and then moved on to Cawdor Castle, just a few miles away.

The castle dates from the end of the 14th century and is still inhabited by the Cawdor family. However, the Macbeth connection is a figment of Shakespeare's imagination since Macbeth lived considerably earlier than that! It's a really beautiful place, surrounded by lovely gardens and woodland. We had a snack of freshly squeezed orange juice and shortbread and watched the birds for a while before exploring the castle, which was very interesting. The gardens were gorgeous - I'm amazed at how beautiful the Scottish gardens are. We then went on a short woodland walk - there are several of varying lengths.

        Our third visit of the day was to Fort George, built after Culloden with the aim of repelling any further Jacobite rebellions but they were over long before Fort George was completed. It's a vast fort and still in use today by the army, although security seemed a little slacker than I'd have expected (see photo on the right). We caught most of a living history presentation by another member of the Alba Adventure Company - this time a redcoat seeking to recruit. We spent quite a while walking around the fort and looking at the various exhibitions, and also out at sea looking for dolphins. I was impressed by the incredible sky. An interesting place, well worth a visit. After more than 7 hours out, we were feeling quite tired so went back to our hotel. We had booked to eat at the hotel's Riverview Restaurant but there was a huge coach party of people already there and it wasn't the sort of atmosphere we were looking for so we returned to Nico's - the menus are the same, in any case.  We had an excellent meal of Thai fish brochettes, venison and pavlova. Had an early night as all that visiting had worn us out.

Wednesday 28th

Slept much better and had a kipper breakfast for a change - there's only so much egg & bacon you can take! We were off to Stirling next, now on the 'home leg'. The journey took us on the A9 most of the way and proved to be very quick. We went across the Cairngorms so it was a scenic route for much of the way. And still good weather! After a couple of hours we stopped at the Perthshire Visitor Centre, which boasted 'The Macbeth Experience' on our map. The latter was a brief audio-visual show about the real Macbeth versus Shakespeare's version, with quite a bit of local tourist advertising thrown in. Since we're big fans of that play, we couldn't resist. It was OK but nothing earth-shattering. Not a bad place to stop though, with a decent restaurant and shops. We arrived in Stirling at 2pm and spent some time looking for the Castle - we could see it since it's perched high on a hill, but the signposting was poor. It's an awe-inspiring place in Robert the Bruce country, where he defeated the English at Stirling Bridge and  Bannockburn. This is a newer castle than that of Bruce, however - he had the original knocked down for fear of it falling into English hands. Again our timing was perfect and we took a guided tour which was very interesting and helped us to link all the pieces of history together. We then found we were just in time for another Alba presentation - a Jacobite supporter and similar to that in Culloden in terms of the explanation of the weapons and so on, but this time we also saw how the all-purpose kilt was arranged from one large piece of cloth. We were also treated to a version of the 'Highland Charge' - directly towards me. We spent an hour or so looking at the rest of the castle on our own. It's enormous and our understanding was enhanced by the many exhibitions dotted around the place. The most memorable parts were probably the large kitchen and the tapestry weaving  - new tapestries are being woven by hand to ensure an authentic feel to the restoration of several rooms. We actually saw a woman weaving, what a mammoth task that will take years to complete. The Great hall and the Chapel were also very impressive. the hall has recently been renovated and painted in a yellow colour called King's Gold. It really stands out form the rest, even at a great distance. We were told that castles were often painted in this colour to denote wealth. 

On leaving the castle we went to find our hotel for the night, the Park Lodge Hotel. This was another great internet find, a Georgian house with 10 letting rooms, and an amazing French style interior. We were surprised to find we had the four-poster room although we hadn't requested it - and at £85 for 2 per night including breakfast, it was the cheapest of all our accommodation. No tea & coffee facilities though, although they could be ordered.  Since we were right out of cash, and in need of a cuppa, we took the short walk into town where we had tea and muffins at a very friendly little café called Sarah-Jane's. We walked round the town a little and found it much nicer than Inverness. Then back to the hotel, which is in a lovely road, right opposite a large park. Since it's set well back from the main road, being in an access only road, we weren't bothered by traffic noise at all. We ate dinner in the hotel restaurant and again, it was superb: prawns and scallops, salmon, and ginger cheesecake. The interior of this place is amazing  so I couldn't resist taking lots of photos. We were rather disappointed to think we were only staying here for one night.

