Last week I shared photos from our weekend in Edinburgh, Scotland last November. I absolutely loved exploring the city by foot and learning about the history of the area. But for a change of pace, we also had the chance to take a Scottish Highlands tour and explore the dramatic landscapes of Scotland.
To make things easy on ourselves and maximize our time, we opted for a 1-day bus tour with Heart of Scotland Tours that took us all the way up to Lock Ness and back (about 3.5-4 hours one way if you don’t make any stops). Absolutely the right choice for us. Our tour guide was great, talking through all sorts of history of the areas, glens, and villages we passed. And our group was small, only 9 of us, so it felt easy to ask questions and take our time.
Of course, we did want to stop and take in the sights, and we had a chance to do so in a few places along the way to and from Loch Ness. Here are some photos from Glencoe on our way north…
We arrived at Loch Ness around lunchtime, and grabbed some fish and chips from The Moorings for lunch before the Loch Ness tour….
Felt good to eat something warm in the November chill! We explored a little bit of Fort Augustus, the village where the Loch Ness tour starts….
…and then headed for the boat!
Austin and I love a boat tour, and Loch Ness was no exception. It’s always interesting to me to hear all about a place.
We learned that the Loch Noss’ water is so dark and murky (and mysterious?) because it is full of peat from the soil all around the loch…
…and that the loch is so deep, it is actually the largest volume of water lake in all of the British Isles.
And if you are wondering whether we saw the Loch Ness monster… well, if you look closely enough….
Haha 🙂
After the Loch Ness tour, we headed back to the bus and back to Edinburgh. We made a couple of stops along the way, first at Spean Bridge Mill.
It was a nice place to stretch our legs, grab a bite, and pick up any souvenirs you might want.
And we stopped for ice cream in Pitlochry after dark. Plenty of flavors to choose from, including Scotch of course.
All in all, a great day and I loved all of our Scottish Highlands Tour. Just like Edinburgh, I already want to go and explore more!
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Surprising to see so many colors on the Loch just after winter – a very beautiful place!