Urquhart Castle and Loch Ness: Day 28 – Scotland 2017

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3 May 2017

Waking up in Coul House was like waking up in a fairytale. It’s such a gorgeous house! We slept in, letting the sunshine flow in through our window before heading down for a breakfast fit for royalty. A leisurely stroll through the grounds followed, and then we packed up, checked out, petted the wee lamb, and got on the road.

Urquhart Castle

The sun was out in full force when we arrived at the ruined Urquhart Castle. Bathed in sunshine, the ruin stood proud on the banks of Loch Ness. We couldn’t have picked a more gorgeous day for a visit if we tried. We made our way to the visitor center to buy tickets (which were free with our Historic Scotland membership) and then sat through an informational video that taught us all about the castle before we walked out to see it.

The castle stands on what is possibly a Pictish site that dates from the 6th century. Fragments of a Pictish brooch were discovered there, giving more credence to that thought. In the early 1200s, the Durward family started construction on Urquhart Castle, the same that we see today. As with many other medieval strongholds, the castle changed hands many times over the years. Robert the Bruce reclaimed it for his country in 1308 during the Wars of Independence. I’m sure it would have devastated him to know that the castle met its demise in 1692 when British government forces blew it up so that the Jacobites couldn’t use it during their rebellion.

Today, the castle, in its ruined state, keeps a silent watch over Loch Ness. British forces may have destroyed the castle as a stronghold, but they couldn’t take away the beauty of the location and the grandeur that is Urquhart Castle.

Give A Boy A Trebuchet…

And he’ll nearly forget all about the castle behind it! As we exited the visitor center and made our way down to the castle, Billy honed in on the replica trebuchet like a moth to the flame. To be fair, it was pretty cool and it was the first life-size trebuchet we’d ever seen in person. After getting our fill, we made our way into the ruin.

Urquhart Castle is a maze to explore and an adventure and a half. There is so much to see, and unlike some of the other castles, there is still so much that you can get into. Staircases lead you up to higher windows with amazing views, and information boards are everywhere. If you don’t want to stop and read them all, at least take in the pictures. They give a great idea as to what the castle used to be like. We stayed for at least an hour before heading back inside to peruse the enormous gift shop. If Urquhart Castle isn’t on your bucket list, it should be. The ruins are incredible, yes, but the location really puts the icing on the cake.

Driving Loch Ness

Our next destination was the Invermoriston Falls, but the drive there from Urquhart Castle was one of the best we’ve ever had. It’s not a long stretch, only about 15 minutes, but it’s one you should add to your route through Scotland. Perhaps the gorgeous sunny weather also played into the beauty of this particular stretch of road, but it was perfection. The lake sparkled to our left, trees shaded us from the right, and the sun filtered through the leaves as we drove with the windows down, enjoying the warming of the day. If I could hop back in time to this exact moment, I’d visit it often. We can’t recommend this short stretch of road enough.

Invermoriston Falls

The parking area for Invermoriston Falls is signposted and easy to find. There are also signs for a few shops, but I don’t remember going in any of them.

The trail down to the falls is rather easy and level. Once down to the water, there is a trail that leads alongside the river, and that one has more roots and things that can easily trip you. It’s a lovely walk and the falls are beautiful. There are a few different vantage points to see the falls, each giving great views.

You can walk further if I remember correctly, but we simply enjoyed the stroll down to the falls and back. I read on another site that if you go on Tuesdays you’ll get a better show because they open the dam upstream.

Falls of Foyers

From Invermoriston Falls, we headed to the bottom of Loch Ness, rounded the bend, and headed back up on the other side of the loch. Our next stop for the day was the Falls of Foyers. This waterfall couldn’t have been more different from the one we just saw. Invermoriston Falls is wide and squat, nearly as wide as the entire river. The Falls of Foyers cascade down a showstopping 165-foot drop into a pool of water below.

I remember the walk down to the falls being rather steep with lots of steps. You finally reach a platform where you get a spectacular view. There are two platforms, an upper and a lower, so make sure to check out both. When you’re done hiking back up to the car park, you can enjoy a snack or drink from the little cafe there.

Home Sweet Home

After a wonderful day, we headed to find our B&B for the night. We were staying at Foyers Bay Country House, only a 4-minute drive away. Our room was upstairs, and from our balcony, you could just see Loch Ness peaking out from behind the trees. In the calm of the late afternoon sunshine, it was the perfect view.

We drove into Fort Augustus for dinner (delicious fish and chips), saw a herd of deer on the way, and then had a lovely evening back in our room. Looking back, it was one of those perfect days where everything went swimmingly and nothing but happy memories come through. A rare, perfect day.
Cheers,
Lydia and Billy