Thursday 29th

We left after breakfast for our final Scottish history lesson, at Bannockburn, just south of the city. This is the site of the historic battle won by Robert the Bruce in 1314. We had a look at the visitor centre and then the site but there wasn't a great deal to see. There was to be a re-enactment of the battle during the weekend - that would have been quite something but sadly we'd be hundreds of miles away by then. The monument on the site says: "We fight not for glory nor for wealth nor honour but only and alone we fight for freedom which no good man surrenders but with his life." Moving words.

We were then off on our way back to England, with our final stop to be just across the border in Carlisle. The majority of the journey was by motorway which wasn't as picturesque as our previous routes - but the scenery was still considerably more attractive than that seen from most English motorways. We stopped a couple of times at service - one was particularly impressive, Annandale, near Lockerbie - Jctn 16 at the A74(M). Hard to believe it was just off a motorway, there was lovely countryside, a lake complete with ducks and lots of birds, and good coffee. A very relaxing place to take a break. 

We arrived in Carlisle quite early in the afternoon so decided to do a little impromptu shopping in the excellent shopping centre. We made a number of effortless purchases and then went on to the Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery. I was delighted to see that the latter housed a painting I'd studied for my art history assignment (88% too - my highest ever mark!) when with the Open University. It didn't look much better up close! We were surprised to see Damien Hirst's 2 halves of a calf on display in a farming art exhibition. Not very nice - I preferred the Ford Madox Brown's 'Pretty baa-lambs'! We didn't have much time so were unable to spend as long as we'd have liked in the gallery. I was particularly pleased to see that the information about each piece of art was very informative. The rest of the museum is equally impressive and again, we didn't have time to do it justice. It's very much a local museum concentrating on information and items of local interest, such as Hadrian's Wall. Extremely well laid out and interesting - one to return to one day. 

It was then time to find our final B&B - Number 31, in a Georgian house in a quiet road close to the city centre. We were greeted by Philip, the owner, who showed us to our lovely room - there are only 3 available - we had the Blue room. Number 31 has won many awards and accolades, which are well deserved. Philip served us tea and home-baked ginger biscuits in the lounge  and we relaxed with some magazines and chatted to Philip about travelling, of which he does a lot during the winter months when the B&B is closed.  He cooked our dinner  later in the evening - we were the only dinner guests so the service was excellent! We ate a blue cheese risotto, salmon and chocolate mocha  mousse, washed down with very well-priced wine. Excellent. We felt we should award the Melvin accommodation prize to this particular place as it was perfect in every way. The bathroom was especially well-appointed with the biggest and softest towels and a good selection of toiletries. The bed was very comfortable and there was plenty of room to sit and read or write. This is another place to which we would very much like to return. 

Friday 30th

After an excellent sleep and a good breakfast (which included delicious home-made sausages), we set off for home. we'd considered visiting Hadrian's Wall but since the weather was awful we decided to leave it for another visit and went straight home. The traffic was a shock to the system as we'd been thoroughly spoilt by quiet roads, but we finally arrived home at 4pm.

This had been a fantastic holiday, one of our best. We loved Scotland and were overawed by the beautiful scenery, enhanced even more by the unexpected sunshine. The food was superb wherever we went and our accommodation more than lived up to our expectations. I was delighted that I'd found such great places via the internet - so much easier than trawling through leaflets and phoning for brochures. Although we covered a lot of miles, the driving was never too onerous and we saw a great deal of the country. We had a good balance of natural beauty and local history and were never bored. All in all, 10 out of 10!