Here we grabbed some lunch before parking at Ruthven Barracks.
The Barracks, built in the 1700’s, stand a top a hill and from the back of the Barracks one can sit and enjoy views over the surrounding landscape.
Next stop was the Tomatin Malt Whiskey Distillery for some Whiskey tasting, which included a chocolate whiskey, but boy that stuff was strong!
We briefly stopped at Inverness, a city regarded as the 'Capital of the Highlands' on the River Ness.
Just a short drive away was the much anticipated, Loch Ness, a long stretch of water (the biggest loch in Scotland), renowned for sightings of the legendary Loch Ness monster, colloquially known as ‘Nessie.’
Graeme put us up to the challenge of taking a dip in Loch Ness with Nessie and as a reward, he’d purchased a full bottle of whiskey from the Distillery. Temperatures were not warm, despite it being summer, so while all of us stayed rugged up in our warm clothes by the loch, Wingman Steve and Brooke, took up Graeme’s challenge. Steve changed into swimming trunks while Brooke dived in fully clothed shrieking at the ice-cold water.
Back in the warmth of the bus, Graeme broke into the whiskey (sadly passing it to Wingman Steve and Brooke without a sip himself seeing as we were all in his capable hands for the rest of the day’s drive). Wingman Steve and Brooke passed the bottle around the bus and it was finished in a flash (when it reached The Columbian’s in the back row).
Our next stop was one of the most photographed castles in Scotland, the idyllic Eilean Donan Castle, perched on a small peninsula on the meeting point of three lochs in Scotland - Loch Long, Loch Alsh and Loch Duich. Built in the mid-13th century, if the castle could talk, it’d tell you about an aggressive history of construction and destruction from various battles and inhabitants that took place here.
The evening of the first day was approaching fast and just a short drive from Eilean Donan Castle would be our 3 nights resting place, the tiny town of Kyleakin, the gateway to the Isle of Skye. To get to Kyleakin and the Isle of Skye, vehicles must cross the Skye Bridge, opened in 1995 with an extraordinary toll of over £10 to cross it. The small population of the Skye protested by refusing to pay the tolls. The number of laws broken by motorists abusing the toll collection point sent the Sheriff’s office into such mayhem that by 2005, the toll was removed. Today, locals, visitors and tour groups can cross Skye Bridge for free, admire the beauty of the neighbouring misty mountains and be greeted by the friendly Scots of Skye.
After a long day of traveling and sight-seeing we were happy to arrive at our B&B, Balirdu House, set back from the loch but with sweeping views down to Kyleakin and a winding stream down to the Loch.
We joined the rest of the group for dinner at one of the two pubs in Kyleakin. The sun set over the water as we warmed up with food and drink inside.
As the night wore on, karaoke and the DJ kicked in. Shakira was responsible for having us all taking over the dance floor. You can probably see from the photos and Shakira- The Hips Don't Lie!
