We reached Inverness around 5pm. So we went to our B&B to leave our bags and go for dinner...When we arrived at the B&B (Summerlee Guest House), we were in for a very pleasant surprise!!!! The B&B is a very quaint little house near the Ness river owned by a Glaswegian couple, Margaret and John. Their house is really very beautiful, and if I have money, I want a home just like that. The B&B is cozy, comfortable and beautifully decorated. If the furnishes are a little mismatch, they only add to the charm of the place. I truly recommend this place to all who are interested in visiting Inverness. It would make your visit really fantastic....
B&B (Summerlee Guest House) in Inverness (the best nights of the trip was spent here)
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We had to rush out for our dinner as we want to catch the highland dancing at the Inverness Fest which celebrates highland culture and tradition. If we were here earlier, we could even attend the highland games, but well, we didn't, so we have to settle for whatever festival there are...
Pictures taken during dinner in a bar:
After dinner, we went to watch Inverness Festival... some kids dancing Scottish traditional dance in the kilts... very cute and funny! But they sure are about dancing and are putting up their best performance...
After the dance, we turn in for the day as tomorrow we were going for a full day tour around the highlands.
Day 2:
After a wonderful breakfast in our B&B, we went for the day tour (cost 25pounds each) @9.30am booked the day before with Canny Tours. We waited in the chilling Scottish morning for the bus to arrive, once it did we went straight off to the Culloden Battlefield.
Ok, so what's so important about this site...Well, it's supposed to the significant because it's the last battle to ever happen on the English Soils. What happened was the the Highlanders wanted this man called Bony Prince Charlie to be their King, and they had managed to attack the English all the way someplace very near London. Somehow the fates changed and they got beaten back to this spot where they got exterminated totally. So now, many Scottish descents will come here to look for their ancestors stone (which indicated where the clan chief fell during the battle).
Cottage (how Scots lived in the past) in Culloden...Very very coldddd..... I can't imagine how people in the old days can survive without modern heating. They must use a lot of peat.
Culloden Battlefield (last battle fought on British soil, 1776?)
Monument for the dead lairds
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Monument for the dead of Clan Mackintosh (Father of Apple??)
Next stop is Loch Ness (pronounced as Lock Ness) So much of the hype on Nessie, but really, it's just one SUPER big waterhole!! In fact the waterhole is so big that it can self regulate it's temperature, meaning, in summer the water is cold and in winter the water is warm. So old Scots believed that the loch has magical powers and thus many stories surrounding the loch. Then is off to Fort Augustus for lunch, there you can find the Caledonian Canel
Loch Ness (didn't see any Nessie, only a cat with 1 life left)
Woods (picture taken while we were climbing down to look at the falls)
Castle Eileen Donan
Finally we took a visit at teh Eileen Donan Castle and have a real feel of a highland castle. The castle was actually re-modeled in a few decades back to look like a old castle and teh family who owns it still stay at the castle during certain holidays. Nothing much to see and do, but the scenery is beautiful.
