cruising Loch Ness | no monsters spotted

We began our day with a visit to the city of Inverness where we had hoped to find some good shopping at the Victorian Marketplace. Despite the name, it's not a good shopping spot and there's nothing especially Victorian about the market. Very touristy with souvenir shops, and it's a nightmare to drive through the center of Inverness (especially on the wrong side of the road).

But the day turned into a very positive experience with our visit to Loch Ness. Once I got out of town, the driving became a bit easier, though the left-side curb kept wanting to hit my front left tire. Not totally sure where our rental car's front left hubcap is.

About 30 minutes outside of Inverness, we came to the departure point for the Loch Ness & Urquhart Castle cruise. We had sandwiches for lunch in the small cafe, waiting for the 1 p.m. departure of the boat. The crew wore sweatshirts with the words "Monster Patrol" emblazoned on the back. We set sail to the south (see the view above) while listening to a recorded narration with facts about the loch. Loch Ness holds a greater volume of water of all the lakes of Britain and Scotland combined, and of course we heard about the origin of the legend of Nessie, the mythical Loch Ness Monster.

Midway through the cruise, we debarked for an hour to visit Urquhart Castle. Well worth the visit, and definitely take advantage of the informative 30 minute guided tour.

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